FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Now who doesn't love puto? One of my favorites before was the puto I christened " Puto Calaboa " as it was made in Brgy. Calaboa Santa Barbara, Iloilo. But after sometime, they supply stopped coming to town as the maker of the puto had some personal health issues. Now enter another puto maker from Santa Barbara - this time coming from Brgy. Lanag, an adjacent baranggay to the poblacion. Wrapped in 5's using banana leaves, the puto is made fresh daily every morning. The puto-maker just make a limited batch so as to ensure the quality and avoid having oversupply to be sold the following day. The puto smells very good as if you are already eating it. Each bite (though I could easily eat it all in one bite) gives a full flavour esp. of the richness of the coconut milk. Its the kind of puto that you can't stop eating given its almost dainty size at the same time rich flavour - but it's not " makasalum-od " ( ...

Before I went home today, I passed by Short Stop bakery and blindedly ordered 20pcs of pan de leche . Then I saw this lukon or prawn shaped bread in the display and without much thought ordered one. Good thing it was only PhP20, if it would have been PhP 30 I would really some have some second thoughts.  So I went home eager to devour a gigantic prawn and her eggs.  I'm not stranger to these types of novelty bread as I have blogged them here and here before. But what made me overly "excited" about this lukon-shaped bread is that is has leveled up in the way it looked and the size - I'm sure you will agree 100% if you checked my links above. And the bakery staff confirmed that they have a new baker thus it renewed enthusiasm in making such novelty bread. As it tastes like any of the bakery's breads - the body tastes like the usual pan de leche (but the "eggs"  pan de leche were way better) and the extremities were almost like stick breads a...

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

Semana Santa in Santa Barbara, Iloilo, just like in many other towns across the Philippines is marked with spiritual and cultural activities. It starts on Palm Sunday with the blessing of the palaspas marked by the palaspas-making contest. Religious activities like Visita Iglesia, Last Supper re-enactment, Via Crucis, Veneration of the Cross and Santo Entierro Procession, among others keep the pre dominantly Roman Catholic Santa Barbaranhons occupied during the last four days of the Holy Week. But Semana Santa in Santa Barbara is one that also plays on a gastronomical note as the townsfolk indulge in the ultimate Lenten food offering - bingka . I grew up associating Lent with bingka and vice versa. I remember going to the plaza as a kid so that we can do some " pamingka " - that is having a picnic in the plaza eating nothing but bingka . It's been like this since time immemorial, that this year the Santa Barbara Municipal Tourism Office gathered the manug-bingk...

“ Sinamû ” is a Hiligaynon word for assortment. In any form of dining, Ilonggo habitually use the word “Sinamû” as a combination of different dishes placing them together in just one plate by a person. Practically, a combination of rice, with assorted native dishes and soup. Sinamû Seafoods and Native Cuisines is the first and only semi-fine dining restaurant in the town of Santa Barbara.  As the word “Sinamû” come into view, it is a perfect name for the place which can serve variety of seafood dishes and native cuisines. A spot where people can stay and dine comfortably and will leave the place contentedly. The restaurant, aside from its ala carte meal orders, now offer Festival Platters aka Bilao meals. Each bilao comes with an assortment of salads, meat, seafood and sides. It (may) include grilled eggplant salad, kinilaw nga isda, grilled pork, steamed shrimps, grilled squid, native litsong manok, grilled scallops, sinugba nga tangigue, rice and fresh fruits. It ...