The Flavors of Modern Iloilo at PUNOT

On the banks of the Iloilo River, along the side of the Esplanade stands PUNOT - a restaurant named after the fishpens that used to dot the river.

The restaurant is s venture of siblings Andrea and Tope Arañador paying tribute to their parents Lea and Rogelio who built the family's two restaurants in Estancia - Friends (1987) and Punot (2000).

Andrea, who is now based in Germany, was in town a few days ago and invited the Iloilo Bloggers to check out the latest creations of Punot concocted by her brother who is Center for Culinary Arts graduate.

Iloilo Bloggers Inc. with Ms. Andrea (righmost) enjoying the flavors of modern Iloilo at Punot.

It was also an opportunity to bring back the food memories of their best-sellers, which for years have stood the test of time despite the heated gastronomic competition in Iloilo City.

Here are some of " The Best of Punot"

1/16 TRES MANGGAS SALAD

Will you say no to the burst of flavor of green and ripe mangoes with guinamos vingairette with mixed greens, hard boiled egg and liempo chips? I tried to resist the gastronomic temptation but failed...

2/16 POMELO-BALINGON SALAD

The taste explosion of sweet pomelo and salty dried seafood (balingong) is a perfect combo to whet one's appetite.

3/16 SAY CHEEZ IT

Yummy Mozzarella sticks and cheese pimiento dynamite with special tomato dip

4/16 CRISPY SRIRACHA ADOBO WINGS

These chicken adobo wings are bathed in sriracha sauce and comes with a tartar sauce. Spicy and savory in every bite!

5/16 BUTTERED ALIGUE SCALLOPS

Estancia scallops baked with Punot's special aligue sauce.

6/16 KADYOS BABOY LANGKA (KBL)

A taste home, this Ilonggo specialty is made with grilled and boiled pork hocks, unripe jackfruit and kadyos beans in a broth soured by batwan. The grilling of the pata gives the broth a rather smoky taste giving this sort of sinigang variant a whole new taste dimension.

7/16 LINATIK with LECHON KAWALI

This dish made with mashed kalabasa and coconut milk is leveled up with the addition of the criapy fried pork bellt and toasted "baby shrimps" called kalkag.

8/16 SIZZLING BULALO

This is bulalo made 5x more sinful - sizzling in gravy but still melts in your mouth soft!

9/16 CRISPY KARE-KARE

Another Filipino fusion dish combining the savory goodness of kare-kare with the crunchilicious crispy pata.

10/16 GUINAMOS RICE

You will really "rice" up to this gastronomic occasion with Punot's take on bago-ong rice with lechon kawali bites.

11/16 KALKAG FRIED RICE

Toasted baby shrimps and egg makes this fried rice feel like an all day Ilonggo breakfast!

12/16 TURON STICKS

Or Turonettes, these are banana and riped jackfruit wrapped on lumpia wrapper the fried then served dunked in Punot yema sauce.

13/16 BAYE-BAYE CROQUETAS a la Mode

An Ilonggo delicacy given the Spanish twist. Bayi Bayi is rolled in breadcrumbs then deep fried to give it a crisp skin then served with ice cream.

14/16 ICE SCRAMBLE

Summer' calling! This cool dessert brings back childhood memories!

15/16 BUKO HALO HALO

The ultimate Filipino dessert served in coconut shell with fresh buko meat to be scraped off after finishing the "mix-mix" dessert.

16/16 KADYOS SHAKE

But what got my attention is something I never thought it would become one, other than its original usage in cooking. Drum rolls, please for Kadyos Shake!

So how was it? First sip had the kadyos "beany" taste in mind like monggo (think of hopia) but it was just subtle (good thing) as it was fused wih the taste of tsokolate tablea and milk.

Then it dawned to me that dried kadyos beans are used by as "extenders" for tablea chocolate. So I guess that's how this drink came to be.

And I want more of it next time I visit - to discover more of what it has to offer at the same time indulge on the familiar flavors of Iloilo.

Only at Punot.

PUNOT Restaurant

Iloilo Riverside Boardwalk Complex

Dr. Rizalina Bernardo Pison Ave. cor Paciencia T. Pison Ave.

Brgy. San Rafael, Mandurriao, Iloilo City

5000 Iloilo City, Philippines

Tel. No 033 320-9893 / 0907 151 6296 Email punotrestaurant@yahoo.com.ph

Facebook PUNOT RESTAURANT

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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