FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Kutsinta is among the more popular Pinoy native delicacies and can be found almost anywhere in the country. Every city or town has its own version of this sticky rice dessert and probably a best selling brand or a stand out kutsinta maker. Most of the time I get my supply from a manuglibod (vendor) who usually sells them with p uto and other native delicacies. Or at times in shopping malls where some native food stalls sell them in neat packages. Blogging has opened a window for me to expand my limited know how about the gastronomic scene of my hometown. I made a lot of food finds and among these is a small snackshop in Villa that makes very good kutsinta . I have read (and been told by fellow bloggers) about Dac's but being "out of my usual way"I just often wonder if I would have the chance to find it and indulge in what it has to offer. Fate brought me to this little snack shop near the plaza of La Villa de Arevalo district. I wasn't even looking for it w...

It all started when I inquired through text if Bingkahan sa Mohon would be making their popular bingka last Saturday. And after it was confirmed, I literally just took off - excited over the fact that my blog frustrations on this popular bingka would finally come to an end. Though I have blogged about it before but I have to see and buy them for myself to complete the experience so to speak. But when I got there, they were still just preparing and it would take at least an hour before their first batch would come right out of the oven. So that made me think, whether I'll just stay there waiting or go somewhere else to kill time. It took me awhile to decide and chose the latter, quickly excited by the fact that I may finally seek some of the holes-in-the-wall in this district which is out of my usual way. A few days earlier I met with bloggers friends; Lee and Inday Hami at a popular snackshop in Mandurriao known for it's sio pao, sio mai and mami ( Jiecel and Thea's Ref...

Can you keep a secret? Modern day kutsintas are made out of all-purpose flour. What is kutsinta , you may ask? Well, it is a native rice cake in the Philippines made from rice flour and lye water. It is brown in color and sticky in texture. Anyway, I’m not saying that the kutsinta that is made of all-purpose flour doesn’t taste good but in my opinion, it has a less appealing taste to me. Unlike rice flour (now this is the secret that I was talking about), it makes the kutsinta delicious. The stickiness of the kutsinta (thanks to lye) gives texture to it, therefore making it feel good to eat. The sweetness is just right and best topped with grated coconut. It is also best served when cold since it would become firm and easier to eat. Kutsinta makes a very good dessert or “ pang yam-is ” and is also served during meriendas. Read complete article Photos and text snippets from an article written by Michellene Mae T. Trava published online @ iLOVEiloilo