FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Green Mango Filipino fast food chain adds four new items to its menu. Debuting today , Sept. 16, 2010, are four soup dishes collectively known as SoOohpas . These will give diners variation during snack time or perfect sides for rice combos during mealtimes. Its addition to the menu comes in very timely as the rainy season creeps in and the BERrrrr months have made its presence felt. Choose among goto , arroz caldo , sotanghon and beef pares with prices ranging from Php29 to Php49. Green Mango Goto is a savoury congee that comes in plain (PhP29) or with egg (PhP39). Green Mango Chicken Arroz Caldo has a flavourful yellowish congee that comes in plain (PhP29) or with egg (PhP39). Green Mango Sotanghon is a vermicelli noodle soup made with vegetables and comes in plain (PhP29) or with egg (PhP39). Green Mango Beef Pares is made with tender beef cubes with a sauce of different spices and served with meke , vermicelli noodles or rice. (PhP49)

MORE PHOTO UPDATES : ILOILO City -- The turn of the 19th century was virtually Iloilo City's finest moment when this "la muy leal y noble ciudad de Iloilo (the most loyal and noble city of Iloilo)" ruled supreme over its counterparts in southern Philippines with a vigorous economy and a bustling trade and commerce that reached as far as Continental Europe. Today, more than a century later, this glory of eras past has worn frayed at the seams and gone faded and crumbling in some parts. In recent years, there have been repeated calls by the city leadership to the business community to help recapture that glory. But most of the responses were rather timid, half-hearted, if not plain lip-service. But not from Dr. Rogelio M. Florete. The former retailer, who parlayed his business savvy into establishing an extensive and influential radio broadcast empire as well as a fast-growing banking enterprise, has turned to real estate development with an eye towards helping Iloilo City...

What's the occasion? I asked last Sunday when a galore of " occasional " food greeted me for (my late) lunch. The combination of such dishes cooked during special occasions made me wonder that it was not just any ordinary Sunday. Though at times, we have them during the usual Sunday luncheon but not together. So even though I finished my photo session and was halfway through this sumptuous lunch, I still haven't figured it out. A big bowl of kadyos which turned out to be not the usual KBL ( kadyos, baboy and langka ) but just KBP ( kadyos, baboy and papaya ) but it was still as good. The papaya was just of the right for cooking - not too raw or ripe. The pork was soft but with consirable resistece on every bite. The kadyos provided a certain flavour that makes it different from the usual pork nilaga dishes and the kamote tops - the greens and texture. A weird kadyos combo to most but still tasted good. A large pan of valenciana ,the best I have eaten in a long...

A few weeks ago, I met a friend from Manila and toured her and her kids around Iloilo City hours before their flight back home. It started with a breakfast that tuned out to be a brunch after all. We went to JD Cafe and Bakeshop at The Roadhouse and as usual our peso went long way. The pancit molo came in a medium sized bowl and for the prices I paid (PhP21++) it was already worth it. Not that it was spectacular or tasted very good, but you can't get a more decent bowl of pancit molo than this at the same price. It has around seven large pancit molo balls and enough chicken strips and flavour too to make it worthwhile. Their chicken ala king is among the most popular. For Php27++, it's just a few slices of toast topped with a creamy chicken and vegetable concoction. Just a light snack and perfect side to some pasta or soups they have. And lastly their fresh lumpia was a rediscovery. I got some not so good memories of their fresh lumpia before - I never really liked how i...

A well loved recipe, ginat-an nga tambo (bamboo shoots in coconut milk) is a dish most Ilonggos find irresistible and most often missed when away from their hometown. Usually it has tagabang (saluyot) and okra as partners with seafood as subak (the "meat" part). Most of the time, shrimps, crabs or local snails known as bago-ngon makes it more delicious but this one has pinakas ( daing ) nga lison which makes it more appetizing since this is a favorite salted and dried fish of mine. Its more fleshy, often good as subak in most vegetable dishes but even better on it's own - dipped in sinamak (spiced vinegar).

It was one lazy Sunday afternoon when I dropped by Bluejay Coffee and D el i 's branch along Gen. Luna for a quick fix. Flipping over the pages of their (torn down) menu, I chanced upon an item which had me order it without much second thoughts ... A few days ago, I watched a foodie TV show featuring a list of notable sandwiches across America. From big burgers and outrageously presented sandwiches to those made by upscale restaurants to the downright tacky, the Top 10 was a visual and gastronomical appeal. But the one that caught my attention and played over and over my mind since then was the Philly cheese steak sandwich. It was nothing out of this world except for the price – a whopping US$ 100. Read more about it here . Certainly Bluejay wouldn’t serve such to the “price and taste” discriminating Ilonggos but they had a toned down version of that sandwich simply named Beef Philly Cheese sandwich. And it was a specialty and best seller of the house! So I decided to pair it with...

If La Paz has the iconic batchoy and Molo has that wonton soup called Pancit Molo, then the district of Mandurriao might as well claim pata and kansi to be it's contribution to Iloilo City's gastronomic delights. The district boasts numerous hole in the wall restaurants that serves the best of these two dishes. Zeroing in with pata , one of the most popular patahan in Mandurriao is Bac's. Located along the highway that connects Manudurriao with Molo (near the entry to the old Iloilo airport), this native restaurant boasts of a clientele that ranges from the simple passersby to those coming with "security". Pata refers to both the pigs legs (hind and front including knuckles) and that soup dish it has become after slowly boiling them in spices and seasoning. Usually it's the latter that comes to mind. And why not, the sight of this soft and melts in your mouth pata plus the thick, sticky and sour broth makes it an instant sinful desire. You'd wish they...