Brazilian Churrasco and more at Days Hotel Iloilo's "Indulgence" Saturday Dinner Buffet

Churrasco is an Iberian (both Spanish and Portugese) term for grilled meat - mostly beef which is very popular in Europe and Latin America. It is most popular in Brazil wherein they have churrascaria, which are restaurants serving these "pieces of meat roasted on the embers". Most offer "all-you-can-eat" with the waiters moving around the resto bringing skewers of meat and slicing them on the customer's plate. This serving style is called espeto corrido or rodízio. (Source)

But I didn't have to travel around 20,000 kilometers last Saturday to have this taste and feel of Brazil. I just found my way to The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo for their long standing Saturday dinner buffet "Indulgence" featured Brazialian churrasco served rodízio.

I just love the buffets at The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo and I always can't say no to every invitation I get to feature what's new in their offering. The gastronomic Saturday started with soup, bread and butter plus these very delicious Mini Beef Fillet Mignon with Bernaise Sauce and Potato-Cheese Balls .

I know I could have single-handedly finish all of them but I just decided to move to the Canapes. They had salmon and mango, salami and greens and many more - all vying for attention and almost shouting "pick me.".

But one that did not need to shout to grab our attention was the Fish Salad. It was fish fillet with dressing and presented colorful stripes made with chopped vegetables looking like a literal fish swimming in the sea of salad and appetizers!

And speaking of fish, how about some Japanese seafood specialties? The Sushi and Sashimi platter was teeming with a wide variety of this Japanese specialty. I can't name them but I just chose the one that suited my palate. Now which ones would you choose?

The Salad Bar is always present and most of what they serve are organically grown. I was fortunate enough to have toured Orchard Valley Inc. farm months ago in Pavia, Iloilo. There we didn't only saw the fruits and vegetables but also the cows, lambs and chickens which are sold and served at Iloilo Supermart and restaurants like Bauhinia Filipino Cuisine, Mojave Grill and Steak House, Amalfi Cucina Italiana, Nothing but Desserts, Coffeebreak and of course, The Promenade.

I always enjoy making my favorite salad mix consisting of pineapples, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers and singkamas all drizzled with thousand island dressing. But on top of that there were already preparared salads and all I had to do was to get a spoonful or two.

There was this crunchy fruit salad which I forgot the name and a Greek inspired salad with fruits embraced by creamy yogurt. But my favorite turned out to be the Pasta Salad - a delightful mix of pasta, fruits and vegetables in a creamy and tangy dressing.

Completing our Appetizers, (yes we haven't been to the main course yet), there was a whole bunch of Oyster Forestiere and Brazilian-style Fried Chicken.

From one bar to another, but almost hidden then was the Pasta and Pizza Bar. Reminiscent of their Italian buffet a few years, I could fill myself to ultimate gastronomic pleasure just by staying beside this bar all night.

Here you can mix and match your own pasta dish with four different kinds of pasta - fettucine, spaghetti and penne . It came with four different kinds of sauces plus lots of other mixin's and toppings - green and black olives, capers, pesto, bacon, onions, garlic, parmesan and anchovies.

The Italian corner had mini square pizzas that had generous toppings and even more generous helpings of mozzarella cheese are sprinkled on top (then it's off to the oven) when one requests for one.

And we come to the main course line up that started with the Paella Mixta - a complete dish on its own!

The savory and creamy Chicken with Cream of Corn makes every bite of the chicken like a meal for a king.

How about some Ox Tongue in Red Wine Sauce? I am more accustomed to creamy-mushroom sauce for lengua and seeing this made me give a double take. But good thing I didn't "pass" on it and I was able to find a new way of enjoying lengua - with red wine!

One can never have enough of fish! There's Fish Fillet in Lemon Cream Sauce to tickle our palate that evening.

Vegans can gorge in with this serving of steamed vegetables. Look how fresh they look and indeed they tasted very fresh too! And saving the best for last - Pork Ribs in Peach Glaze. I can still vividly remember how tender the meat was and delicious in every bite, that I went back for more, twice!

What you gonna do with that dessert?

The Promenade (still) serves the best desserts in town, no doubt about it! And I'll just let these sumptuous creations speak for themselves!

Choco Blueberry Acai Cake

White Toblerone Cake

Nutella Cake

Guava-Walnut Cake

French Macarons in Srawberry and Nutella variants

One cannot really get tired of Nutella, agree?

Tocino del Cielo and assorted Mousse

Mini cupcakes and dessert bars

Cookies and Brownies

Kiwi Jell-O Mould

Banana Pudding with Caramel

Fresh Fruits

Creme Brulee

Magnolia Ice Cream

Need I say more? Just savour and enjoy what Indulgence has to offer and you'll be asking for more!

Indulgence Saturday Dinner Buffet

6pm to 10pm

The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo

Tel. 337-3297 or 0917-700-3297.

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?"

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

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