Tiger Sugar brings the Brown Sugar Boba craze to Iloilo!

Get ready Brown Sugar Boba fans,

Tiger Sugar is finally here in Iloilo!

When Tiger Sugar opened on Manila in 2018, it had almost a two-hour long waiting line.

And even after months after, the queue was still long and even grew longer as word spread out like wildfire.

I had my first sip of the trendsetting Brown Sugar Boba Milk drink when I was in Hong Kong! Luck was on my side there - the line was tolerable and it was just across the place where I am staying.

Tiger Sugar along Lock Road

in Tsim Sha Tsui district in Hong Kong

And forward a year and a half later, I don't have to travel to Manila or abroad to have another taste of the world famous Brown Sugar Boba Milk!

Tiger Sugar Philippines just opened their 1st Visayas branch at The Grid (across Seda Atria) in Iloilo city bringing the much talked about and revered specialty closer to the Ilonggos.

Tiger Sugar Iloilo interiors and main counter

Why TIGER Sugar?

Tiger Sugar originated from Taichung in Taiwan and is popularly known for their Brown Sugar Boba Milk drink.

When this is made, a super thick syrup made from brown sugar is lined in the inner side of the cup then filled with milk and boba.

The brown sugar lining drips in the inside and with the mix of colors resemble a tiger's stripes from the outside!

And one needs to capture this most distinguishing feature - the Tiger stripes, before it disappears. The best spot for your photo ops is the store's rusted logo, which is displayed prominently at the store

And don't forget the Golden Rule at Tiger Sugar, Shake your Brown Sugar Boba Milk Drink 15x before your puncture it with your straw and take a sip.

Yes, 15X! No scientific explantion for this, they say, but just to fully blend the flavors of brown sugar syrup, boba and milk for that delicious Tiger Sugar experience.

Spill the Tea : Boba vs Pearls

To make things less complicated, Boba is the larger tapioca balls while the smaller ones are the Pearls.

Tiger Sugar's Brown Sugar Boba is not just your usual big "sago". Brown Sugar Syrup is mixed with tapioca in precised proportions and cooked for almost three hours woth hard work and dedication

The very chewy, gummy and soft boba highlights every cup of Tiger Sugar with Bobw - making every drink unique in appearance, taste and aroma.

And contrary to the notion that its milktea, Tiger Sugar's signature drink contains no tea at all, making more kid-friendly and safer for pregnant women too.

It's a delicious concoction of the brown sugar syrup and boba plus FRESH milk. Emphasis on the "fresh" as they replaced the creamer with the natural goodness of fresh milk to provied a rich and savory taste without sacrificing health and wellness.

The thick brown sugar syrup is imported from Taiwan to maintain the perfect proportion and its distinct layers and taste.

On the Menu

Served whether hot or cold, the drinks menu include the many variants of the Brown Sugar Boba and Pearls series plus the Tea Latte and Tea line with Oolong, Black and Green among others.

There's also the Tiger Cheese Mousse series and Specialty Drinks which includes Milo and Cafe Latte variants.

And most recently, Tiger Sugar intoduced two new exciting products incorporating their signature Brown Sugar Boba Milk.

A must-try is the Ice Cream which is the frozen version of its signature drink complete with (frozen) bobas too!

It's really like the Brown Sugar Boba Milk drink but you can actually bite into it. Teeth and brain freeze alert! Sold for PhP 80 each popsicle and also comes in box of 4's.

Another product has a lot of crunch! Or should I say pop!

Try the Black Sugar Popcorn for an easily addicting and continuous popping in your mouth with that familiar delicious taste of its signature sugar syrup

With all these drinks and eats Tiger Sugar has to offer, its no wonder that people would endure two-hour queues.

Is anything worth that? Apparently yes, a lot of people think so because that's how long they're willing to wait for a taste of Tiger Sugar.

Would you, too?

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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