Oktoberfest Platter and more at Bavaria German Restaurant in Jaro

It's been a while since my last German food trip at Bavaria Restaurant that it surprised me that they now have an aptly named gastronomic combo - Oktoberfest Platter.

But I should have expected it since Bavaria is a German state in which Munich is the capital which is famous all over the world mainly because it hosts the world's biggest annual beer festival - Oktoberfest!

So what's in this platter that almost had me speechless at Bavaria? It's a meat-lovers dream come true - assorted wurst (sausages), fried pork knuckles, schnitzel ( meat, thinned by pounding with a

meat tenderizer, coated with flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs, and then fried), a basket of home-made German breads, vegetable side dish and Kartoffelsalat (German potato salad)

It's megacombo of their assorted platters (Sausage, Butcher's, etc ) given a more festive look which attracted me in the first place.

A perfect "to be shared" meal with 2-3 others over lots of beers and drinks - all ending with a burp!

Bavaria Resto's ambiance will transform you into a temporary German while you're there.

The slightly dimly lighted well-adorned bar and interiors bearing German decors gives a perfect ambiance to your international food trip.

Even the food servers wear traditional costume when they bring what you ordered - here captured with a liter mug of German beer.

Completing our food orders were a plate ribs and two kids of pasta - Spicy Sausage Pasta (which I forgot to take a snapshot) and an herb-laden Carbonara which could also become "Herb-onara" for I still burp the herbs!

Of course beer should be on your menu as they offers lots German beers. Try Weizen bier where the usual malted barley is replaced with wheat thus giving a unique brew.

Or Pilsner bier - one of the most popular lager beers in Germany. Can’t get enough of beer? Then try the mass beers that come in 1 liter volume glasses and celebrate Oktoberfest all year round. Read more

But if you're afraid to have a "beer-belly" or simply just can't take the smell and taste of beer, fret not, for they have (a local version of) Spezi. It's a classic soft drink made in Germany by mixing cola with orange soda (Wikipedia).

And here's one last look of the German and German-inspired orders we had (still burping over that Carbonara) that makes me wanna visit Bavaria again top have a taste of Germany ... here in Iloilo.

Bavaria German Restaurant

113 Seminario Street, Jaro, Iloilo City.

Tel. No +6333 3290078.

Facebook Page: Bavaria German Restaurant Iloilo

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 cooking weed called Lupo

Lupo is a weed that is commonly found in ricefields and roadside in provinces. It is most prevalent in Ilonggo cooking compared to others as it is mostly the Ilonggos who can recognize lupo , though maybe called differently in other places. Most commonly used in laswa or monggo dishes to add greens like kamote tops, it also makes a good partner in sinabawan na isda recipes. It has hints of bitterness but don't expect it to be ampalaya-bitter like. It is mostly sold in wet local wet markets by the tumpok .

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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