FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Do you like squid rings? Here's one that will surely get you craving for more. It's crunchy, addicting, delicious and, to borrow the famous line, once you pop, you can't stop... Got these yummy squid rings under the Arabella's Sweet Finds brand at the Festive Walk Mall bazaar at the Tinda Titas stall. It comes from the seafood capital of Iloilo - Estancia, so I am assured of its quality. And once I opened the pack for some picture-taking, I just can't help but pop piece by piece into my mouth that once the photo session was done, I almost finished the whole pack. That's how I loved these squid rings! But the Salted Egg with Habanero Spice variant was the bomb! It was more addicting and flavourful - since I love anything salted egg (pardon me high blood pressure - lol).  It still has the crunch of the original but with the savory taste of the salted egg and the mild kick of habanero pepper. But its not that hot and spicy for all you chickens out...

Early morning mass-goers are in for a special gastronomic delight as The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo brings back MISA DE GALLO Breakfast Buffet. In time for the Filipino Mass Tradition, it will start tomorrow Dec. 16 until the 24th from 530am onwards. Ilonggos will surely delight in the best breakfast buffet in town featuring a wide array of dishes and within this Christmas season, it will feature an assortment of native delicacies that will make breakfast have a taste of home.   Today, we had a preview of this breakfast buffet and we surely found ourselves flooded with the goodness of native delicacies on top of their usual and already very satisfying line up of breakfast specialties.  For only PhP450/net/pax, here are just of the native food finds on top of the soups, bread, appetizers, salads and main course at Days Hotel Iloilo's Misa de Gallo Breakfast Buffet.  Cassava Cake Puto Manapla Kutsinta Suman with Muscovado sugar Pali...

Mango Float is among the most popular home-made desserts that is said to have Filipinized (and economized) the icebox or refrigerator cake .  And most recently, the mango float has been revived into a more convenient dessert on-the-go with the overly popular craze  " mango float ice cream " started by Maxi Mango in Davao/Manila and locally in Iloilo by Mango Magic at The Atrium.  Not to be outdone Tinapayan Bakeshop (with its main branch just right across Mango Magic) took on the mango float craze revival with its very own reinvention of the popular dessert. It may look like the usual mango float upon first glance - with mangoes, Graham and cream getting your attention. But a slice reveals its actually a mango float mousse topped with all the works. The mousse is mango flavored with fresh mangoes and Graham to give an authentic mango float taste and look. It sits on a Graham base, topped with whipped cream with Graham and fresh mango bits and finally d...

Tabagak is a Filipino breakfast staple and are salted and sun-dried fishes (local herring). Called tuyo in Tagalog, it is usually partnered with fresh tomatoes and eggs to make perfect breakfast combo. Commonly fried, the smell usually fills the kitchen, the adjacent rooms and even nearby households giving everyone an idea that someone will be having an awesome breakfast meal. But there are many other ways of cooking tabagak , if you want less grease, you can sugba or grill it over charcoal but you must pay close attention as it burns easily. If you're "game" to suffer the consequences, you can place in the microwave for around a minute or so. Fried tabagak is partnered with vinegar as dip. Adapting an Ilonggo specialty called binodo , which is overly salted semi dried fish fish, one can make tabagak  ala binodo. After frying the dried fish, remove the scaly portion in the oil and saute chopped garlic and onions. When done, place the fr...

Every region in the Philippines has it's own version of a spiced vinegar and a name for it. In most parts of Western Visayas especially in Iloilo, it is known as sinamak. One can find it almost anywhere for it is a staple dip in almost every household and native restaurants. Be it chicken inasal or grilled pork chop to seafoods especially talaba, sinamak is the perfect dip to further one's appetite. The recipe varies from each household and the percentage of the "ingredients" too but always present are siling labuyo (green and red for color variation and makes it more visually appetizing), ginger (locals used langkawas or galangal but regular ginger will do) and garlic. Usually the vinegar used comes from coconuts but other varieties do as well. Mix everything in a bottle nd on the process make it visually appealing too playing with the colors of the chilies. Just make one that suits your own taste and let it stay for around 2-3 weeks before using it to se...

I just love traveling to Guimaras where a mere 15 minutes brings you a world almost a thousand miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city. And another 25 minutes from the Jordan wharf is the Camiña Balay nga Kawayan in Guimaras and Springbloom Farms where this picture perfect "picnic" took place a week after we had a sumptuous lunch during my first visit to this rest house of the Camiñas in Sibunag.  The vast farm has mostly pineapples and papayas all around the bamboo and wood house with a stunning view of Lawi Bay and on clear days, both Iloilo and Negros (on opposite diections). Our welcome food were the signature  Camiña Tsokolate and its quintessential partner ibos(suman).  And to make it more Guimaras, mangoes were served. They don't only look good but tastes the sweetest event if it wasn't really the season for mangoes, typically summertime peaking in April when the province celebrates Manggahan Festival. I just wish I could eat the mangoes ...

Fresh Mangoes ✔ Graham crackers ✔ Cream ✔ But it's not your typical Mango Float!  It's Mango Magic ! It's the latest craze in Iloilo reflecting the one that started in Manila that quickly spread across the country.   It's the popular dessert given on a whole new level!  And judging from the long queue at The Atrium mall eversince it opened last Nov. 6 and until it reopened today Nov. 14 (after a few days of hiatus), there's no stopping the magic!   The hiatus was brought about by the fact that they run out of ingredient for the soft-serve mango ice cream as they weren't not expecting number of Ilonggos who lined up to an hour just to have taste of this trendy dessert. Yes, it's mango float (fresh mangoes, graham crackers and cream) but its the soft serve ice cream that makes this popular dessert more trendy.   It comes in two sizes, Regular (PhP 49, 12oz) and Large (PhP 65, 16 oz).  How I wish they can have a...

The Zombies are coming! Run for your lives! But if they come wrapped in bacon, I think I'd rather stay and enjoy meeting one of them... Like this one whose head made it to the Haunted Halloween Feast at The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo .  This is actually  Meatloaf covered in Bacon which had me go back three times to enjoy its cholesterol glory. Continuing our gastronomic gore, here's a severed hand which is also meatloaf and bacon.  This annual buffet showcases specially prepared dishes and desserts that come with the season's spooky theme. But if you're on a diet, just have some Witch's Fingers, it's smaller than a hand so that you can still enjoy but in moderation. How about some eyeballs? These even look at you as you put them in your mouth! And speaking of mouth, how about trying out Dracula's dentures?  They come in different sizes but have the same bloody taste and haunting aroma.   These cookie and marsh...