Jollibee Now Open in Santa Barbara, Iloilo!

After months of anticipation, Jollibee's Langhap Sarap goodness is now within reach for the people of Santa Barbara, Iloilo and its neighboring towns.

October 15, 2020 marks the fastfood giant's opening of its 6th (?) branch in the province of Iloilo, aside from its numerous branches in the city.

Located at Bangga Dama, this Jollibee Store and Drive thru is at a strategic and convenient corner as the intersection is a busy crossing linking the major central towns of Iloilo.

Not to mention its proximity of the Iloilo International Airport, which is around 10 minutes away. Plus some upcoming regional government offices being constructed or already existimg - DOH, DILG, OCD, DPWH and PhilHealth. There are also a numberof subdivisions nearby and a large hospital, Western Visayas Sanitarium - all within 1o minutes.

A blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony was held a few days prior to the public opening and was led by Santa Barbara Mayor Rema Somo and the franchisees - the Tan family ( IBC International Builders Corporation, Hotel del Rio, GT Hotel, GTMalls) who also owns the franchise at GT Town Center in Pavia.

It was just four months ago (around mid June) when the Santa Barbaranhons woke up to a giant announcement that the Bee is coming to town. It created a big buzz around town as finally the rumours were confirmed.

Slowly but surely the edifice soon started to rise and come October, one can now order ther favorite Jolly Combo meals.

And my order? Amazing Aloha Combo! I've been missing and craving for this burher for such a long time that I didn't have second thoughts ordering it.

And of course, everyone's favorite Pinoy-style Spaghetti! I just had to have it for it is not a complete Jollibee visit without one.

Only after that I realized that if I added one item more, I could have had a Free Peach Mango Pie as part of the opening promo ( for every PhP 300 receipt one gets a free PM pie) until Oct. 17, 2020.

Add to this promo, for every purchase of 6 piece chicken bucket with Spaghetti Pan order, the first 100 customers get a FREE 1.5 liter Coke to go!

But nonetheless, promo or not, Jollibee is a magnet to the people around its location or even further.

As the news gets around of its opening, expect a long line at the counter or at the drive-thru, as people want to experience the Jollibee Langhap Sarap goodness, much nearer to home!

Check out this VIDEO of the opening.

And here are some photos an hour after opening. Lucky for me, the line was still tolerable that time for around 9am the line almost extended to the parking lot and the srive thru created some traffic congestion in the area.

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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