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. ...

Mention baye-baye and those familiar with this native Ilonggo delicacy would imagine rolls of pounded pinipig (roasted newly harvested rice) mixed with freshly grated coconut with hints of subtle sweetness. One of the most popular native snacks, baye-baye is a staple in local markets as well as pasalubong shops and native delicacies stalls in the malls. While most baye-baye are just plain, there's an innovation to this local delicacy that Ilonggos are starting to embrace. It's baye-baye roll filled with a mix yema and peanuts. It was in 2011 that I made a gastronomic contact with this baye-baye innovation when I judged in a competition featuring baye-baye innovation in the town of Pavia, Iloilo during a sidelight event of their annual Tigkaralag Festival . Entries came with sesame seeds, cheese, pandan and yema-peanuts which became the eventual winner. It  came with an innovation that captured our taste aside from the originality and the cre...

Brown is IN - as in kakanin ! Who can resist these mouth-watering native delicacies? I would first pick a piece of kutsinta then dip it in grated niyog (mature coconut) savoring its sticky texture while having bits of the coconut. Then I would bite into the bingka  with its taste memories flooding my mind. A forkful of alupi would be a delicious balance in the sweetness and texture. Finally, it ends on a very sweet note - a very big piece of ibos dipped into muscovado sugar! Again, again, again... Now which is your most favorite or the one you really missed? Here are the basic recipes for the native delicacies Bingka Recipe Kutsinta Recipe Ibos (Suman) Recipe Alupi (Cassava Suman) Recipe

What is bitso-bitso ? Also spelled/called bichu-bichu or bitsu-bitsu , this native delicacy is made with fried rice flour dough then coated with coconut cream and muscovado sugar syrup. Its like a combination of making palitaw and banacue . The rice flour based "dough" is usually twisted and deep fried. Then it is placed/cooked in a mix of muscovado sugar then dried out. The sugar then "re-crystallize" making a crisp coating for the fried rice flour. The result is a local delicacy that crisp and sweet in the outside yet chewy inside.  Cooking bitso-bitso is done many different ways and with different mixes of ingredients. These particular ones in Santa Barbara, Iloilo are still crisp even after being exposed - they are peddled every afternoon around town for 5 pesos a piece. I particularly like the fact that the sugar coating crumbles in every bite, though messy at times, but its alway a treat to have these bitso-bitso . ...

Ilonggos call cooked pilit rice wrapped in palm leaves as  ibos . It is one of the most popular native delicacies found in local markets. Yet at times, it cause confusion as it is referred to  suman  in places outside the region - for  suman  for the Ilonggos is  biko  to the Tagalogs in general. So checking out online sources yields the follwoing: Suman sa Ibus - A ubiquitous variety of suman in the Philippines, the glutinous rice is washed, and is then mixed with salt and coconut milk. The mixture is poured over pre-made coil containers of young palm leaves called Ibus or Ibos, and fixed with the leaf's central shaft.  This is then steamed using water mixed with "luyang dilaw" (turmeric or kalawag in Ilonggo ) — giving it that distinctly yellow colour — and served either with a mixture of shredded coconut and sugar, or latik — (reduce coconut milk until white lumps form and simmer until golden brown). ( Wikipedia ) ...

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.

Chances are, you might already be munching and enjoying a lot of native delicacies in your respective provinces when this time of the year arrives. It's an "unexplained tradition" why native delicacies are the staples of the season. Some say it's Filipinizing the Halloween that instead of candies and other treats, we have these native delicacies to share. They say it started in the rural areas, with the abundance of rice and coconuts, make these the season's staples. ( Link to the recipes is posted at the end of the blogpost ) Let's start with linugaw , though it is made year round as ingredients are not seasonal, it is always during Pista Minatay that we make the biggest batch. A concoction of coconuts, kamote, ube, sab-a, sago and rice flour balls all simmered in a thick rice flour and coconut milk mix. A simple yet tedious cooking process makes this one of the most satisfying home-cooked meryenda for all seasons. And I like it c...

While others are crazy for ibos ( suman ) partenred with ripe mango or a hot cup of tsokolate , I grew up having it simply partnered with kalamay nga pula ( muscovado sugar).The subtle flavour of the sticky rice cooked in coconut milk is greatly complemented by the "healthier" sweetness of the molasses sugar that you'll keep eating on and on until you realized you've eaten more than enough. When was the last time you had this native dessert combo?

Chances are, you might already be munching and enjoying a lot of native delicacies in your province as today, Nov. 1 is when most Filipinos go visit their dead in cemeteries despite the fact that it's actually All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day is still a sleep away. It's an unexplained tradition why the mix up just like why native delicacies are the staples of the season. Some say it's Filipinizing the Halloween that instead of candies and other treats, we have these native delicacies to share. they say it started in the rural areas, with the abundance of rice and coconuts, make these kakanin's the staple. And that this tradition may have caught up with the urbanites who at some point of their lives have took part of this traditon, adapted it in the big city. Whatever the case or occasion maybe, these native delicacies are always anticipated as it brings back not only the the taste memories one had in his younger years but they are really good eats i...

 Baye-baye is among the most popular Ilonggo native delicacy. It is made from roasted rice known as pinipig

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...

It was Claude Tayag's article in the Philippine Star , years ago, that opened my thoughts about Tiolas. He shared having a galore of Ilonggo dishes for lunch in a restaurant on the edge of a cliff, having a spectacular view of Guimaras Strait, with fire trees in full bloom and with the sea breeze and breaking waves completing the sights and sounds of this hilltop community. That vision got stuck in mind since then and when I had a chance of visiting Tiolas, a few weeks ago, I literally jumped in. It was quite a fast road trip passing by the towns of Oton, Tigbauan, Guimbal and Miagao. Tiolas is the last community in the town of San Joaquin before one enters the province of Antique. Except for the fire trees for it wasn't their bloom time yet, it was everything the Claude Tayag describes it to be - great view, windswept, waves crushing and gastronomic.  Sugbahan sa Tiolas has the simple and genuine food as describe by Claude, though I wasn't sure if this was the actual...