FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

With a relaxing view of the hustle and bustle of Downtown Iloilo, The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo is a perfect place to unwind and beat the scorching summer heat. And just in time to beat the heat wave this El Niño season, the restaurant has concocted four equally delicious and thirst quenching drinks for the summer. Whether you opt for soda-based or ice cream-based drinks, you'll surely be asking for more! With clear soda as drink base, enjoy the subtle sweet taste of mangoes with hints of cherry flavor that makes a bubby sensation in every sip of MANGO TANGO. Don't forget to stir! How about some PEACHY PEACH? This concoction is a peach lover's dream come true - peach juice mixed wih soda plus bits of peaches is one fruitty summer cooler that is hard to beat! Now, here's something you'd really want to try - MANGO DELIGHT! The fact that it's delectable mangoes with milk and made more indulgent with the addition of vanilla ice cream...

Not to be confused with the coconut that is often topping native delicacies like suman (biko) and ibos, among others, latik in this sense is a way of cooking kalabasa (squash). Also known as linutik , basically, it is mashed kalabasa cooked in coconut milk and the recipe varies in different households. There are those who make latik as a soupy dish thus it can be likened to almost squash or pumpkin soup.  Most of the time, it has hantak (string beans), balunggay (malunggay or moringa) leaves and subak (pieces of meat) like shrimps or crabs - being a complete viand. But this particular one, the latik is drier and is more like a paste. It still has bits of kalabasa  and malunggay but the subak is flaked dried fish or pinakas . The meaty part of the pinakas is sliced into cubes and also becomes part of the seasoning as it provides the salty taste to the mix.  It's a fusion of flavours and texture - creaminess and saltiness p...

Too cute to eat!  I can't count how many times I've heard this  referring to Krispy Kreme's Easter 2019 Doughnut collection. With five variants celebrating Easter, this got to be one of the most colorful and again, cutest doughnut creations KK has come up with since its opening. Two of these variants - Sky Butterfly and Easter Bunny came out last April 1 to usher in the KK Easter gang. Pretzels and gummy worm makes up the blue-glazed  Sky Butterfly  doughnut while marshmallows and crushed candy creates the white chocolate-glazed  Easter Bunny doughnut. Come April 8, the collection continued with 3 more variants - as cute and IG worthy as the first two. Bunny's Meadow has hard candy carrots and flowers, green icing and a yellow green glaze recreating a rabbit's paradise. How about some jelly beans on a chocolate nest on yellow glaze for the Eatser Eggs doughnuts? Finally, every little girl's dream doughnut - pink glaze, c...

I can still vividly remember my first orders at San Jose Cafe when it opened years ago - Watermelon Slush and Chocolate Cake. It was just an on the spot order for the sake just ordering something and I expected nothing special about them. But I was wrong ... SM City Iloilo invited members of the Iloilo Bloggers for a gastronomic adventure showcasing SM Southpoint.  The newest hang-out of the Ilonggos is an al fresco wing of the biggest mall in the region consisting of local and home grown restaurants and cafes as well new local and "imported" players in the food service industry. It's time to discover what SM Southpoint has to offer ... Photo credit: The Appletizer