FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Jiecel and Thea's is famous for their siopao and siomai. This snackshop in Mandurriao they say has a cook that came from Ma Mon Luk - a famous Chinese resto in Manila specializing in sio pao. This sio pao is dry - both the pao and teh chicken adobo filling. RATING 3.0 of out 5.0 Kusina Tsina's asado sio pao realy looks like it has been filled with chopped pork asado. I found it weird to see such a reddish sio pao. Their dough is somewhat like that of Tibiao's. RATING 2.0 out of 5.0 Another royalty from Roberto's is their King sio pao. It has almost the same filling as the Queen counterpart but instead of bacon it has ham. Also it is readily available anytime but is much smaller than the Queen and cheaper by 2 pesos. RATING 3.5 out of 5.0. Believe it or not, this is Yok Pek sio pao. Thought to have disappeared forever, Yok Pek survives but regrettably striving in this hotly contested sio pao industry. But would you believe this sio pao tastes really good. Got this on...

Not all burgers are created equal goes Glor's Hamburger tagline. I have heard and read many things about this hamburger joint, from its beginnings in 1974 to its being famous for decades. So naturally I hunted the place since then but it was only today that I had the courage to actually go inside. My plan was to have two burgers to go but after knowing that one of my orders would take 15 minutes, I decided to have a snack. While waiting for my order, I (again, courageously) took some shots of the interiors. The ambiance was nowhere near any diner or hamburger joints, it looked as though it just an ordinary snack house tucked along a crowded street. It had almost no character at all despite its "history" if not for the presence of around 30 framed film and play posters dotting the walls. Then my order arrived, it was a Glors Deluxe. Its their own version of a Big Mac. Two patties tucked between three layers of bun plus vegetables and cheese. Nothing spectacular whatsoev...

Everybody's favorite deserves another post...

Ask Ilonggos away from home which food they miss most, "KBL" would probably rank in the top three. A very simple dish made of kadyos (cowpeas), broiled pork, langka and greened with kamote leaves. Left-over lechon also makes this recipe even more satisfying What really makes a good KBL, is the combination of "melts-in-your-mouth" pork (with fat) and the "thick" soup soured with batuan and made even tastier by the pork's fat. Photo courtesy of FOOD Magazine August 2007 Issue RECIPE Boil kadyos, pork and langka until tender. Add batuwan (or sampaloc/sinigang mix). Season with salt. Serve with kamote leaves (optional) Ilongga chef Pauline Goriceta-Banusing shared the KBL recipe in the August 2007 issue of FOOD magazine

A very big caldero serves as "second home" to ... ... these crustaceans waiting to be cooked to your hearts desire. A portion of their wide selection ... ... made their way to our table! More on Breakthrough

Ted's and Deco's are now outdoing each other in almost all terms to position themselves as then umber one, a title that easily belonged to the former for many years. Ted's having more branches here and in other parts of the country have the advantage and headstart while Deco's can't be taken for granted, being operated by the people behind the succesful Mang Inasal brand. Ted's started to offer rice and combo meal is some of their branches to lure more people while Deco's decided up to bring "pre war" pan de sal and tie up with "Pa-a" bakery (famous for its pan de sal). Also the latter decided to target not only the lcoals but tourists and balikbayans for it opened a pasalubong shop right next to its flagship store in La Salette. Now which is better? I can only speak for myself For starters Ted's "presents" batchoy better. Ted's makes it an island while Deco's seemed to have been "tsunamied". See for your...

Of course, it would be chicken that would first come to mind when this is mentioned. But to Ilonggos, Inasal , is a generic term to food items which have been broiled using local skewers, most famous of which is the barbecue stick made of bamboo. From chicken and pork to innards and seafoods, one can find them in almost every corner in the city. Innovations now include frozen meat like hotdog and the like. But was surely was astonishe to have seen (and tasted) "hotdog BUN inasal" in boracay few years ago, also being basted with the meat inasal marinade.

Probably among the most famous Ilonggo dishes in the national scene, La Paz batchoy is a noodle dish with pork, liver, intestines served with hot broth and topped with crunchy chicharon, garlic. onion leaves with soy sauce and powdered pepper used to adjust the flavour according to one's taste. They say one can identify an Ilonggo by the way he eats his batchoy, that is, sipping the broth first until the bowl almost dries up. That could be the reason why "batchoyan" offers free broth refill, or maybe the other way around. Whatever it maybe, batchoy is more than a comfort food for most Ilonggos, its a reflection of their way of life.

Another delicacy named after one of Iloilo City's districts, Molo. This Ilonggo soup, obviously rooted from the Chinese, is often described as a feel good soup. When I tried making one in the office before, it instantly became a hit. Unlike its more famous "cousin", La Paz batchoy, I couldn't name a restaurant that serves an authentic pancit molo even in Molo district itself. Its more of a homemade specialty and that's why we often serve this one at home during fiesta, when we have visitors or just during times we feel like eating one. Most of the time we make around 2 kilos of pancit molo filling and keep them in little packages. Some of which ended up as lumpia filling or just being made into patties. Pancit Molo feature  | Pancit Molo recipe courtesy of FOOD Magazine MAY 2006 Issue