Friday Asian Buffet at Hotel del Rio

Capping the Love Month of February, dinner brought me to Cafe del Prado at Hotel del Rio for its Friday Asian Buffet.

Among the pioneers in the Iloilo hotel industry, Del Rio, as it is fondly called, is celebrating its 55th year anniversary this 2020.

Cafe del Prado serves as Del Rio's main food and beverage outlet serving a la carte orders, sweets and desserts to go plus breakfast and dinner buffets.

And here's a look at its current Friday Asian Dinner Buffet with all its sumptuous line up.

For starters, there was the Sopa de Mariscos which is a melange of seafood to whet that appetite! Pair it with some bread too!

And if that aint enough, you can binge on steamed oysters to fulfill your seafood cravings! How many can you finish?

Have some Okoy too for that resounding vegetable crunch to get you going. Don't forget the dip for a deeper taste appreciation.

Create a Pinoy salad appetizer with the ingredients and taste combination you want. I just got a little of everything and drizzled it with vinegar for that Pinoy ensalada combo.

But if you prefer ready made appetizer salads, you can choose from the Ensaladang Langka and Gulaman-Green Mango Ensalada

Both salads will certainly whet your appetite for more!

Enjoy the grill station with its assorted barbecue offerings - from pork and chicken grilled before your eyes. Enjoy as many sticks to your hearts content.

Can you be tempted with that cholesteroliffic lechon belly? A few slices will certainly satisfy that lechon cravings you had for a long time.

But I certainly binged on this lechon sisig which you can request to be made from the lechon belly and the mix of ingredients you want.

Over at the main course area, how about some melts in your mouth Beef Kaldereta in its savory thick sauce?

Have it with a piece fried chicken or two. Don't forget the creamy appetizing dip it comes with.

Here's some grilled non-dory fish which is becoming the "trend" nowadays as food places distance away from farmed fish varieties.

Balance all these meat with some vegetables galore!

Make room for desserts, will you? This wide array of sweets and goodies perfectly caps the night!

Try some Cañonigo or Floating Island. This meringue-based dessert floating on caramel sauce may be a cousin of the more familiar brazo de mercedes.

Iloilo's most popular pasalubobg item, butterscotch, given the del Rio touch.

A specialty of Hotel del Rio eversince - Cream Puff!

Satisfy tour chocolate cravings with some chocolate cake bites and chocolate eclairs.

One of the most eye-catching dessert offerings that night - Red Velvet Cake!

A staple in almost all hotel buffets anywhere - make your own and eat all you can Halo Halo.

Or you may satisfy your sweet cravings naturally with all the fresh fruits to your hearts content.

Finally down everything smoothly with some fruit juices - calamansi and orange that time. Citrussy delicious!

Start the weekend on a delicious note with the Friday Asian Dinner Buffet at Cafe del Prado at Hotel del Rio.

📍PHP 695/pax 🕕 6 -10pm ☎️ 335-1171

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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