FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

It was just an impromptu food trip in and around Lapaz market a few months ago when I discovered this ube brazo de mercedes from the Lapaz Bakeshop. I got to taste and take home this ube dessert that later on became a staple at home. Lapaz Bakeshop sits on the corner of Tinda Lapaz right across Grand Dame Hotel. A restaurant named Lapaz Kitchenette was the previous locator of the space and it was famous for it's PhP59 buffet . The bakeshop is among the bigger "small town" bakeshops in the city with it's wide range of breads, pastries and cakes plus shorts snack items. It even has branches in some towns in Iloilo including one in my hometown, Sta. Barbara. It was a quick side trip made by Sir Eugene that time that introduced me to this ube variant of brazos. He bought a few slices of this dessert and brought it inside Madge Cafe inside the market. It was perfect with the cafe's native coffee and the filling is somewhat like ube halaya. The meringue is jus...

I’m no coffee drinker but Madge Café inside the Lapaz Public Market is a temptation that always renders me helpless. It’s the blog lure of their native coffee prepared as it was more than 50 years ago, that makes me always to stop by whenever I find myself in the market. A cup of coffee costs PhP25 and still uses the same prewar recipe concocted by Vicente de la Cruz. Ownership then has been passed on to many generations and now; Peter is the one who manages the café. Named after Vicente’s wife, Magdalena nicknamed Madge, the café is a melting pot this side of town.  There you’ll find government officials brushing with the ordinary folks, celebrities enjoying coffee as students and fans look on. Proudly displayed on the walls are memorabilia from photos of their VIPs guests to features in newspapers and magazines – a testament of how this little coffee shop has developed a “Pride of Place”.  The coffee shop exudes a calming ambience even during rush hour. It ...

Ilonggos are surely busy preparing for the holidays - where to bring the family for some treats, what’s on the menu for the Noche Buena and what gifts to buy and which goes to whom – the never ending questions of the holiday rush. And you should already have answers to these for Christmas is just around the corner. But don’t fret if you haven’t for I’ll be listing down of my personal favorites as well as the “IN” gastronomic gifts and giveaways for the Yuletide season. DULGIES' ALFAJORES AND RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE SATINE. Make an impression with these insanely delicious one-of-a-kind cookie treats. The former is a Dulce de Leche filled short bread cookie smothered with confectioner’s sugar while the latter tastes as good as a real cheesecake! (PhP 190/20pieces and PhP160/dozen respectively). Don't forget their heavenly cheeseroll and ensaimada too! THE CHOCOLATIEST CHOCOLATE CAKE. There are many good tasting chocolate cakes in the city but only Uncle Tom’s could claim being t...