FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Tasted any good Pancit Molo lately? I surely had and thanks to one awesome afternoon at the Camiña Balay nga Bato in Arevalo. A perfect afternoon snack and gastronomic finale to Sir Eugene Jamerlan's guests, Anton Diaz (of Our Awesome Planet ) and his wife, Rachelle. Even if we just had lunch , the aroma of the pancit Molo was so enticing that we wasted no time and enjoyed a bowl (actually we all had more than one) of Kapitan Ising's Pancit Molo . Now who is Kapitan Ising ? He's no longer the kapitan of his baranggay (South San Jose, I assume) as I was informed but he's still referred to as one. I only heard about Kapitan Ising Villanueva last month when Miss Luth Camiña ordered a lot of delights from him - fresh lumpia, panara and of course pancit Molo, during the shoot of My City, MY SM, My Cuisine . Maybe because of the hectic ambiance that I didn't really to appreciate the taste of the pancit Molo then. But now, we had it as leisurely as we could and e...

The district Jaro, Iloilo celebrates biggest fiesta in the region characterized by the pageantry and the grandeur of the occasion paying homage to Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria , the patron saint of Western Visayas. Every February 2, all roads lead to Jaro as Ilonggos celebrate the feast of O ur Lady of Candles in different aspects - religious, gastronomic, enterprising, and more. (For) As early as December the Jaro Plaza is teeming with the Jaro Grand Carnival with activities like carnival games, food stalls, fruit stands and ukay-ukay, among others. It culminates on fiesta day with the coronation of the Fiesta Queen, chosen among the lasses of Jaro families. For the second straight year, I was at the Jamerlan household (thanks Sir Eugene) to celebrate the gastronomic part of the Jaro Fiesta. And just looking at the spread alone, it is indeed a grand way of celebrating the fiesta with one of the prominent Jareño families. And the gastronomic journey started with these a...

January is Iloilo's month of revelry and of course, that just mean one thing- Dinagyang . For three days (and nights) on the fourth weekend of this month Ilonggos pay homage to the Child Jesus - Señor. Santo Niño . At the same time, it is also to celebrate the arrival on Panay of Malay settlers and the subsequent selling of the island to them by the Atis. And it was Dinagyang of 2012 where most of my January blogging highlights took place. But there were other notable events that highlighted my January 2012... A part of it's national campaign, SM brought to Iloilo City it's My City, My SM, My Cuisine . It is the company's thrust showcasing the best of the regions and food is among the highlights of travel to most parts of the Philippine archipelago. The event included heritage dishes (estofado nga pato sa tuba, potato praline cake, lengua con setas con olivas and "YSL") and a cooking competition for the best pancit molo and best mango dessert. And r...