FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Lunch around ten days ago brought me to one of Iloilo’s most popular seafood joints – Allan’s Talabahan in Oton. It’s a byword among Ilonggos in this part of Iloilo as this hole in the wall restaurant attracts not only Ogtonganons but tourists and foreigners as well. A no-frills food stop, Allan’s Talabahan claim to fame are obviously oysters (talaba) thus the name “talabahan” - an oyster place. Among its best sellers are their baked oysters with fried garlic and powdered milk as toppings. They also have other fares like kinilaw na tangigue, a variety of fish – grilled, kinilaw, made into soup or whatever customers request. Grilled pork, squid, and a whole lot more makes Allan’s Talabahan a foodie magnet in the part of Iloilo. Good thing to know that they will be transferring to a bigger and better branch very soon and it’s really worth another visit.

It was still dark when we got to the town of Guimbal but the Yuletide display brightened the whole plaza. The town is famous for having one of the most beautiful plazas and municipal halls in the region and one of the oldest churches in the country. A perfect backdrop, both literally and figuratively, for this momentous event; Guimbal being declared as the first-ever “ Eden Town ”. Last September, Kraft Eden Cheese launched Eden: Sarap ng Pasko 100 Days of Christmas campaign in partnership with ABS-CBN. On its second year, a hundred towns and cities around the country took on the challenge of infusing Eden Cheese to their indigenous dishes. A nationwide vote determined the Top 9 towns and cities which will participate in the culminating activity known as Keso de Gallo . During the event, scheduled on the first day of the traditional mass known as Misa de Gallo , churchgoers can have a taste of their town’s winning dish after the mass. The eventual winner – dubbed as Eden Town , wi...

Whenever we cook any sotanghon dish at home, we always use the MARCA PATO brand. It's a locally made sotanghon yet it would put other brands to shame - even those imported ones. Whether it's for a sotanghon soup dish or just dry "pancit sotanghon", it is the perfect brand to use. It has thick, soft and glassy noodles that would even "upstage" the garnishing and even the meat added to the pancit or soup. Anyway, here's an anecdote I want to share when I was tasked to buy this sotanghon brand years ago ... I was in the grocery looking for my favorite sotanghon brand MARCA PATO. I had to be careful since there is also a MARCA PABO brand. Then I was really surprised to see a Marca MANOK brand. No kidding! But when I thought I had enough, my eyes fell on PENGUIN and PEACOCK brands! Quickly I went out the ...grocery with out buying any sotanghon. I went back a few days after (not to buy but to amuse myself) and was I surprised to see MARCA PIGEON Still few da...

Make your Christmases more merry and indulgent with these delectable chocolate truffle s from Nothing But Desserts . A perfect gift or just one of the many ways of fulfilling your sinful chocolate desires - these chocolate creations will be available in store starting today - Dec.17, 2010. A chocolate truffle is a type of chocolate confectionery , traditionally made with a chocolate ganache center coated in chocolate or cocoa powder, usually in a spherical, conical, or curved shape. Other fillings may replace the ganache: cream , melted chocolate, caramel , nuts , almonds , berries , or other assorted sweet fruits , nougat , fudge , or toffee , mint , chocolate chips , marshmallow , and, popularly, liqueur .They are named for their resemblance to the truffle fungus . ( from Wikipedia ) Nothing but Desserts Chocolate Truffles come in two variants - white and dark chocolate . They also come in six delicious mixes - raspberry, peanuts, coconut nibblets, white sesame, coconut flakes...

The gastronomic joys of a buffet that you get to enjoy a variety of dishes depending on your appetite. So basically, I often starve myself before I get myself into a buffet. But that's the not the case during this Japanese Buffet "Meshi" at Days Hotel Iloilo months ago. Instead of starving ourselves before, we just came from another food tasting session around 3 hours before. But blame isn;t upon us, have we known that we were to be invited to this glorious spread, we could have had managed our schedule to fit our appetites. But nonetheless, I might have broken my buffet record that instant as I had around 3-4 plates of a variety of Japanese specialties. Good thing Japanese cuisine consists of light dishes that despite being full (we had four mini bowls of soups prior to that). As usual with all my Japanese buffets before, it always starts with sushis, makis, and all those in between. It may look just appetizers but actually its heavy for it laready has rice in it. Th...

The town of Guimbal emerged as the over all winner in Eden’s Sarap ng Pasko 100 Days of Christmas competition. It bested 99 other towns and city in the country by garnering more than 35,000 votes. The town received PhP2 million worth of prize and will be featured on limited boxes of Kraft Eden Cheese . The awarding ceremony was held last Dec.16, 2010 at the town plaza right after the traditional “Simbang Gabi”. Special guests together with the Guimbalanons were able to savour the winning recipe – Pininyahang Manok with Cheese . Exactly a hundred days before Christmas, 100 towns and cities nationwide were asked to infuse their indigenous dishes with Eden Cheese; thus challenging the culinary expertise of locals. A nationwide vote decided the Top 9 towns that will make it to the culminating activity known as Keso de Gallo. The community then would be able to savour of the winning dish after attending a gracious holiday tradition that brings everyone together in one faith. Only one tow...

The tradition continues as Tinapayan Bakeshop delights Ilonggos, young and old, with it's annual grand gingerbread village display at The Atrium . The Display which was put up weeks ago will run until January 2011 for the Filipinos celebrate the longest Christmas season in the world. Gingerbread, once hardened, lasts for years. It is a sweet that can take the form of a cake or a cookie where the predominant flavor is ginger. It was invented in Drayton in Shropshire, England. Before, it was dipped in port. There's another dough that is used to build gingerbread houses. Another variant uses a boiled dough that can be molded like clay to form inedible statuettes or other decorations. Read more Tinapayan's Gingerbread Village is both an animated and gastronomic display as aside from the gingerbread houses that makes the village, it has movable displays like human figurines, carnival attractions and more. The highlight of the display is a train that regularly runs around the vi...