FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Pista Minatay ( Undas ) is that time of the year when Filipinos honor the dead. Most travel back to their respective provinces to be with their families. That become almost like a reunion of sorts and local cuisine and native delicacies become the stars of the handa-an for the season. For this year, our Pista Minatay lunch consisted of Valenciana, Pata ala kansi (simple lauya ) and some grilled fish (not in photo). Native delicacies like linugaw, alupe, kalamay-hati, baye-baye and ibos complete this mix of delicious and "sticky" Undas food fare.  Valenciana is always the star of the Ilonggo Pista Minatay feast. As there are many variations, there are also as many recipes. Basically it is a mix of sticky rice, assorted meat and vegetables makiing it a complete meal into itself. Check out this Valenciana Recipe . This is actually our first time trying this dish not only for Pista Minatay but as far as I can remember, we never had this for a long time. ...

Halloween started on a delicious note as I found myself together with the members of the Iloilo Bloggers Inc. enjoying the "scary to the diet" breakfast buffet at ANI located at Park Inn by Radisson Iloilo. Here's a rundown of the delectable food we devoured today... Delectable breads on display, but only for display only. But there are plenty others breads to choose from so don't fret. Lovin' this set of home-made jams and bread partners! How about making your own Lapaz batchoy or congee? Everything you like and how much you want in your bowl. But if you opt some light eats, there are some cereals for you. How about some cold cuts and some make your own salad from the fresh veggies bars? But there are some ready made salads just waiting to be devoured. Have some yoghurt too! Say cheese! And strike a pose Maki, Deviled Eggs and sandwiches! OMG! A stack of bacon! I'm never leaving this counter! ...

It's finally here in ILOILO! Jollibee's BUKO PIE took social media by storm when it was launched last October 15 in Metro Manila and Luzon stores. And around two weeks later, Oct. 28, Visayas and Mindanao stores started offering the viral gastronomic sensation! The newest item on its dessert menu, the Jollibee Buko Pie has “real buko chunks” and a "sweet-creamy filling," all inside a crisp and flaky crust. A solo buko pie is priced at PhP30 but you can have it in 3's for PhP89. Thank you Jollibee for letting the Iloilo Bloggers Inc. have the first dibs on tour latest offering! So, have you already tried the Buko Pie from Jollibee? It's a delicious kind of filling!

Remember when we were children, Christmas is synonymous with Santa Claus and holiday gifts known as "aguinaldo".  But now as grown-ups, we find ourselves on the "giving" side especially to our younger relatives. However, no matter how old we are, there is always a child in us who is giddy with happiness when we receive an aguinaldo.  Dunkin' Donuts Aguinaldo in Every Cup Dunkin' Donuts is giving its loyal customers and coffee lovers an early Christmas treat!  Every time you purchase one 12-ounce cup of hot or iced Dunkin' Coffee (PhP 50) you instantly win any of the following: Free Classic Donut of your choice PhP 500 cash,  PhP 1,000 cash PhP 5,000 cash  PhP P20,000 cash Just peel the perforated coupon found on the side of your Dunkin' Coffee cup that says "Open your Holiday Surprise!" and "Peel Here." So what are you waiting for? Enjoy a 12oz cup of your fav...

I just came back from my 9-day and 8-night trip in Cebu City and the flavors of Cebu are still fresh on my lips. Most of these taste memories were made at CNT Lechon restaurant across SM City Cebu with all the native Cebuano dishes lining up for a visual feast. The signature dish of Cebu and CNT is the lechon and everybody was lining up for it. Good thing they have a number system which makes ordering a portion of this roast pig more systematic. Famed for having no sauce to go with it, Lechon Cebu is packed with herbs and spices, that's why it is almost a mortal sin to ask for sauce for the lechon when in Cebu. I find most Cebu Lechon more on the salty side (add to that my sensitivity to saltiness in general) so that makes me go "big time" on the rice. Called " puso " it's cooked rice packed in coconut leaves which is almost like ibos for the Ilonggos, but just plain rice and not malagkit. It is most prevalent in Cebu ...

STELLA restaurant has been making waves in the Iloilo food scene with its delectable Ilonggo and other Filipino food offerings. Serving seafoods from the familiar bangus, talaba, shrimos and lukos (squid) to the somewhat exotic like pagi (rays), pantat (mudfish) and indong (fresh water eel), you can have them in some many ways. Filipino favorites like adobo, crispy pata, kare-kare and dinugu-an among others go side by side with Ilonggo favorites like KBL, nilatik, linagpang and adobado. Stella also serves snack items like pasta and pizza. And just recently, it introduced its new line of thin-crust pizza variants.  These flavors are inspired with Filipino and Ilonggo specialties that makes this Italian specialty even more delicuously special! First is the SPICY CHORISO PIZZA which would even set fire to the rain . Just kidding, for its a mildly spiced pizza with its spiciness coming from the spicy choriso. Choriso (local sausage...