It's not makopa. It's tambis

People unfamiliar with these would often mistakenly refer to tambis as makopa - for its shape and color are almost identical. That's until you you see it up close and bite into its flesh. Tambis has a smoother skin, tends to be more translucent and a lot juicier.

On the other hand, mangkopa (makopa) has a more velvety skin, more opaque and is drier. Both come from the same genus - syzygium and just differs on the specie - aqueum, samarangense or malaccense. I really cannot point out which is which though...

It was one rainy Saturday afternoon while having a meeting at Camiña Balay nga Bato in Arevalo that I curiously gazed outside the window. It was a tambis tree teeming with its fruits - lots of it. And before I knew, we were served this basket of tambis which appreciatively devoured...

It brought a lot of memories then - of afternoons climbing our neighbours tambis tree, of having a tambis party, and even experimenting if tambis would yield a good jelly like guava (we all failed).

It also brought learning that even though I grew with this pink tambis, there's also a yellow green one which is like the other side of a color wheel. Nonetheless, both are just as good - juicy, fleshy and crunchy to every bite. And sweet, if you add salt to it.

A final look at the tree that day wasn't saying goodbye - for I know I will certainly be back in Arevalo.

Among the first things I'd do is to look out the window and wish for more tambis.

Maybe, I'll bring a long pole with me - so I can have them fresh off the tree!

Ube brazo de mercedes from Lapaz Bakeshop

It was just an impromptu food trip in and around Lapaz market a few months ago when I discovered this ube brazo de mercedes from the Lapaz Bakeshop. I got to taste and take home this ube dessert that later on became a staple at home. Lapaz Bakeshop sits on the corner of Tinda Lapaz right across Grand Dame Hotel. A restaurant named Lapaz Kitchenette was the previous locator of the space and it was famous for it's PhP59 buffet . The bakeshop is among the bigger "small town" bakeshops in the city with it's wide range of breads, pastries and cakes plus shorts snack items. It even has branches in some towns in Iloilo including one in my hometown, Sta. Barbara. It was a quick side trip made by Sir Eugene that time that introduced me to this ube variant of brazos. He bought a few slices of this dessert and brought it inside Madge Cafe inside the market. It was perfect with the cafe's native coffee and the filling is somewhat like ube halaya. The meringue is jus...

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

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

A tinapay called MONAY

Monay is a well-known Filipino bread and based on Wikipedia , it's the Filipinized version of the Spanish bread pan de monja or bread of the monks . I had to laugh it out upon reading that entry from Wiki. Coming from Western Visayas in which monay is more than a bread based on local dialect, it's hard not to. And here's why... A post from PinoyExchange forum "I had this funny experience a few years back when I was in Aklan. I bought a homemade peanut butter and I was craving to eat it so I immediately ran to a nearby bakery with a friend to buy some bread. I was hoping to buy pandesal but I saw this large "monay" and I said to the tindera " Miss magkano ang hot monay mo ?" My friend suddenly laughed and so did the tindera. I repeated it saying " Yan monay mo nga miss kung magkano and bibilhin ko ." They again laughed and I was left wondering why. Then on our way back with my "hot monay" I asked my friend why did they laughed...

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 por...

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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