FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

I was in Davao City exactly this day a year ago, to be part of Unilever Food Solutions' Sooo Pinoy Food Trip. The goal of the Food Trip is to show that Filipino dishes per region have different identities based on the culture, lifestyle and history of the area.  The Food Trip also aims to show that there are many Filipino recipes from different regions of the Philippines, each having its own specialty that has to be recognized for the unique flavor it adds to the Filipino Cuisine. Our second day of nothing but food trip started with us appearing on a local morning show featuring our food trip the day before. It was a prelude to another gastronomic day as we were scheduled to have at least 6 restaurants for the day. Read more about our Sooo Pinoy Food Trip in Davao City Day 2 . PROBINSYA BUFFET RESTAURANT Buffets form part a large of the Davao gastronomic scene and I had my first at Probinsya serving Balbacua (a gingery version of the Ilonggo pata), Kare-kare, Lech...

I was in Davao City exactly this day a year ago, to be part of Unilever Food Solutions'  Sooo Pinoy Food Trip . The goal of the Food Trip is to show that Filipino dishes per region have different identities based on the culture, lifestyle and history of the area.  The Food Trip also aims to show that there are many Filipino recipes from different regions of the Philippines, each having its own specialty that has to be recognized for the unique flavor it adds to the Filipino Cuisine. On this day in 2012, it was my first time to set foot in Davao City and it was gastronomically overwhelming. We stayed at Microtel Inn and Suites, had a courtesy call with Mayor Inday Sarah Duterte and went around Davao with just one goal in mind - food! Read more about our  Sooo Pinoy Food Trip in Davao City Day 1 . DENCIO'S KAMAYAN My gastronomic baptism on Davao cuisine started with the grilled specialties of Dencio's Kamayan. We satisfied ourselves with the perfectly cha...

It's a tongue twister alright and indeed the month of March twisted my palate with a lot, I mean A LOT of gastronomic places in Iloilo and beyond. From discovering what's new and what's hot in the Iloilo food scene to rediscovering what I may have taken for granted in the past or those that seemed so unreachable given some personal limitation, the merry month of March suddenly presented them all! I've tried and tasted all the buffets The Promenade at Days Hotel  Iloilo has to offer except one - the Daybreak Breakfast Buffet . Of course I live far from the city and to have breakfast here means I have to wake up eraly, travel during the time when I'm supposed to be dreaming. But the tides turn when march started when top travel blogger Eric of www.byahilo.com  was in town and I connected him to Days Hotel Iloilo . That in turn gave me the chance to be part of the "connection" when we were given a complimentary overnight stay that led to finally catch...

For Filipinos, Christmas and New Year’s handaan do not only mean celebrations but are symbolic offerings to attract good fortune. Round fruits are served to bring abundance, while rice cakes represent close relationships among the family and ensure that luck sticks to all members.  Food lovers can rejoice this holiday season as Prosperity Pancit, the lucky Sooo Pinoy dish  by Unilever Food Solutions, is now available at their favorite restaurants,  including Chippens, Golden Brown, Zacky Fried Chicken and Barcode Paseo.  The real star of holiday banquets, however, is pancit. Merging Chinese traditional cooking with Filipino flavors, it is believed to attract wealth, health, and long life. Since it was introduced by Chinese traders during the Spanish colonial era, pancit has become a staple on every Filipino family’s dining table, especially for special occasions. Generations of Pinoys have truly made this dish their own and have cooked up as many variation...

Our fourth day in Davao started with this appetizing serving of Sizzling Tuna Sisig at Kusina Selera. I can still vividly remember its aroma that "whet" my appetite then. And when the tasting portion came, it was a very delicious start for our second to the last day on this great food trip in Davao City I was part of Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip na Pilipinas! which is set to visit 300 restaurants in 10 key regions/areas  all over the Philippines. Davao is the 4th food stop after Iloilo , Bora cay and Cebu that started last March. The goal of the Food Trip is to show that Filipino dishes per region have different identities based on the culture, lifestyle and history of the area.  The Food Trip also aims to show that there are many Filipino recipes from different regions of the Philippines, each having its own specialty that has to be recognized for the unique flavor it adds to the Filipino Cuisine. Kusina Selera is located at the Legaspi Suites complex made up of a boutiq...

A perfect ending to our third day of gastronomic discovery of Davao City, we went high up the mountainous part of the city referred to as Jack's Ridge.  The land on which Jack's Ridge now stand once formed part of the headquarter of the retreating Japanese forces towards the end of the World War II. The Americans had landed in Davao on May 1, 1945, forcing the Japanese to beat a path to Matina Hills where they had a commanding view of the Davao Gulf where the American ships were anchored. ( Source ) I was part of Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip na Pilipinas! which is set to visit 300 restaurants in 10 key regions/areas all over the Philippines. Davao is the 4th food stop after Iloilo , Bora cay and Cebu that started last March. The goal of the Food Trip is to show that Filipino dishes per region have different identities based on the culture, lifestyle and history of the area.  The Food Trip also aims to show that there are many Filipino recipes from different regions of the Phi...

Leaving the island Garden City of Samal for our next gastronomic destination, the sea was sort of rough as the boat we took almost took a dive every other wave. There I heard a fellow Sooo Pinoy foodie swear that if she survives the "rough sea crossing" she promises to devour and pay homage to the grilled tuna panga (jaw). Reaching our second to the last restaurant on our third day of the Sooo Pinoy Food Trip in Davao, as if her prayers were answered, a large serving of grilled tuna panga awaited us at Garden by the Bay Resort overlooking the Davao Gulf. Indeed she paid gastronomic homage to the tuna panga , even if it was just a forkful of it. I was part of Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip na Pilipinas ! which is set to visit 300 restaurants in 10 key regions/areas in 10 months all over the Philippines. Davao is the 4th food stop after Iloilo , Bora cay and Cebu that started last March. The goal of the Food Trip is to show that Filipino dishes per region have different ident...