FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Bingkahan sa Mohon makes one of the most popular bingka places in Iloilo City. It has been one of my blog frustrations before not having a feature on them. I've tried many times before but I ended up with more frustrations - having no more bingkas left or my reserved order was given to others. It's not easy to get them since I live far from where they are located. But finally I ended this streak of bad luck; I got "tons" of bingka from Mohon and I loved it! What makes it delicious aside from the concoction is the amount of coconut strips in each of these small round bingkas. While others have microscopic amount, Mohon bingkas have more than enough that sometimes it feels like eating bucayo rather than bingka . Sold for PhP 10 per pack of four, this quick fix will surely makes one crave for more and oftentimes come back and buy some more. Good thing I bought 5 packs that time, more than enough for me to savour every bite. With the h...

I missed my chance a few weeks ago to have a food trip somewhere in Brgy. Ingore, Lapaz.  It would have been filled with these mouth-watering native Ilonggo delicacies as that trip would be in a compound that makes these native goodies and sells them throughout Iloilo City. Why in Lapaz did the native-delicacy maker set their compound at? It seems to have started a long time ago when the Panay Railways (connecting Iloilo City and Roxas City in Capiz) was operational. Along with Lapaz's most famous gastronomic contribution - batchoy, the train served a vital role in the thriving business. The demand was there - imagine the throngs of people using the train, buying these for snacks or even something to bring home. Then there's also the supply - raw products coming from the towns can be easily transported to be made into these native delicacies. So the cottage industry has thrived even after the train stopped operations and is still making god business. ...

More than 10 year ago, to get into the Dinagyang spirit I planned on making a collage from my food photo collection in the shape of a Dinagyang warrior headdress. In the process, the thought of making it from real food items would be much easier so I suddenly got excited and got this plate native delicacies and finished my first creation. But I wasn’t satisfied so the next day, I got more native delicacies while eating some of them as I made my “art”). It seems my “creativity” has been lost in gastronomic translation for they all looked ridiculous so I just ate more of them – lol. Then with some stroke of luck and inspiration, I finally managed to get a better looking one that eventually became my trademark. And yes, it’s edible and represents what Iloilo is famous for – food and Dinagyang.

It was during the My City, My SM, My Cuisine event a year ago that I encountered a so-called designer dessert made with "ibos". Dubbed as YSL, yes, that's for Yves Saint Laurent with emphasis on the Yves to sound like " ibs "  for ibos . Maridel Uygongco prepared this delectable dessert together with her specialty - Potato Praline Cake. The gastronomic event focused on heirloom recipes of prominent Ilonggo families which also included the Estofado nga Pato sa Tuba of Mr. Eugene Jamerlan.   A few days after, through the invitation of Ms Regine Algecera, producer of the local cable TV show Good Day Western Visayas , I was at the kitchen of the Ms Maridel as she gave us a demo on how her specialty is made. But that time she used ibos made with tapul rice that gave a very appetizing purple hue to the usual plain white ibos. The recipe was just simple, the ibos  are sliced and fried until it becomes crispy. While waiting, the cream base was made from...

I just had a hearty lunch of steaming rice topped with a creamy and flavourful concoction of ginata-ang bago-ngon, takway and dagmay. Bago-ngon is a local snail with good with any vegetable dishes like this or laswa. Takway is the tendril jutting the sides of a gabi plant while dagmay is a rootcrop related to gabi and ube. Mix them all together and one gets this native Ilonggo vegetable dish that will not only satisfy but also brings back gastronomic memories.

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...

HAPPY FIESTA to all the townsfolk and those from the town of LAMBUNAO, Iloilo. I share this recipe of a native delicacy called linidgid nga mais. Followers of Flavours of Iloilo on Facebook shared this interesting delicacy from this north central town of Iloilo. Called linidgid na mais , this native treat from Lambunao is a mixture of corn, coconuts and sugar. Made using the pilit variety of corn "shredded" the old fashioned (tin cans with nail-punched holes) then combined with young coconuts and sugar to taste. The mixture is then wrapped in banana leaves then tied at the top like a pouch and steamed for around two hours. The effort made in making this delicacy s greatly rewarded with a delicious native treat. Thank you to Marilyn Manzanida for the photos and the related info.

Ilonggos (and Visayans as a whole) often refer almost anything "native" as bisaya . Mostly vegetables and fruits - like small onions which usually packs more flavour than big ones. But nothing comes to mind first, when referred to as bisaya , than native chickens and their eggs. Free range or just native chickens are those usually found wandering across one's backyard and crowds whenever they sense food. These chickens usually makes very tasty inasals, tinolas, binakols and a host of other chicken dishes since they pack a lot of flavour compared to the ones referred to as "broilers". Just minimal seasoning for one to enjoy the full flavour of these chickens. Native chicken eggs, meanwhile are characteristically small and slightly brown which makes them easier to identify. They are considered healthier since they come from chickens devoid of any artificial food intake and enhancers. During our younger years, we were made to "drink" this fresh eggs ...

Ibo s can be eaten with l atik , ripe mango or sugar. But I like the latter best and with kalamay nga pula , it becomes more heavenly.

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...

Words fail me in describing how delicious this cassava cake was. In fact my mouth still waters everytime I see these photos.

It was a dismay for fellow SSC forum member, Hardbal l, not to have ordered Tatoy's famous native litsong manok the last time he was there, so I contacted him and scheduled another visit to this iconic restaurant. It was great start as we were one of the first customers of the said restaurant for the new year. Set in one of their cottages, our order centered on the native litsong manok with the usual favorites grilled scallops and crispy crablets plus sinabawang lapu-lapu. A good appetizer but better pulutan, these crispy crablets are also good with rice. One might have doubts eating them since they look they could pierce the the mouth but actually the only danger there is, is that you might forget that there are other items one the table since they are very addicting Simple as if home cooked, this sinabawang lapu lapu is a perfect soup to go with any order. This plate of grilled scallops surpised me. It was burnt, only the shell that is (but really it didn't make good a...