FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

What's in a name? Usually, dishes are named from their main ingredients, others from the method of cooking techniques while some dishes from the place of origin. But this curious specialty from Kong Kee Restaurant has even a more curious name. It is called " No Name ". I first encountered "No Name" as a noodle dish called Pancit No Name but luck wasn't on my side then as the dish was taken off the menu for a long time. But the name "No Name" still lived in my memory... And imagine how excited I was when I found "No Name" on the menu of Kong Kee. Though, it has been there for a long time, it just took me longer to find it.  So, No Name is a sort of chop suey like dish having a melange of vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms and onions to name a few. For meat, it has squid, pork and innards.  All these are then smothered in thick savoury sauce made spicy by the chilies mixed in the dish. An order of this a...

Ever wondered how a toasted bihon look and taste? I can now stop putting my imagination to work on this as I have finally seen and tasted one at Kong Kee Restaurant. I thought it's just crisp bihon smothered with vegetables and meat toppings that the bihon crisp might be lost.  But seeing this taco-style presentation makes this toasted bihon more appetizing and more bloggable too. Kong Kee offers this toasted noodle in small (around PhP85) and in large (around PhP150) servings. I can  only imagine how it's done - the noodle is submerged in water then its spread in a wok to toast it since it it has the shape of the pan. When it is toasted enough, the toppings or more aptly called fillings, are placed and then the toasted bihon is folded over. I guess they have a generic filling for most of their pancit and other noodles made with pork, meatballs, carrots and cabbage to name few, in a delectable sauce. But nonetheless this noodle from Kong Kee satisfied both my palate ...

It's been more than four years since I had my first bite of Pancit Sun Yat Sen . And I found myself at Kong Kee Restaurant having the same pancit that I purposedly ordered just to blog about it again. Yet the same question still stands - why it's called Pancit Sun Yat Sen ? We all know the Chinese revolutionary leader who inspired this noodle dish but why this particular dish? The dish is made with (canton) noodles, particularly that one vividly colored yellow and is topped with almost like a chop suey - pork and meatballs plus carrots and cabbage among others.  So I guess I had to make another trip back to Kong Kee but this (nth) time, I should already answered this more than 4 year old question that seems to bother me everytime I take a bite and enjoy their Pancit Sun Yat Sen!

The mere mention of Kong Kee Restaurant only brings one thing in mind - sio pao! This iconic food shop along Iloilo City's heritage district had been making delicious sio pao ever since I can remember. Prior to this, my last visit had me indulge in their popular Pancit Sun yat Sen to satisfy my curiosity and of course blog about it. Recently, for my column in The News Today , I found myself walking along JM Basa Street to have another go with one of the most popular sio paos in Iloilo City. I've been seeing and reading about the recent renovation at Kong Kee that this visit was like hitting two birds with one stone - but that time it was actually eating two sio paos during one visit on top of getting the feel of the new ambiance. And yes I had my share of surprises that time. T he interiors greatly improved though it had still signs and feel of the old restaurant. Colorful and modern accents on the ceiling contrast their typical Chinese fixtures. There's still the sign...

“The siopao, a Filipino fast food favorite, may be counted among “Filipinized” Chinese dishes, like pancit” points out food writer Margaux Salcedo. But her quick search on the Internet shows that nowhere else in the world are these buns also called siopao. “ The Chinese (apparently) calls them baozi, the Thais – salapao, Hawaiians refer to them as char siu bao; the Vietnamese identifies them as banh bao” she writes in her column on the Philippine Daily Inquirer ” But they all mean the same thing - a filled bun.” “The difference seems to be in the filling. The Hawaiians’ char siu bao offers barbecued pork inside, similar to our asado siopao, while the Vietnamese version offers ground pork, like our bola-bola siopao” reveals her further search. “The “Filipinization” is obvious with the asado filling, pork asado being a viand of Spanish influence derived from the Spanish word “asado” meaning “roasted,” although pork asado is a favorite at Filipino-Chinese restaurants” she finishes. Il...

The mere mention of Kong Kee Restaurant only brings one thing in mind - sio pao! This iconic food shop along Iloilo City's heritage district had been making delicious sio pao ever since I can remember. Prior to this, my last visit had me indulge in their popular Pancit Sun yat Sen to satisfy my curiosity and of course blog about it. Recently, for my column in The News Today , I found myself walking along JM Basa Street to have another go with one of the most popular sio paos in Iloilo City. I've been seeing and reading about the recent renovation at Kong Kee that this visit was like hitting two birds with one stone - but that time it was actually eating two sio paos during one visit on top of getting the feel of the new ambiance. And yes I had my share of surprises that time. T he interiors greatly improved though it had still signs and feel of the old restaurant. Colorful and modern accents on the ceiling contrast their typical Chinese fixtures. There's still the sign...

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...

Why it was named after the famous Chinese leader, was the probably the reason why I got curious with Kong Kee's Pancit Sun Yat Sen. The first time I read about it (online), I already felt the lure to try this "strangely-new-to-me" named noodle dish. Pretending to be ignorant , I asked the waiter " What's this Pancit Sun Yat Sen? " to which he replied, " Bale, pancit ini sya. " I could have replied, " Really? I have no idea whatsoever ", but just asked what's on top. He said, " Pork, shrimps, squids, meatballs plus assorted vegetables ". Seemed like an overload. And indeed it was fully loaded when it came. I almost covered all the angles when I took photos but was surprised when I was about to eat. It came with yellow noodles, so vivid; it can be seen for miles (lol). Again I brought out my camera and had another photo session. It tasted good but nothing spectacular. It was worth the price (PhP 70 pesos half order, PhP 115 fo...

An unlikely choice at an unlikely time, around 3pm. It was my curiosity for Kong Kee's Pancit Sun Yat Sen that lured me off my usual track. Last Sunday's blog eats supposedly should have started at JD Food shop near St. Pauls. But when I got there around 11am, it was full of people that I decided to pass it over again. Another attempt for its Rice squares was thwarted! So I just finished my errands then decided to think where to eat. This is the downside of food blogging for me; it is as if my blog dictates where I am to eat. After half an hour, I found myself snaking though the chaotic JM Basa Street on my way to Kong Kee Restaurant. Even though I already knew what my order would be, I politely asked for the menu, you know what my purpose was (lol). After giving an order for this pancit, the thought of eating at Kong Kee but not having their sio pao is almost a "crime" so I made a pahabol for one.So after my order, good enough for two, arrived, I spent few minutes...