FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Breakthrough Restaurant in Villa Arevalo has perfected the art of leisure gastronomy. From the ambient beach-side location to the delectable food they serve - life seems to stop whenever one dines beside the beach. The cabanas are my favorite location for they bring one closer to the sea and as if having a personal space amidst the throng of hungry people. Of course, there are duyans which makes a perfect stop after being filled with the delectable Ilonggo dishes and cuisine dished up by Breakthrough. Their specialty is the Managat fish - the tail's grilled and the head part ends up in a soup whether sinigang or just plain sinabawan. They have a live tank where fishes, crustaceans and shellfishes are in a death row of sorts as customers can pick their choice and have them on their plates a few minutes after. A recent discovery were the "krusan" crabs. I have no idea if this is the right term and I just deduced they are called as...

A stone's throw away from the plaza of Villa-Arevalo is the Avanceña ancestral house known today as the Camiña Bahay na Bato . Characterized by the yellowish hue of its exteriors, it may look like any two storey-old house from the outside but inside, it's a rich depository of Iloilo's colonial heritage as this was built in 1865. Renovated a few years back, it is now (sort of) a museum and a gift shop as the ground floor houses an antique shop of which some are Luth and Gerard's Camiña's personal collections. Weavers demonstrate their craft as they make some designs for hablon, patadyong and more. Antique plates adorn the walls and fill in the cabinets plus numerous paintings and other antiques are one display for the buyers. But among the more interesting items found in the shop are those related in making a sumptious cup of tsokolate. From the tablea to the metal pitchers and the wooden batidor/batirol, each is as interesting as the other items yet stands ...

It was my first time to attend the patronal fiesta of the Villa Arevalo district, last Sunday, paying homage to the Sto. Nino . And it was at the Camiña Balay na Bato where I tasted one of the tastiest roasted turkeys and it was so good that I remembered taking a photo when it looked like this - already stripped to the bones. Actually, we were among the last ones to arrive Mr Eugene Jamerlan and I were stalled by the fireworks competition along the way coming from another food event at SM City Iloilo . Going back to this turkey, I heard that this was marinated in butong (coconut water) with salt and other spices. And using a technique called "cold fusion", the flavour was able to penetrate the turkey better as the cool temperature softens the meat thus making it absorb more. Okay I just made up that term - lol but it seems to be like that (thanks Natie for reminding me it's called brining ). Prior to it being roasted, it was stuffed with tanglad (lemon grass) a...