Delicious dim sum and more at How Fun

When one cannot get enough, another serving or two is just the delicious thing to do. Exactly a month ago, we found ourselves in a deluge of mouth-watering specialty dishes prepared by SM City Iloilo Food Hall for a food tasting session. Among them was How Fun and based on it's logo, you'd know that it specializes in Chinese cuisine that would tickle the Ilonggo palate.

My taste buds recalled the familiar taste of the Chinese-style Beef Steak served to us then and now (actually around 2 days ago). Its so tender that it almost melts in your mouth with all the delicious flavour. And just how I like any beefsteak, it was served with generous amounts of onions, what more can I ask for? Maybe extra rice or more onions!

I was told that most, if not all, of the specialties served here came from the menu of Blue Chili restaurant - a sister restaurant of Bluejay Coffee & Co. While the former is already closed (they were located at Urban Inn in Lapaz before), the latter just opened a new branch at SM City Iloilo's expansion wing.

And here are two of How Fun's best-sellers on its noodle menu - Pork Asado and Wonton. The Pork Asado gives off an appetizing aroma that entices the senses making each sip (and smell) delicious. This Cantonese-style barbecued pork (char siu or asado), which you can also order as a rice topping, is a common noodle variant in most Chinese dining places. But, a more familiar variant however is the Wonton Noodles with meat dumplings swimming in the noodles soup. For most Ilonggo's this could be a fusion of the popular Lapaz Batchoy and Pancit Molo- both of which have Chinese origins. How Fun's dumplings were savory that I wanted more.

Amidst all these, the thin noodles, no matter which bowl it came from, were my ultimate favorite. I wouldn't mind having just the noodles and the broth in my bowl. I just love the basic taste of the noodles and its texture - hoping that How Fun will have an extra noodles only option on the menu.

Completing lunch were these Hong Kong sio mai with pork and shrimp filling. To see if they really taste good on their own, I ate one without dipping in the sauce it came with. And I just love the natural taste - actually very savory and has the distinct flavors of the pork and shrimp yet somewhat also fused into a single delicious ball. I want more!

Here's more from the menu of How Fun - not too many that will make you lose yourself in gastronomic translation, yet not to little that will make you lose your appetite. Just manageable enough for you to try out your curiosity at the same time order what you love for the first time!

And that's what exactly I did when I ordered desserts - but I'll devote a separate blogpost about the iced desserts which have me craving until now...

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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