"Iloilo meets Japan" at Oishi Batchoi

There's chicharon, liver, egg and noodles. And then there's narutomaki (fish cake), chasyu (classic Japanese roast pork) and a tonkotsu(pork bone)-miso(soy bean paste) flavoured broth. Now you know that there's something different about this bowl of noodle soup as gives the well-loved Lapaz Batchoy a Japanese twist!

"Welcome to OISHI BATCHOI" greets Chef Benjie Garcia during the restaurant's opening at SM City Iloilo. Chef Benjie-San as he is fondly called used to work in Japan for more than 20 years as an executive chef.

His love and passion for food made him dream to someday create his own line of food offerings where he can make use of his skills in preparing exquisite foods he learned in Japan at the same time looking back to the dishes of the Philippines.

With this knowledge and passion, he began experimenting in the fusion of ramen and batchoy recipes - one ingredient at a time. When he finally perfected the combination of miso, chicharon, pork liver, fresh egg. roasted garlic, chasyu, naruto and freshly-made ramen - a new kind of batchoy was created! And Chef Benjie can't helt but exclaim "Oishi!" And having said that, he came with the idea of of naming his restaurant venture - OISHI BATCHOY!

"I just removed the "Y" and placed an "I" in batchoy to give distinction to my brainchild" he explains to those confused with the spelling. And now, with the opening of the 2nd branch (1st one is in Sta. Rosa, Laguna) in the birthplace of batchoy, he wished that Ilonggo's would warmly welcome this twist with open arms.

For starters, we had these tasting portions of Oishi Batchoi's specialties so we can have a bite or two of its best-sellers yet still having more stomach room for Chef Benjie-San's gastronomic creations that were eager to come out from the kitchen.

And one by one, they came and first on the tasting menu is the specialty of the house (and the one that gave the restos name) - Oishi Miso Batchoi. This new genre of batchoy has a tonkotsu pork broth prepared the traditional method with rich miso soup topped with pork liver, classic Japanese roast pork called chasyu, pork cracklings locally called chicharon, egg, and narutomaki with freshly made ramen noodles.

It's definitely batchoy with a twist as the taste and texture changes from batchoy to ramen depending on which ingredient/s you are munching. If it's chicharon and liver, it's batchoy for you; but if its the narutomaki and chasyu, then it's Japanese ramen taking charge. My advice is that don;t look for a particular taste, just savor it as a dish you barely knew and tasted so you will appreciate it more.

Next to tickle our palate was the Moringa Batchoi with an obvious greenish soup. With a malunggay (moringa) infused broth soup topped with tender slices of chasyu, pork cracklings, fresh soft boiled egg and naruto with fresh ramen and a generous hint of black garlic-mayo! Now, the words "batchoy, healthy and nutritious" can go side by side in a sentence!

Our finale was another healthy option and comes in the form of Seafoods Miso Batchoi. Its another miso-based soup with seafoods (shrimps, naritomaki,etc.), vegetables (mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, broccoli. peppers, etc), fresh egg, garlic and freshly made ramen. A healthier choice indeed and no need to feel guilty...

But there's more to Oishi Batchoi than the delectable ramens above. So more of their Japanese specialties came out of the kitchen. The Kaizen Salad is a healthy mix of fresh lettuce, carrots and cucumber with fresh tuna, kani (crabsticks), tako (octopus), ebi (shrimp) and ebiko (those orange prawn? eggs/roe ) - all drizzled with special Japanese dressing.

Carnivores need not fret as there are a lot meat on the menu. One of which is Katsudon; from tonkatsu ( pork cutlet) and donburi (for rice bowl). It is a popular Japanese fastfood menu consisting of a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, vegetables, and condiments. There's Gyoza - dumplings filled with ground pork and vegetables wrapped in thin dough.

And of course, you don't go in a Japanese restaurant without having sushi. Here's an order of aptly named makisushi - Rainbow Maki Roll.

Chef Benjie's mission is to showcase his culinary skills not only on Japanese cuisine but also to his ingenious original creations of delectable dishes. Sharing his passion for cooking is not only to bring gastronomic satisfaction but also to bring a smile to every customer who comes and enjoy his food.

And at Oishi Batchoi, there's plenty of Chef Benjie-San's to choose from, from what were featured above and based on the menu, you'd surely have your fill anytime, any day at Oishi Batchoi. From meats to seafood, ramen to salad; there's one that would surely fit your taste and make you shout "OISHI! NAMIT GID!"

Oishi Batchoi is located as the Lower Ground Floor of SM City Iloilo North Wing. Check out their Facebook Page >>> Oishi Batchoi

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 (

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the usu

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.

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

An Ilonggo favorite: Pancit Molo

Named after one of Iloilo City’s districts, Pancit Molo is one of the more identifiable pancit dishes in the country. It stands out uniquely among the noodle dishes mainly because of its non-traditional pancit look. It is a derivative of the Chinese wonton (filled dumplings) made into a soup. One of the first questions always asked is "Where's the Pancit?". With pancit as a sort of "prefix" to the name of the dish, first timers always for the noodle-like component of the dish. It's then explained that the pancit is actually the molo ball wrappers which is basically of the same mix as any pancit/noodles. Pancit Molo is more of a household specialty and the recipe varies from household to household. From the meat filling mix to the soup, there could be a hundred and one ways of making pancit molo. Pancit Molo Filling I suggest to make this days before the actual cooking of pancit molo so that the flavours will be full.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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