Weekend Brunch Specials at Punot Restaurant

This is the Punot Ilonggo Brekky consisting of classic breakfast fares like pork tocino, beef tapa, fried danggit and garlic rice. It was the among the highlights of the food tasting session organized by Andrea Arañador for the bloggers and media during the launch of Punot Weekend Brunch Specials.

Andrea, who just flew in from Singapore hours before, runs Punot Restaurant with her chef brother Tope who manages the kitchen and the menu. Inspired by her brunches in Singapore and abroad, Andrea collaborated with Chef Tope to introduce brunch at Punot. The results are the flavors of modern Iloilo - traditonal Ilonggo cuisine infused with international taste. Or interpreting international dishes using local ingredients.

To start with, they serve us Ilonggo Toast - a local take on the classic French Toasts. A breakfast fare known to many but with an Ilonggo twist - served with the native local delicacy called Bucayo or sweetened coconut strips.

But one can opt for a more classic topping still with a twist like this Maple Banana Chips and Cream or Apple Cinnamon with Melted Cacao.

On to another classic - it's the traditional Pinoy hotcake topped with blueberries and cream!

How about some Eggs Benedict? While the meaty option calls for ham with poached eggs on pan de sal plus Punot';s special Hollandaise sauce, one should try the fried bangus fillet option. Everybody raved abut it and I craved for more

I just love the Ilonggo Brekky especially the danggit and I could this finish big order alone and even ask for an extra cup of rice since it is (over)loaded with meaty toppings. You can have the eggs scrambled and add ham, maple bacon and more. Now that's a big breakfast!

For dessert, Punot gave an native Ilonggo delicacy an international make-over - Baye-baye Croquetas ala Mode. On its own, baye-baye is already a treat (made with ground rice, sugar, coconut, etc ) but making it into a croquette means its coated with bread crumbs and deep fried. And having it with vanilla ice cream makes you want to order more!

Two specially concocted drinks freshened up that hot Saturday brunch hour. The Mornig Glory was a refreshing combination of apple, orange and green mango with Punot's special syrup. But the Taho Mixer really caught my gastronomic attention - a local ginger brew (salabat is called taho by the Ilonggos) which was also tangy. I assume it also had the combination of calamansi and lemon grass flavours sweetened by honey. It was a perfect cooler (and healthy too) to end a special food tasting session at the restaurant beside the Iloilo River Esplanade.

Using only the finest ingredients, freshest local produce and the concept of slow food - no short cuts in food preparation, Punot is a perfect place to enjoy the modern flavors of Iloilo.

Brunch menu is available (for now) only during weekends from 10am to 2pm.

PUNOT Restaurant

Riverside Boardwalk Complex beside the Iloilo River Esplanade

Tel. No. (033) 320-9893

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/punot

Weekdays 11am to 10pm | Weekends 10am to 10pm

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

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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