FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Another Pista Minatay  has come and gone; and as always the complete "yellow rice" staple called valenciana will have its gastronomic presence felt. Part of the  malagkit  delicacies served during Undas, together with  ibos/suman, kalamay hati, alupe, linugaw  and a lot more,  valenciana  stands out. Not only of its signature yellowish hue but its the only one that's not of "dessert" category. It's like a complete meal in itself. Basically, completing the "go, grow and glow" requirements, it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins & minerals in just one spoonful. And it can come in its simplest form, like the one below, with just malagkit rice, pork, chorzio and bell peppers to some fancy with additions liek raisins, peas, chicken, hardboiled egg (just garnish though), etc. But NO hotdogs, please... The recipe is just simple for it only involves 1) Sauteeing (Just gisa the pork, chicken, peas, chorizo bel...

What's in a name? Usually, dishes are named from their main ingredients, others from the method of cooking techniques while some dishes from the place of origin. But this curious specialty from Kong Kee Restaurant has even a more curious name. It is called " No Name ". I first encountered "No Name" as a noodle dish called Pancit No Name but luck wasn't on my side then as the dish was taken off the menu for a long time. But the name "No Name" still lived in my memory... And imagine how excited I was when I found "No Name" on the menu of Kong Kee. Though, it has been there for a long time, it just took me longer to find it.  So, No Name is a sort of chop suey like dish having a melange of vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms and onions to name a few. For meat, it has squid, pork and innards.  All these are then smothered in thick savoury sauce made spicy by the chilies mixed in the dish. An order of this a...