FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

True to it's tagline, Peppy Thai Deli is really the one and only authentic Thai resto in Iloilo City. Despite more classy competition elsewhere, itremains to true to the taste and very simple that patrons keep coming back - just like me. But I know that Peppy Thai's tagline isn't related to what I've said - lol and I think it's the fact that another Thai resto has occupied it's former place at Diversion Road. Usual orders everytime I visit Peppy Thai Deli include fried tofu and one of my favorite cold pork loin salad plus ofcourse their Thai fried rice. It's always a treat to visit Peppy Thai but be sure to come earlier than lunchtime, if you can, to make the most of out of it. For if it's a bit later, then you might find yourself having lunch elsewhere.

A surprisingly good last minute order when the 15-hour Pork belly wasn't available. We had doubts before since it was fish but turned out be delicious in the end. I had the first "bite" and raved about it. Perfectly fried/baked? fish, light creamy sauce and with well seasoned side dishes, it was a good "alien" dish for me/us that time but I personally liked it very much. I just Googled about this kind of dish; the ingredients and how to cook it are simple enough. Another good discovery and hopefully can try this at home. More of Bourbon Street-Iloilo City

"WELCOME TO Iloilo. Forget your diet." This was the cheery welcome from no less than Mayor Jerry Treñas, when select press were invited by the Iloilo Economic Development (ILED) Foundation to a weekend tour of the city and neighboring island-province Guimaras. As it turned out, he wasn’t just joking. Wherever we went, the genteel Ilonggos lavished us with the chief beauty—and for the weight-watchers among us, the major bane—of their province: The food. Here are the treats you shouldn’t miss out on for a genuine, manamit Iloilo experience. Photos and article courtesy of Flavors of Iloilo - and where to find them By Jaymee T. Gamil The Philippine Daily Inquirer Sweet surrender With the province renowned as the land of sugar barons, Ilonggo delicacies are as much a legacy as the heritage architecture along the city’s Calle Real. There’s the traditional baked sweets from the Spanish era: Barquillos, cylindrical wafers; biscocho, sugared toasted bread; banadas, sugar cookies gla...

What makes the bayi-bayi of Miagao unique from the bayi-bayi in other parts of Iloilo? Aside from the delicious taste, it’s the packaging. Mostly they are only wrapped in cellophane. Though there may be some bayi-bayi makers in other parts of Iloilo who do wrap in banana leaf, still their packaging is different. Miagao has an attractive way of wrapping the bite-sized bayi-bayi in shiny, bright green banana leaf. They look like miniature, fluffed-up green pillows. Using banana leaf as its wrapper started since the very first bayi-bayi in Miagao was made and that was surely a long time ago. Read complete article Photos and text snippets from an article written by Franielyn Tagolgol published online @ iLOVEiloilo

Can you keep a secret? Modern day kutsintas are made out of all-purpose flour. What is kutsinta , you may ask? Well, it is a native rice cake in the Philippines made from rice flour and lye water. It is brown in color and sticky in texture. Anyway, I’m not saying that the kutsinta that is made of all-purpose flour doesn’t taste good but in my opinion, it has a less appealing taste to me. Unlike rice flour (now this is the secret that I was talking about), it makes the kutsinta delicious. The stickiness of the kutsinta (thanks to lye) gives texture to it, therefore making it feel good to eat. The sweetness is just right and best topped with grated coconut. It is also best served when cold since it would become firm and easier to eat. Kutsinta makes a very good dessert or “ pang yam-is ” and is also served during meriendas. Read complete article Photos and text snippets from an article written by Michellene Mae T. Trava published online @ iLOVEiloilo

ILOILO City - Carlo’s Bakery/Café, the leading foodshop recently released a new offering which would surely prod the food and dining public here. On November 7, Carlo’s started offering its lunch buffet for only P275 with more than 10 dishes to choose from. This shop’s food list of lunch buffet every Saturday changes every week so as for their customers to be able to try different cuisines. Amidst the trend of lunch and dinner buffets here in the city, what deviates the Carlo’s lunch buffet from other restaurants is their dishes’ quality of being authentic. “We make sure that what we serve during our lunch buffets should have an authentic flavor so to give our customers a satisfying mood everytime they frequent our resturant,”said Carlo Sarabia Treñas, one of the shop’s managers.” Carlo’s Bakery/Café lunch buffet serves Pinoy and international menus with Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, Korean and Chinese dishes. Carlo’s Bakeshop/Café, known for its cake rolls, pasalubong treats, and bread...

Jo's Chicken Inato is among the most popular chicken barbecue in Iloilo City and it was my first time to eat at Balay Manokan located along Quezon Street. A stone throw's away from SM Delgado, this chicken house is among the biggest I've been to also one of the best ambiance despite located in one of the busy spots of downtown Iloilo City. Aside from their famous chicken inato, they also serve a variety of native dishes whether soups, grilled, fried or cooked whatever it maybe. They also have seafoods, pork and beef aside from chicken - lol. Another "magnet" at Jo's is their buko-halo, the usual halo-halo served with buko strips inside a coconut shell. Others swear by their buko pandan. But whatever one's reasons are, every visit at Jo's Chicken inato always have a thumbs up afterwards. Photos courtesy of Beyt/Chie and JakeM ( WeekendPastime )