Jumbo Sio Pao from Roberto's

It was another Calle Real Pedestrianization Sunday and I found myself traversing the whole stretch of JM Basa street from Plazoleta Gay up to Freedom Grandstand. And like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, a gastronomic treasure awaited at the end of my journey - Roberto's.

Despite the long queue (it almost never disappears), I absent-mindedly lined up then took a while to decide what buy. The Queen was nowhere to be seen that afternoon and I wasn't really excited to meet (and eat) the King. So it was a toss between the regular Roberto's Sio Pao (pork adobo) and the Jumbo.

And it was a very delicious decision to get the Jumbo Sio Pao that time since it was the best sio pao from Roberto's I have ever tried - better than the Queens and Kings I had before. At PhP45 each, the Jumbo is filled with Chicken-Pork Adobo, Chinese Sausage and Hardboiled egg. In comparison, with the addition of ham, it would become King (PhP70) or if it has bacon (and become a little bigger) it become the Queen (PhP77)

What made me say it was the best ever Roberto's sio pao? No, I wasn't hungry that time, I was still digesting the 4-cups of rice lunch I had at Mang Inasal then - it was probably the fact that the filling was freshly made and the sio pao was oozing with the natural sauce of the filling. And see those bits of pork fat - sinfully delicious! I could have devoured around 3 of these in one sitting that time, too bad I only had two...

And don't dare ask for sauce at Roberto's for you'll surely get the playful "wrath" of Claude - if ever lol.

Fruits from the grocery

These packs of cut up fruits were bought from SM Delgado's grocery. Got enticed by their color and luckily, they were as good as they looked, especially the papaya. Each was just less than Php 22, really a bargain!

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

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.

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?"

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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