FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

T he sun never came out today and there’s no sign that the rain will stop any moment. Yes, it’s (still) raining cats and dogs as I am writing this piece. B ut if there’ any consolation for this weather, it’s got to be the arroz caldo I just had for lunch - very simple yet fully satisfying. Not shouting with the usual yellowish color but just the natural hue of sautéed ingredients – chicken pieces and liver. But I just had liver for this session for it’s more photogenic. Arroz means rice and caldo, broth; so it’s just soupy rice. I haven’t tried making one myself, I just enjoy eating it. But based on taste and looks – it may just seem easy. Just sauté chicken pieces in garlic, onion and ginger then add chicken stock and/or chicken flavoured broth cubes. Add rice (sticky or even) but make sure that the rice-liquid ratio is more on the broth side. One can also add “kalawag” powder or turmeric to give more yellowish tint and hardboiled egg as garnish just like in most restaurants specifi...

If it's arroz caldo in Iloilo City , there's no restaurant more popular than Luna's (Arroz Caldo) . Established in 1967 (probably) from a small stall, like most homegrown restaurants, it now has three branches (which are open 24 hours) with in the city. I have no definite information about it's history but it is safe to say that among what it had to offer that time, their arroz caldo is is what made the people come back. Thus making the restaurant synonyomous with the localized congee. I had my snack at their newest branch at La Salete building along Valeria street and was surprised that for a day that hot, I wasn't alone in the restaurant. The place is quite small for a restaurant with only six tables and I guess competition from nearby restaurants made them diversify to serve fastfood fixes like spaghetti and burgers. And they have them in "combos" too. Of course I didn't go there for pasta and/or burgers, but for their specialty, that eluded me (an...