FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

One of the gastronomic highlights during the Heritage Tour of Iloilo which was part of the Visayas Blogging Summit last Nov. 27-28, 2010, was Nang Palang's buko pie . It was almost around noontime when delegates were able to taste this Ilonggo pride and almost all became instant fans. Everybody said that it was the amount of buko that made this buko pie stand out (I read they used coconut meat from four coconuts for a single pie). The fact that it was slices not strips and there were no extenders as seen and tasted. Plus the taste itself is not too overwhelming - not too sweet nor bland, just right. Simple delicious in short! Nang Palang's Buko Pie is located in Brgy. Trapiche in Oton. Just around a kilometer past the main gate of Anhawan Beach Club going all the way to Tigbauan. They can be contacted through telephone number 033-336-0954.

A cliche indeed, but Nang Palang's buko pie now really looks good. Thanks to it's new packaging that give's it a much better and more recognizable identity. It is just fitting that one of the best buko pies in the country should embark on this thrust before it can be swallowed up by "hyped" competitors. Nang Palang's also creates other favorites like cassav cakes, bibingka, chicken pie, egg pie and other fruit pies like mango pie, ube pie and pineapple pie among others. But it is their buko pie that made them famous. So they also made other variants like buko-pandan and buko pinya pies which are equally as good, to capitalize on the fame. But despite this, Nang Palang's still puts quality above as you don't see strips of buko in the pie but slices for they say one buko pie contains coconut meat from four fresh coconuts. And to see is to believe. But dont' just be contesnted looking at it, do get your own Nang Palang's Buko Pie. Nang Palang...

Monday just became BUKOlic, with buko -halo and manok sa buko at Jo's Chicken Inato and boxes of Nang Palang's buko , buko -pandan and buko -pinya pies. Nang Palang's homemade delicacies now has a new look that even makes it more appealing and big time as it's very famous buko pie. It is now more of a delight to carry these boxed of treats from this little but big time store from Trapiche, Oton, Iloilo. From main course to dessert, Jo's Chicken Inato restaurant makes use of buko. From being an ingredient in the dish to being the "dish" itself, buko plays ang important role in the cuisine of this chicken restaurant.

Aside from their original buko pie, Nang Palang's also have flavoured buko pies. The buko-pinya pie which has pineapple bits mixed with the buko while the buko pandan is more of the colouring and flavouring added to their original recipe. Both are really good eaten hot or cold and e ach box costs a hundred bucks. They sell really quickly so its better to reserve your orders beforehand. Contact them through (033) 336-0954 or 0920-605-3626.

The first time I tried this buko pie from Trapiche, Oton, it was really heaven in a pastry! From its flaky crust and thick filling, I raved and craved for it for days. It was sold at PhP 75/whole at their store and PhP80 for delivery within the city. (Now its 100 pesos per plate) It was November of last year, when someone came along our neighbourhood selling this buko pie and I was surprised that it sort of became small but still it tasted great. They also have buko pinya pie and buko pandan. Nang Palang's Buko Pie Feature

Instead of fasting this Holy Week, I got to feast on bingka . Don't bother asking how many pieces I devoured in just one sitting. So I'll just make a rundown of my previous bingka entries to be "in" this Semana Santa . Bingka sa Mohon. One of the more famous bingka s in Iloilo so naturally I was compelled to blog about it. For Php50, this uniquely rectangular bingka is both a visual and gastronomical feast since it doesn't only look good but tastes good also as it overflows with coconut strips that I refer to it as bukayo cooked bingka style. Ah! Nang Palang's. Its really looks very enticing just looking at the buko strips inside out. Yeah just look at it but dont bother eating for it will disappoint you bigtime. The buko was okay but it was the "base" (I dont know what to call it) that sucked. It was across between a mamon made with native ingredients that was half cooked and a cake that went " sapatos ". At PhP17 each, just scrap...

Another lutong macau post of mine. Their store may not be as special as their buko pie, but Nang Palang's in Oton is worth the trip esp their buko pie and its variants, buko pinya and buko pandan. Never mind their bingka even though how enticing it looks. A bunch of green tambis. Frozen pancit molo filling. We always make a big batch and whatever is left makes it into lumpia or just fried like a patty. David's Tea House Express' asado sio pao. For a chinese restaurant, they do not fare well in making sio pao just like Kusina Tsina. A lollipop cookie from Cakestop is often my last resort pasalubong to my 5 year old nephew. Locally called "pitik-pitik" this crustacean is a new found good order at Breakthrough Restaurant. It almost tastes like fish. c/o www.exploreiloilo.com

Nang Palang's seems to have cursed me eversince (lol!). All of my trips there always seem to bring home some disappointment. The latest one is their bingka. A few blogposts ago, I featured there bingka with that very yummy coconut filling and topping. I didn't mention though that the bingka itself almost borders the line of being a hardened mamon, I let it pass though thinking I may have been unlucky that tiem to have the last piece. So I eagerly suggested to Lee to try Nang Palang's bingka and we really went to their store a few days ago. Good thing I called for reservation since when we got there, ours were the only bingkas left. Both Lee and I really were in good mood upon seeing those bingkas. It looked and smelled really delicious that we can't wait to devour them. Arriving home, I wasted no time taking photos and when it was time to eat them, I was in for a big disappointment. A really, really big one! It was worse than my previous bingka from the way it looked i...

I was surprised that two boxes of Nang Palang's buko pie and 5 pieces of their bibingka were laid on the table when I got back home this afternoon. I wasn't that excited about their buko pie having blogged about it more than once. It was a big smile for their bibingka since it would be my first time to actually have seen it. Often regarded as makers the best buko pie in this part of the country, Nang Palang's recipe for buko pie and other related buko products is really an open secret. Well sort of, at least. Though one might never "guesstimate" the measurement, brand and process but you can actually see then taste the evidence why they are regarded as such. Obviously, I'm pointing out that their buko pie and bingka have a very generous amount of buko meat. You can't name your product as such when visually they are almost non existent. I wont deal with their buko pie having had two entries before though this was the first time I had a still hot fro the ov...