FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Carrot cake this delectable makes me want to rush to Cheling's Delicacies and get myself one big pack! Not only it is moist, its really packed with much flavour that even half a spoon would create a melange of flavours that extends beyond the usual carrots.  The pecan nuts provide the crunch, the carrot and crushed pineapple makes moist delicious cake base and if my taste buds are correct - a layer of buttercream and fine "streusel" topping. I got to know Cheling's Delicacies because of their Masa Podrida but know there's more to that. And this is just the beginning of tastier things to come from Cheling's Delicacies . Cheling's Delicacies is located at the Montelibano Compound a few meters after the Carpenter Bridge if you're coming from Molo. Coming from Mandurriao or Tabucan, it's that compound of bungalows before you reach the bridge. For orders and more information, please contact (033) 321-0219

Adobong Pusit or lukos is among the most popular ways of cooking squid. It combines the Pinoys favorite way of cooking - adobo , with one of the most delicious bounty of the sea. For some, the blackness of the dish is a sort of turn-off but to those who have discovered the gastronomic delights of this cooking; it's a taste of heaven - on a plate with hot rice! Here's a simple recipe for Adobong Pusit Ingredients Squid, "gutted" and cleaned  Vinegar Soy Sauce Laurel (Bay leaves) Garlic, crushed Onion, sliced Chili Salt Pepper  Oil Procedure Wash and drain the squid. Remember to remove the membrane - that sort of bony inside. In a pan, place the squid at the bottom then add garlic, chili and onions. Pour in vinegar and soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.   Boil until the squid is cooked.  Pour oil over the cooked squid and mix before serving. You can also separate the ink sauce and give the squid a sort of toasting in oil before mixing...

On my third trip to Cebu City this year, I was with friends and we mostly discovered the gastronomic delights of the Queen City of the South. From the famous lechon and other native dishes at  CNT Lechon  and the barbecue galore at Larsian (missing those grilled choriso) to the lure of Brian's Ribs  at Casa Verde and   the sophistication of the   wines and croissants at La Vie Parisienne  - it was a trip with food written all over it. And of course, any of my trips  to Cebu with be incomplete without visiting Marco Polo Plaza Cebu. Be it an afternoon enjoying their Pizza Burger at El Viento , a morning treat of their signature (Christmas) Ensaimada , indulging with my (and everybody's) favorite - Malicious Cookies  or simply eating my heart out at the buffet stations at Cafe Marco. A  regular buffet or a themed one like the Swiss Alpine Festival Buffet  - doesn't matter since its all delicious 'til the last bit and morsel. ...

Being tired of mixing kalkag with rice or garnishing it over laswa dishes, I decided to make torta to have some variety to my kalkag diet. I just mixed the available ingredients I could find that time; kalkag, egg, flour, bell pepper, tomato, onion, granulated seasoning and sesame oil . Frying them on a non stick pan took only a few minutes and then it was a feast for me and my 5 year old nephew who with ate bare hands, with soy sauce and calamansi dip. Namit gid!

Not as popular as kamote nor kangkong tops in other parts of the country but here in Iloilo, (and Western Visayas as a whole) it's one of the staple "green and leafy" vegetables. It maybe "foreign" elsewhere but here it is very common as one always see these trio (with kamote and kangkong ) being sold from wet market stalls and even in big grocery stores like SM. Most often alugbati is partnered with kalabasa for a simple dish with either pork (cutlets or ground - you can also saute these first) or seafood (shrimps, crabs and dried seafood like pinakas , balingon , etc) as subak(sahog) . Its also a simple dish to prepare as you throw in everything, season then cover and wait for it to cook. Or even just as “greens” in the all time Pinoy favorite - ginisang monggo . A green leafy vegetable with a violet stem that makes a good whole lot of simple yet good tasting dishes - that's alugbati .

Not only a haven for delectable cakes, pastries and breads, Tinapayan also satisfies your craving for delicious siopao.  Dropping by it's flagship branch at The Atrium, I chanced upon these sio pao on display as if almost literally waving at me. With three mouth watering variants (and all were available then), I didn't think twice getting them all - they're only PhP20 each! How about some Chicken Siopao - meaty goodness in every bite! The Bola-bola sio pao is unlike those I've had before - their's is more like that an embutido compared to the usual that's look and taste like very "compacted" meat. I always loved Tinapayan's Asado Roll, and now that the filling is now a "siopao", then I'd say its double love! Now take your pick and get these delicious treats only at Tinapayan at The Atrium.

While most restaurants and cafes serve standard iced teas made with commercial powder, upscale restaurants brew and concoct "house blend" iced teas to live up to their identity as well as specialty. The Avenue in Smallville is a collection of specialty restaurants ranging from modern Filipino/Ilonggo, Italian, American cuisines to all desserts and coffees. Thus, the birth of three special blend iced teas - Bauhinia, Amalfi and Mojave iced teas, all named after the specific restaurants. The Bauhinia blend is a delicious mix of fruit juices blended with tea making it perfect to go with the Filipino/Ilonggo specialties the restaurant serves. Amalfi , on the other hand, is cranberry based, served in a bottle that spells novelty and goes well with the restaurants Italian specialties. Finally, Mojave , with all the steaks and meats served in the restaurant, is a strong blend of fruity red tea. Now, have you picked the tea that suits your taste?

Kinilaw is the Pinoy version of ceviche wherein raw seafood are "cooked" in vinegar and the addition of other spices. In the Philippines, there's fish, oysters, squid and then there are shrimps. Most seafood places in Iloilo have their own version of kinilaw nga pasayan and the best I've tried so far is from Breakthrough Seafood Restaurant along Villa Beach. I remember having my first bite and it was during the time when I wasn't a kinilaw person to start with. The tanginess of the vinegar is complemented by the flavors of ginger, onions, sweet and chili peppers making a medley of sour and sweet tastes. The freshness of the shrimps are evidenced by the perfect orange hue they make after being cooked in the concoction. At around PhP125/serving, its a great sampler of how the simple but right food preparation techniques makes a dish with a complexity of flavours. Have a plate of Breakthrough's Kinilaw nga Pasayan today...

Chicken soups are among the most well loved recipes anywhere in the world. And here in Western Visayas, among the most popular chicken soups is chicken binakol . Basically, it's chicken and vegetables stewed in coconut juice. The juice (and also meat) from the coconut makes this soup distinct from other chicken soups for it has a tinge of sweetness coming from those ingredients. Usually, native chicken is used when cooking chicken binakol because of it's distinct flavour. It is cut into pieces then placed in bamboo tubes together with coconut juice and meat, tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell peppers and salt. The recipe varies for some add ginger (can't get over the tinola recipe?), lemon grass, potatoes and more. Then the bamboo tube is sealed and placed over fire and wait for it to boil. This is where it got it's name - for binakol is a Kiniray-a term for cooking inside a bamboo tube. Others say it roots from the Hiligaynon word bakol , meaning "to span...

The battle of 24/7 convenience stores heats up in Iloilo City as national brands give homegrown stores a run for their money. Before 2014, Ilonggos were attuned to local stores like Quix! Mar t, Go Mart, Munsterrific and I-Mart, among others. With the entry of 7 Eleven , earlier this year and MiniStop , a few days ago, the battle seemed to rise notches higher. And in order to have an edge, these stores must have signature product that would make Ilonggos go back to them more often. Enter MiniStop's Uncle John's Fried Chicken. This has aroused my gastronomic curiosity ever since its opening day. For starters, only MiniStop offers fried chicken among the convenience stores and the fact that it is among the most aggressively advertised, there must be something about this fried chicken...  A one piece combo meal (PhP79) consists of a single fried chicken with gravy, one rice and a 500ml plastic bottle of Pepsi products while if you want 2 pieces be prepared to shell out P...

Ilonggos and fans of Ilonggo cuisine would instantly recognize this native cooking of tambo or bamboo shoots. With coconut milk and greens like saluyot, takway and okra plus sahog like shrimps or crabs – this would automatically induce a lot of cravings. Especially when you’re abroad where raw ingredients are often hard to find and if they are luckily available, it still doesn’t taste like the one you might have grown up with. Even so, it is more than enough one's craving for this Ilonggo cuisine, no matter where you are in the world. Here's a Ginat-an nga Tambo recipe courtesy of  ILOVEILOILO blog INGREDIENTS • Tambo or bamboo shoots • 1 coconut to produce the pure and the diluted Coconut Milk or “gata” • onions (sibuyas) • “Subak” -bago-ngon- for the simplest recipe -shrimps or pasayan – for the regular recipe - 3 crabs or alimango- for the ultimate recipe • leaves -tugabang (saluyot leaves) – for the simplest recipe -okra or takway- for the regular and f...

It's been more than four years since I had my first bite of Pancit Sun Yat Sen . And I found myself at Kong Kee Restaurant having the same pancit that I purposedly ordered just to blog about it again. Yet the same question still stands - why it's called Pancit Sun Yat Sen ? We all know the Chinese revolutionary leader who inspired this noodle dish but why this particular dish? The dish is made with (canton) noodles, particularly that one vividly colored yellow and is topped with almost like a chop suey - pork and meatballs plus carrots and cabbage among others.  So I guess I had to make another trip back to Kong Kee but this (nth) time, I should already answered this more than 4 year old question that seems to bother me everytime I take a bite and enjoy their Pancit Sun Yat Sen!

While others are crazy for ibos ( suman ) partenred with ripe mango or a hot cup of tsokolate , I grew up having it simply partnered with kalamay nga pula ( muscovado sugar).The subtle flavour of the sticky rice cooked in coconut milk is greatly complemented by the "healthier" sweetness of the molasses sugar that you'll keep eating on and on until you realized you've eaten more than enough. When was the last time you had this native dessert combo?