FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Among the many reinventions of the fruit salad, one of the most interesting I find is the addition of sago as base or "extender". Though the latter may sound "negative", but once you've seen and tasted this new take on a fruit salad, you'll be asking for more! Just at it looks, the recipe is very simple. It calls for cooked sago, canned fruit cocktail and some fresh fruits. This one has bananas and avocados giving a contrast in taste and texture plus to the eyes. Just a can of evaporated milk and sweetened by condensed milk used to blend them in all in a concoction bursting with color and flavour. Only the imagination limits the possibilities of how creative one can get in making a sago fruit salad to suit his own taste and senses. Make one now!

I’ve been to Netong’s Original Special Batchoy inside the Lapaz Public Market many times but I’ve never chanced upon their pata. Finally, one rainy Sunday afternoon, the “elusive” pata has been conquered! It was unplanned – I was eyeing the Pancit Noname at Lapaz Bakeshop but it was already taken off menu when I inquired so I was off to Netong’s. There, a gigantic “kalaha” (frying pan) filled with the cholesteriffically appetizing pata welcomed my visit. Before I was informed that it’s only during Sundays that Netong’s serves their own pata recipe, on other days it’s another. Also it’s linaga during the morning and this Mon-Sat pata is served around 3pm onward. So I was just in time for Netong’s very own recipe. There are two pata orders – for Php20 you get that piece of skin only and for Php40 you get the one with bones. After much debating in my thoughts, I got two orders of that skin-only pata, I was after quantity that time. Service was prompt and just a few minutes ...

While the most familiar Pochero recipes are the ones stewed with tomatoes (or tomato sauce) or the Cebu variant which is like bulalo or nilaga, the pochero i grew up with is just very simple. It's just pork cooked with saba (cooking banana) and kamote tops. I just love the mild sweetness of the broth brought about by the bananas and the kamote tops.  Most often I end up taking all the greens on my plate. The pork goes well with a toyo-mansi (soy sauce and calamansi) dip that also makes a good "dressing "for the kamote tops. There are times the recipe changes to cabbage or pechay, carrots, potatoes or sayote and yes, there's still saba. But in the end, it still has the same familiar taste of the pochero I grew up with. The recipe is just very simple - just boil the pork first until tender. Add the "hard" veggies like potatoes, saba, etc then finally when the leafy veggies when its almost done. Just season it with salt or broth cubes for a savory brot...

When it comes to gastronomic adventures, Iloilo City even with is small area comes out big. From the heritage dishes, native cuisine and fresh seafood it offers to its current, trendy and cosmopolitan dining lifestyle that sprouted in the last few years. It's "survival of fittest" or should we say the tastiest and most delicious that is also just right within the budget is the name of the game nowadays. The influx of big players/imported in the restaurant scene as well  local entrepreneurs trying their hand on the food business gives the Ilonggos more than enough food places to choose from. And more often than not, Ilonggos tend to go back to old favorites and restaurants that give them their money's worth. On the banks of the Iloilo River, overlooking the Esplanade stands Punot Restaurant - named after the fishpens that used to dot the river and from its origins in the town of Estancia in Northern Iloilo. The restaurant is the first venture of siblings Andrea...

A perfect and easy-to-cook snack yet a plateful  of this often find itself served during breakfast at home. Maybe to complement the the salty tabagak ( tuyo ) and other breakfast staples, its just a a delicious treat to start the stay. There's nothing fancy about this - just saging na saba, thinly sliced then fried. I like when the banana is ripe or even over ripe as it gives a natural sweetness when its fried. If not, a dip in sugar would do the trick! 

Crispy Shrimps are among the best pasalubong buys when you find yourself in Aklan. In a recent trip to Kalibo for Globe Platinum's Noah's Ark Classroom Project Groundbreaking , we found ourselves really enjoying this ultimate Akeanon treat. This snack treat is as heavenly as the white sands of Boracay at the same time native as the Ati-Atihan Fesitval. Its made with whole unshelled shrimps - thoroughly cleaned and then mixed in the flour, salt, pepper and other seasoning mixture. It is then finally deep fried to give it a a perfect crunch in every bite. ( I assume though that they are sun-dried first before being fried )  Even though it has been packed, maybe even for days, it still has the crisp and crunch in every bite. Ofcourse, once you open a pack, you will surely be addicted on the first bite and really wanting for more! Popular brands selling this Aklan pasalubong specialty are Jocyl's, Nelfa & John, and Rosa's where I got these pack for PhP50/each...

Tam-is literally means sweet in the melodic Hiligaynon language. It is also what Ilonggos call a variant of a tuber-crop related to the ube, potato, taro and yam, among others, with a collectibe? scientific name of Dioscorea esculenta, syn.: D. fasciculata. Tubers are the enlarged storage tips of a rhizome. The “eyes” are actually buds in nodes, arranged in spiral pattern from the base to the apex of the tuber. Aerial tubers, which are common in yams, are called tubercle. ( Source ) So when most people have their first bite of the tam-is , they find it weird and ask why isn't it sweet. Now I don't have the "etymology" (how the hell it got its name) for tam-is , but it brings back the childhood memories for most especially those with access to rural goods. Tam-is is starchy but its "smoother" compared to kamote and cassava. One can find them during market days especially in inland towns where farming is abundant and crops come in different kinds. No...

Camiña Balay nga Kawayan in Guimaras was among the featured food stops during the Blog The City of Love campaign of Injap Tower Hotel . To promote Iloilo was the main focus of the 3-day and 2-night event with bloggers and writers from around the Philippines experiencing the heritage, cultural, historical and gastronomic offerings of the City of Love and Guimaras. An enjoyable island adventure started our day trip in Guimaras. An eco-tour around a mangrove forest in Brgy. San Roque commenced our trip. It is the village's community-based local tourism program that draws tourists to this part of this island. Island hopping to the many islets around the area proved to be one filled with rock formations and lots of beaches. But the place where we all frolicked was not a beach but a naked island "drowned" in 2-3 feet of water. ( More on Suba Malawig Eco-Tour   ) Lunch was next on the agenda and its was a Farm-to-Plate culinary experience at this family rest ho...