FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Capping the Love Month of February, dinner brought me to Cafe del Prado at Hotel del Rio for its Friday Asian Buffet. Among the pioneers in the Iloilo hotel industry, Del Rio, as it is fondly called, is celebrating its 55th year anniversary this 2020. Cafe del Prado serves as Del Rio's main food and beverage outlet serving a la carte orders, sweets and desserts to go plus breakfast and dinner buffets. And here's a look at its current Friday Asian Dinner Buffet with all its sumptuous line up. For starters, there was the Sopa de Mariscos which is a melange of seafood to whet that appetite! Pair it with some bread too! And if that aint enough, you can binge on steamed oysters to fulfill your seafood cravings! How many can you finish? Have some Okoy too for that resounding vegetable crunch to get you going. Don't forget the dip for a deeper taste appreciation. Create a Pinoy salad appetizer with the ingredients and t...

The mere mention of ginat-an nga tambo would certainly make Ilonggos and fans of Ilonggo cuisine salivate over this vernacular way of cooking of tambo or labong  (bamboo shoots). With coconut milk and greens like  tagabang  ( saluyot), takway  and  okra  plus sahog like shrimps, crabs or bago-ngon (local snails) – this would automatically induce a lot of cravings. Especially when you’re abroad where raw ingredients are often hard to find and if they are luckily available, it still doesn’t taste like the one you might have grown up with. Even so, it is more than enough one's craving for this Ilonggo cuisine, no matter where you are in the world. Here's a recipe for Ginat-an nga Tambo using local snails called Bago-ngong. INGREDIENTS Tambo   (Blanched and squeezed to get rid of bitterness) Gata (Divide into two parts. Dilute one part) Bago-ngon  (Check link for preparation) Tagabang and/or  O kra and/or...

The combination of UBE (purple yam) and CHEESE as filling for pan de sal proved to be one of the most viral gastronomic sensation as it ended 2019 and started 2020 with a big bang! Almost all bakeshops, restaurants and home-based bakers created their own version of this yummy filled bread. And my favorite bakeshop, Tinapayan at Iloilo Supermart, just released their own version - bigger, cheesier and more ube filling to enjoy, sold in packs of 6s for only PhP 40.50.  I love the REAL ube halaya filling that compliments the cheese - a burst of sweet and savory in one bite. The bread itself has ube flavor and not bland, making it the bomb! Whether fresh from the oven, cold from the fridge or just at room temperature, Tinapayan's Ube Cheese Bread is a delicious any time of the day treat! 

I never really liked this fish called "aloy" ever since. Whether fried, pinamalhan , paksiw or even sinabawan , it seems my taste buds already banned this fish. For those not familiar with aloy, it has a dark blue colored skin with a rigid, roundish, long body that tapers at the end. It has no scales so it’s easier to clean.  Once it becomes bigger it is already called “panit” and it is more expensive compared to “aloy”. “Panit” tastes better when it is fried. Be careful, however, when eating not-so-fresh “aloy” because it could cause nausea and allergy. Your tongue will become numb and itchy.  Watch out for the eyes when you buy. If it’s red, it isn’t fresh anymore. Open the gills and check if it’s still reddish. If you still don’t know if it’s fresh or not, you have no choice but you have to use your nose and smell it. (from Read more ) Pinamalhan nga aloy is also delicious when fried to a crisp as you get the goodness of crunchy o...

There's something new at S&R Membership Shopping Warehouse Club and Pizza Parlor.  Introducing the NEW YORK SALISBURY STEAK or more popularly called burger steak for the Pinoys!  For a limited run, just for the month of Februrary, diners can enjoy this 100% All BEEF Quarter Pounder patty topped with extra special gravy, mushroom, fried minced garlic and parsley served with rice. (Drinks not included) I love the Cheeseburger at  S&R so naturally I have to taste their newest product.  The patty was really big and you can taste its real beefy-ness. The buttery aroma is really pleasing and appetizing and extends to your first bite with the gravy. It is very savory but peefectky balanced by the mushrooms, garlic and parsley. I loved it from the first bite I had that I went for it again the second time the next day.  And you should order extra rice if you have a big appetite and diet is not on your vocabulary sin...

Here's an easy to prepare vegetarian seafood salad. Just take seaweed or gulaman and blanch/soak it in hot water until turns brown. Drain and mix with chopped tomatoes, onions and grated green  mangoes then season it salt, pepper and vinegar. Now that's easy and very healthy!