Hunyo ala Carte Specials at Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo

This June 2025, indulge in a curated selection of dishes highlighting Filipino culinary artistry and local ingredients as Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo proudly introduces its Hunyo A La Carte Specials.

Available from June 1 to 30, 2025, between 10AM and 11PM, these exclusive offerings are served at the hotel's Courtyard Lobby Bar, providing guests with a unique and flavorful dining experience throughout the month.

Together with the Iloilo Bloggers Inc., it was a delightfully delicious lunch trying out all these special dishes that fused some well-loved recipes with local Ilonggo ingredients.

Let's start with these delicious crab cakes made from locally sourced crabs from the town of Concepcion in Northern Iloilo.

Igbon, Concepcion Sustainable Crab Cakes

Perfectly fried with a resounding crunch from the outside yet it was moist inside letting our palates savor the freshness of the crabs. Topped with poached egg and drizzled with batuan hollandaise sauce, it was a perfect starter for this amazing lunch.

I first encountered ngo hiong while vacationing in Cebu as it is among the Cebuano specialties that it is known as the Lumpiang Bisdak.

Ngohiong

Courtyard Iloilo's version is a crunchy deep fried buttered lumpia that is made with ubod (heart of palm), ground pork and ground shrimp. The additional of the ubos makes it a cross between a fresh and fried lumpia that tickles our tastebuds in every bite. It also comes with two savory sauces that makes every dip worth all the calories.

While it is usually canned anchovies that makes tasty seafood pasta, using an Ilonggo (and Filipino in general) breakfast staple tabagak or tuyo gives it a very local touch.

Courtyard Tabagak (Tuyo) Pasta

I just love how this pasta is drenched in olive oil concocted with generous bits of dried fish Ilonggos call tabagak, capers, cherry tomatoes and olives over al dente pasta. I even scraped off the last bits of the sauce and toppings with the toast!

Would I say NO to succulent backribs? Ofcourse NOT! This fall- off-the-bones ribs has been a success from the previous monthly offerings that it has been carried over this month.

Courtyard Ribs

This racks of slow cooked ribs is generously glazed with mango-batuan sauce with an extra serving on the side for those who can't get enough of the delicious concoction. It is served with buttered vegetables and Cajun rice.

Last, but certainly not the least or should I say, saving the best for last, is a fusion of Filipino and Chinese cooking techniques - in some ways.

Crispy Patatim

Imagine a Pinoy favorite - Crispy pata (deep-fried pork knuckle) on a bed of savory soy anise glaze with bokchoy, shitake mushrooms and fried onions on the side and toppings! The porks crispness is balanced by the savory sauce and other sides. It is perfectly paired with an Ilonggo favorite - kalkag fried rice.

Even the flavored rice were tasty, enough to keep us full through the day as this complete set of Hunyo ala Carte Specials is already good for 5-6 pax!

From the savory seafood to the ultimate meatfest, it was really worth all the calories we took in.

Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo is offering generous discounts to make this dining experience even more accessible.

Eligible guests may enjoy 20% off for Senior Citizens and PWDs, 10% off for Marriott Bonvoy members, and 30% off for Club Marriott members.

For inquiries and reservations, please contact:

Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo

Megaworld Boulevard, Mandurriao, Iloilo City

(033) 330 7600

www.courtyardiloilo.com

atyourservice.ilocy@courtyard.com

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 por...

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

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

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?"

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. ...

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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