Cafe Delbroz at the Tinukib Pasalubong Center in Pavia

"While the ladies are doing their shopping at Tinukib, the men should have a place where they can sit down and endure the waiting game." jokes Mr. Angel de Leon in his speech during the menu launch of Cafe Delbroz. A play on the "De Leon Brothers", the Cafe Delbroz opened a few weeks ago at the Tinukib Pasalubong Center at the Taytay Sang Kauswagan Inc. corporate headquarters in Brgy. Mali-ao in Pavia, Iloilo.

Tinukib Pasalubong Center is a one stop shop offering a wide variety of pasalubong items. TINUKIB is a Hiligay-non word rooting from the word tukib meaning "to discover", thus tinukib means "discovered or a discovery". It was conceived through a contemporary innovation to reintroduce and provide domestic and foreign tourists a genuine glimpse of authentic and quality Ilonggo products, craftsmanship, and cultural promotion that defines everything about the Ilonggos - with a heart.

The core of of Tinukib is more than just rediscovering the rich culture of the Ilonggos and what it has to offer globally, but also the worthier cause of helping communities ad making a difference to the dynamic social enterprises it supports.

Each Tinukib product is made with a story from the heart. It depicts the journey of each product from the home of its producer to the showroom, giving a glimpse of the very heart of the Ilonggo community.

Cafe Delbroz is under the "tutelage" of chef extraordinaire Miner del Mundo whose gastronomic repertoire is almost everywhere in this part of the country. For his latest project, Chef Miner and his team concocted a wide selection of food and drinks to live up to the "discriminating" taste of the Ilonggos. Starting with the specialty drink, they have hot coffee concoctions - Espresso, Americano, Cappuccino, Caramel Macchiato, Latte and Mocha. Flavoured coffees come in Irish Creme, Tiramisu, Almond Roca, Toffee Caramel, French Vanilla, Hazelnut and Macadamia.

They also have frappes, which I tried two during that time. The Oreo Overload was indeed overloaded with Oreo was every sip had the mini crunch of Oreo cookies. The Mocha Swirl perfectly ended the on a mochalicious note. Completing the Frappe line-up are Caramel, Coffee Crumble, White Chocolate and Nutty Macadamia.

Salads form an integral part of the menu as they have a mini vegetable garden at their "backyard". So expect fresh green treats everytime you order their organic salads. We were lucky to have tasted them all during the menu launch as Chef Miner himself presided over the preparation of these sumptuous greens.

Asian Chop Salad

Chicken and mangoes with Asian sesame dressing on a bed of lettuce constitutes the Asian Chop Salad. I just love how the flavour combination works - sweet mangoes, sesame and grilled meat!

Crunchy Calamari Salad

Another delight was the Crunchy Calamari Salad with crabsticks and crispy fried calamari on a bed of lettuce it was "dressed" in garlic mayonnaise.

Seafood and Mango Salad

Shrimps and crab sticks then a generous drizzle of honey mustard vinaigrette on the mesclun makes the Seafood-Mango Salad.

Shrimps and Pomelo Salad

A fresh take on the salad was the Shrimps and Pomelo mix with an orange-mustard dressing.

Roka Salata

Chopped lettuce and cashew nuts with balsamic dressing makes up Roka Salata.

Linguine & Squid Puttanesca

The pasta selection includes Chicken Macaroni & Cheese, Classic Carbonara, Beef Bolognese, Baked Penne and Linguine &Squid Puttanesca.

Classic Carbonara

Sandwiches on the Go - Honey Mustard Chicken, Chunky Tuna Panini, Bacon & Mushroom Melt, American Burger and the Club.

Thin crust pizza comes in Pepperoni (bell pepper, tomatoes and mozzarella), Hawaiian Bacon (pineapple, mozzarella and bell pepper), Cheese Overload (mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar and cream cheese), All Meat Barbecue (beef teriyaki, pork, chicken, barbecue, onions, chilli) and Seafood Lovers (shrimps, tuna, squid, vegetables and three cheeses).

The main course options includes Fish and Chips, Asian Chicken Teriyaki, Grilled Pork Chops, Osso Buco Pasta, Indo Pork Satay.

From the assorted novelty items Tinukib has to offer for the tourists and locals like to the relaxing ambiance and good food Chef Miner has concocted for Cafe Delbroz - it was indeed an afternoon of discovery!

Cafe Delbroz

and Tinukib Pasalubong Center

Gound Floor, Taytay Sang Kauswagan Inc Corporate Center

Brgy. Mali-ao, Pavia, Iloilo

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.

A native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Search This Blog