Bigby's Comes Home to Festive Walk Iloilo

This is the TITANIC! It consists of 30 scoops of ice cream - ube, mango, chococlate, vanilla and strawberry on a bed of fruits topped with brownies, chocolate chips and cookies then smothered toffee sauce. This urban legend of a dessert can be experienced at BIGBY'S CAFE & RESTAURANT.

This is BIGBY'S CAFE & RESTAURANT. Located at the 2nd Level of Festive Walk Iloilo, its creators came up with an idea of creating an atmosphere fit for an adventure into the different cuisines of the world.

The menu, the interior design and service style were created to position the concept midway between fine dining and fast-casual dining. Based in CDO (Cagayan de Oro), the restaurant stared back in 1998 and its concept has evolved into a fun dining atmosphere through its unique “worldly” decors that hang on every wall.

These are complemented by the wide array of wittingly-named dishes of generous proportions. And let's start of gastronomic trip with a local specialty called SINUGLAW.

This is SINUGLAW. Bigby's award winning SINUGbang baboy and kiniLAW na isda is a perfect appetizer to whet you appetite. Local fruits called tabon-tabon and biasong are used as the souring ingredients for the fish kinilaws. But if you prefer more familiar fruits on your plate, why not order the TIKI WACKY SALAD.

This is the TIKI WACKY SALAD. It has grapes, ripe mangoes, tomatoes with walnuts, cheese, croutons and creamy chicken salad on a bed of Romaine lettuce. A perfect mix of go, grow and glow foods in one dish. But if prefer to start off with pasta and seafood, try the DEEP SEA PASTA.

This is DEEP SEA PASTA. This sizzling pasta is made with a rich and creamy crab fat sauce locally known as aligue over spaghetti. It is topped with garlic shrimps to complement this all seafood creation. But if you're a big shrimp fan, grab the NEW ORLEANS SHRIMP PLATTER!

This is NEW ORLEANS SHRIMP PLATTER. It's a shrimp-o-holic's dream come true - a bowl of Honey Cajun Shrimp, a mound of shrimp-spiced rice topped with more shrimps! And they even provide you with plastic gloves so that you can enjoy shrimps that way it should be - with your hands! But you'll have to use the fork for the TUNA MISO.

This is TUNA MISO. A Japanese inspired Lenten menu that has become a hit that it's now served year-round. It is grilled tuna belly is glazed with miso – a traditional Japanese seasoning. Sides of Chahan fried rice topped with bonito flakes and sauteed garlic spinach completes the dish. But if you're already tired of seafood, how about some GRILLED RODEO CHOPS?

These are GRILLED RODEO CHOPS. Thick pork slices - check. Grill marks - check. Juicy and moist - check. Now what more can you ask for? These specially marinated pork chops are grilled nice and easy, served with rice and your choice of cranberry (?) sauce or pan gravy. Craving for beef? Check out KIMMY'S CHUNKY STEW.

This is KIMMY'S CHUNKY STEW. This Asian rice bowl instantly became my favorite, why? This Korean-style beef dish consists of slow-stewed melts-in-your-mouth beef chunks that's flavourful in every forkful. No need for it to be very saucy as the taste seeps in the fat and meat for a flavorful bite every time. But if you live by the sauce, the shout "CHIX AHOY!"

This is CHIX AHOY. It's a simple fried boneless chicken steak served with rice and veggies smothered with garlic gravy. It's really the gravy that would grab your attention the moment it arrives on the table - in all it's sizzling glory. But if size matters, the go for RACK-A-BYE-BABY!

This is the RACK-A-BYE-BABY. Bigby's specialty of the house is this rack of finger-licking premium cut smoky barbecued pork ribs. What can you do with this lip-smacking, almost fall -off-the-bone rack of tender ribs but just stay quiet and undisturbed to fully enjoy each bite! Just like what I did with the MIDNIGHT DREAM CAKE.

This is the MIDNIGHT DREAM CAKE. Its a soft and moist dark chocolate cake topped with more chocolate served with mocha and toffee sauce for an indulgent dessert to cap off a night. But if you prefer another kind of cake indulgence, go for the COOKIES N CARAMEL CHEESECAKE!

This is COOKIES N CARAMEL CHEESECAKE. Who doesn't love cheesecake? This rich and creamy baked cheesecake is generously topped caramel and crushed cookies for an explosion of flavors and texture in every bite. But if you want to end with a big, big bang, there's nothing more that creates the biggest buzz than the TITANIC!

And we've come full circle - wanna start all over again?

Bigby’s Iloilo is located at the 2/F of the Festive Walk Mall, Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

For more information, visit www.bigbyscafe.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - @Bigbys

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

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?"

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.

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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