FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

With pizza selections from Romance, Seduction and Desire to Lover Boy, Lover Girl, Love and Kisses , it is   Valentine's Day 365 days a year at this pizza joint Ilonggos have grown up with. It is filled with gastronomic memories of yesteryears that those who grew up in the City of Love have only one in mind when it comes to pizza - Love and Kisses . Fantasy Pizza A simple lunch out with the ever hungry Lamon-Lagaw Group brought us at the newest branch of Love and Kisses, along JM Basa Street near the Iloilo City Hall. Despite the additional items of the menu, we set our eyes to their specialty - pizza, nothing else. So we got Fantasy which is marketed to be the " flavor you've been fantasizing about - with pepperoni, bacon, ground beef, mushrooms, mozarella cheese and onions ". Now, is the pizza above worth fantasizing for?  We also got Simone. No, she's not a waitress but another pizza variant. " She is tender with her love but she can be...

So how to start a month the month of Love in terms of gastronomy? I didn't have to try hard as they come on their own terms.After the revelry of Dinagyang, the next big celebrations in Iloilo are the Chinese new Year, Jaro Candelaria Feast and Paraw Regatta. And it was on the mid celebrations (Jaro Fiesta) that February gastronomy marked its start.  I went to two fiestas during Candelaria - the rainforest inspired set up at the Jamerlan residence and one at Afrique's Jaro, where the restaurant business all began. But in between I just got a call informing me of a photoshoot happening at Days Hotel Iloilo and when I got there it was cakes, cakes and cakes all over. Tinapayan was readying for Valentine and the Heart Cakes were at the center of it all. The next day I was out to lunch at the Central Market and got to discover the old way of having Coffee on the Go at De Leonian Cafe . The month also brought in more discovery as for the first time I got to taste a hambu...

Love and Kisses is a byword when it comes to pizza as for generations have gone by, the pizza of their memories were nothing but made of/with/by Love and Kisses . But I have to set aside pizza for I’m going to rave about their hamburger this time. It was barely an hour after a very wonderful lunch at The Red Corner (a few months ago) when our talked centered on the burger served by this snack shop made famous by it’s home grown and Ilonggo take on pizza. It was talked about in such a way that you can’t hold on to your seat and instantly rush to the nearest branch of Love and Kisses or better yet disparate and apparate (now where’s my wand). So I rushed to the nearest shop where I can dine in and immortalize that that gastronomic experience. It was one of the regular items on their menu often overlooked upon because of the extensive list of pizza and pasta. At PhP50 per order which could swing from cheap to expensive for some, it was a 15 minute wait for the verdict for it was c...

This is one restaurant that most Ilonggos have fond memories of. Love and Kisses is a homegrown foodie stop for pizza and pasta. The original store was located along Gen. Luna street fronting University of San Agustin to which I also had fond memories of “just passing by” when I was a kid. Living and schooling far away from the area served as one of the reasons for me to discover what others had been raving about for years. It was a delight to have seen a Love and Kisses stall during the Dinagyang 2009 Food Festival . It was my first time actively participating in the said festivities that I got to go ‘round the city. Finally I can blog about and taste (yup in that order-lol) this well loved pizza. Without much thought I got slices of all the available pizza varieties that time and enthusiastically blogged about that gastronomic experience. Now Love and Kisses have put up a second branch in front of an Iloilo landmark – N elly Garden mansion. And it was the first time I actually a...

Almost everything went as if on a blur today. The moment I woke up and read an important text message, in 20 minutes time I found myself already traveling to the city - fully dressed and prepared to attend a meeting. Together with some members of the Iloilo Bloggers Inc . , we met the marketing manager and with the owner of Greatfoods Corporation ( Bauhinia , Amalfi , Nothing but Desserts , Mojave , Waffletime, Coffeebreak , Green Mango , theVenue , etc ) to discuss possible tie ups and deals for the upcoming Visayas Blogging Summit and Philippine Blog Awards 2010-Visayas . After a very fruitful talk (but unfortunately one of us got robbed), we then decided to go Smallville for lunch but decided to linger in front of The Off Price Store while discussing things over. As if on cue, our stomachs growled and we ate lucnh at M ang Inasa l . It was my nth time eating in this fastfood local barbecue restaurant but my first time in their Smallville branch. As usual inasal na pecho and c...

While doing rounds of picture taking at the Dinagyang Food Festival 2009, I was surprised to actually see a Love and Kisses pizza kiosk. I read some article before that they actually participate in this annual event but didn't give it much of a thought.So this got me excited since at long last I can be able to blog about this famous pizza shop. I braved through the swelling crowd late Saturday afternoon and found myself in front of the kiosk lined with pizza, though they also serve barbecue and other food items. Good thing that they sell by the slice for ordering a plate would be impractical. At first I had a hard time choosing which flavours to buy, thinking that I won't only be blogging about it but also I'll be eating them all. But in the end the lure of blogging won and I got slices of all the available flavours making me order 60% of a plate.Unfortunately, I only got to buy 6 out of the 7 flavours. So I trooped back to where I was staying and had myself a snack, but ...