Food Trip in Boracay : Brick & Basil at Ferra Hotel and Garden Suites

BORACAY. White sand beaches, crystal clear waters, fun-filled activities under the sun, superb nightlife and of course-lots and lots of food!

And we had to look no further than Brick & Basil, the in-house restaurant of our host hotel for the weekend getaway.

Ferra Hotel and Garden Suites Boracay hosted members of the Iloilo Bloggers Inc. over the Halloween weekend showcasing the hospitality the year-old hotel is known for.

And among the superb experiences we had was just lounging at Brick & Basil savoring all the wood-fired specialties they had for us.

What comes to mind when you hear " brick, basil and wood-fire"? Ofcourse, it's none other than the Italian specialty enjoyed around the world - PIZZA!

With the freshest ingredients, the use brick oven and wood for the fire, how can the pizza go wrong? We just devoured and enjoyed every bite of the Butcher's Choice or Four-Cheese & Garlic pizzas -right off the oven!

When there's PIZZA, there must be PASTA. And we all simply adored the pasta offerings Brick & Basil had set for us.

We cannot get over how fresh the seafood was on the Cajun Shrimp Penne Pasta. Adapting the famous flavor that's popularly identified with Louisiana in the USA, the dish just had the right blend of the spices that create a burst of flavors in evey bite.

How about some Vongole Blanco? The spaghetti with clams and other seafood also tickled our tastebuds with rich Mediterranean taste.

Despite the explosion of flavors in every forkful, the distinct taste of clams, white wine, sun-dried tomatoes and basil - all made the dish truly a best-seller.

But my personal favorite is the Beef Ragout Penne. It's every meat-lovers dream pasta, if I may say so. Ragout is a French-style stew of slow cooked meat or fish with vegetables. And the beef was soooooo tender (really slow-cooked) that it shreds even with softest touch. And again, it's my ultimate favorite given its savory cream sauce, perfectly al denete penne and very delicious beef!

Speaking of beef, Ferra Hotels ( there are two actually - this one with the Garden Suites and the first one Ferra Premiere just a few steps away) pride themselves of having one of the best Beef Kebabs on the island!

And true enough, each piece of beef I had my teeth sunk in was juicy and well-seasoned that was complemented well by the grilled vegetables.

A squeeze of lime creates the perfect taste memory of a perfect kebab! Each order comes with a serving of rice - just forget your diet this time!

Brick & Basil serves as the main food outlet of Ferra Hotel and Garden Suites.

It offers buffet breakfast from 6am to 10am then ala carte orders throughout the day. It is located at the ground level of the hotel just past the lobby.

The lure of the timeless beauty of Boracay remains - the white beaches, the crystal waters, the superb nightlife, the hustle and bustle of tourists from almost every country and ofcourse the gastronomy it offers.

And Brick & Basil is among the new players that would surely satisfy your appetite - whether pizza, pasta or whatever you might be craving for!

BRICK & BASIL

Ferra Hotel and Garden Suites Boracay

Bulabog Road, Boracay, Malay, Aklan

Mobile # 0917-680-9140

FerraHotelAndGardenSuites@gmail.com

www.ferrahotel.com

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

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.

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?"

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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