Trendy and Classic favorites for Noche Buena 2019

Another Noche Buena is just around the corner as we prepare to usher in Christmas 2019 with this traditional midnight feast.

So, what's on the table for our Noche Buena 2019? It's trendy as well as the classic plus personal favorites!

No Noche Buena would be complete without the traditional Christmas Ham and Queso de Bola.

We got Purefoods Fiesta ham for the one we had from Iloilo Supermart was already "gone" days before.

We prefer Magnolia Edam cheese which is more palatable than the traditional queso de bola which is saltier and harder for our palates.

These two plus some loaf bread makes up the sandwich trio that makes our Noche Buena complete.

A personal favorite of mine is Tinapayan's Stollen Bread which is a German classic Christmas bread.

The best way to describe it is it is the bread version of a fruit cake for it has dried fruits filling and it is topped with confectioners sugar.

A mix between a native delicacy and a modern bread is this chiffon style bibingka which if I'm not mistaken is from Cesyl's in Pavia.

It's a far cry from the native bibingka we know but still a delicious addition to any occasion.

On the trendy side is the jiggly, fluffy and mouth-watering sponge cake from Jim's Recipe which just opened a few days ago at SM City Iloilo. Read more about JIM'S RECIPE.

More carbs for Noche Buena as we had a Tuna, Spinach and Mushroom Penne Pasta with lots of melted cheese (yummy!). It was a ready-made bottled sauce we got from The Marketplace at Festive Walk days ago.

Using the other half of the Penne pasta, we made some Chicken Salad - pineapples, chicken, relish, carrots, cheese and lots of chicken strips.

I really can't remember the last time we served Valenciana, a classic Ilonggo favorite, during Noche Buena. It is usually during fiestas and other occasion plus whe times we just feel like it... but never during this midnight feast.

My mother's ultimate favorite and usual request - Tinapayan Crema de Fruta. And she finished half of it in the long run, as usual.

How about some Buko Salad with mixed fruits (cocktail) and sweet corn? I like this frozen so it cam be eaten as a very chunky ice cream!

Some chocolates on the side - Caramel-filled Cadbury and whiskey filled bonbons which I bought in HongKong last time.

Screamong for attention is this populat Ibos and ripe Mangoes combo for some native flair.

More fruits - apples and pears we bought from out last minute shopping at S&R for the hopes of scoring some Buy 1 Take 1 stuff but to no avail.

A pair of Welch's Sparkling juices - white and red grapes complete our simple but trendy and classic Noche Buena!

Have a meaningful and delectable CHRISTMAS!

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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