Gerry's Special: Thin and crisp piaya

It was Chef Tibong Jardeleza's on the spot food finds that I got to discover this generic piaya sold along the streets in the vicinity of the Iloilo Central Market. After another Tabu-an Lunch, we all passed by some stalls in the area and saw this piaya among the display of native delicacies. "Generic" is what I call these almost brandless products that seem to be there just like the others. But this one could be an exception as it is actually very good, even better than most sold in bigger stores and with more familiar brands.

I like how thin and crisp the piaya is plus it is filled just right - not too overwhelming. You got to enjoy the crunch, the flavour of the unleavened bread and the muscovado sugar filling - all complementing and not distracting your taste buds. And it's only PhP20 per packs of eights. It also comes in the ube variant but I'd still go for the original one.

A fish called baka-baka

Another Tabu-an lunch last Thursday brought in something very interesting on the luncheon table. It was one weird looking fish that I just stared at (don't know for how long) for I was mesmerized. Chef Tibong Jardeleza then announced, as he placed another one on the table, that this fish is called baka-baka. He got it from the Jaro Market and for it was the market day for the "Huwebesan", a lot of goods coming from almost everywhere in the province were brought in to the market.

It was quickly christened as "cow-cow" as a literal translation of baka (cow) upon quick look at Wikipedia later that night, it was just as surprising that this fish are " in the family are known variously as boxfishes, cofferfishes, cowfishes and trunkfishes." Furthermore it states that "members of this family occur in a variety of different colors, and are notable for the hexagonal or "honeycomb" patterns on their skin. They swim in a rowing manner. The hexagonal plate-like scales of these fish are fused together into a solid, triangular, box-like carapace, from which the fins, tail, eyes and mouth protrude."

And it was the hexagonal plate-like scales that got my interest most (aside from the "irony" of the big fishes, small mouth) for it was like a jigsaw puzzle. The grilled fish was almost like a box that you can actually knock on and it reverberates inside showing some hollowness (within). And indeed, upon closer inspection most of the flesh supported the armor like scales and the inside was as hollow as it can be. Maybe a large stomach or space for the organs or something. And look how those scales crumble into hexagons. I could really play jigsaw puzzle with this fish!

Anyway, Chef Tibong shared the technique of preparing the fish as it was cooked directly on the griller. He said "No salt is needed because the skin is like a shell but the kind that crumbles once cooked" Furthermore, sawsawan or dip is optional for the meat taste is close to prawns or lobster. And everybody agreed as one of the baka-baka fishes was close to gastronomic annihilation (and I still can't get over those hexagonal scales - make me want to wash and play with them LOL).

It was another Tabu-an Lunch filled with great food, good company and as always, something new was discovered as Chef Tibong brought in something special, something that catches the attention of his clients (including Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog that time) and make them enjoy this feast in the middle of the Iloilo Central Market a truly unforgettable one. Not only of the gastronomy it brought in but of the experience one can have of the local food and food ways. Truly and definitely, LUNCH is more fun at TABU-AN!

Valentine cupcakes bouquet from Hotel del Rio

Valentine is just around the corner and if you're not sure whether to buy flowers or chocolate for your love ones, then this might just interest you. Hotel del Rio's fabulous Chocolate Cupcakes Bouquet combines the ageless appeal of flowers and the mouth watering charm of chocolate cupcakes!

With the cupcakes iced like a flower's petals then bounded together to form a bouquet and placed in glass vase - it's a perfect Valentine gift to give and receive. The thought of flowers you can actually eat gives this Valentine gift a whole new meaning. They can also be a good centerpiece for your Valentine dinners at home or elsewhere and surprise them with dessert - flower cupcakes!

This beautiful cupcakes bouquet is a fabulous way to say I LOVE YOU and comes with delicious butter icing in color combination of your choice. And they also have Mini Cupcakes Bouquets in lively colors! Truly spectacular gifts this Valentine's Day.

These Valentine Cupcakes Bouquets costs PhP450.00 and for orders and reservation please call Hotel del Rio's Sales Office at (033) 3351171-74./*PR

A night of cocktails and bartending flair

Participated in by 18 teams from different culinary and hospitality schools in Iloilo City, the 4th Dinagyang Bartending Cup (Tandem Edition) was one night talent and skills both in showmanship and cocktail concoctions. Presented by Great Foods Concepts Inc. and sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions and Pepsi, among others, the 4th installment had pairs of contestants juggling it out on stage and mixing it in in glasses. The Avenue Complex hosted the event gathering hundreds of spectators in and around the Smallville area.

I served as one of the judges of the competition concentrating on how each concoction tasted, so it was an intoxicatingly enjoyable night for me that lasted almost midnight. But as it was the Dinagyang weekend, the fun was just starting that time. I only had sips of the cocktails, two the most then wash it all away with a gulp of water in preparation for the next and next.

I also enjoyed the showmanship of each tandem with mostly juggling acts of bottles whether as individual (while the other mixes) or in tandem performances. Witch each school rooting for their own teams it was a very lively event as cheers and jeers come expectedly from our backs and sides.

Not even the fireworks display during the Luces In the Sky competition from the SM City vicinity distracted the spectators and the tandems as their performances were worth more than the lights and sounds of the actual fireworks.

Some had themes like these ninjas above and as expected I heard the ultimate "ninja song" Kung Fu Fighting in their repertoire. Some played safe with their usual get up but had the "Moves like Jagger" among others. Of course, one can't have it perfect all the time as some dropped bottles and even broke a lot of them.

But one accident created a very big laugh from the spectators as a tandem was juggling, a second of miscommunication sent on those stainless steel cups right on the head of another with one big thud that echoed around the area. Good thing it wasn't those bottles filled with liquor and the likes.

In the end, the St. Therese MTC Colleges tandems went home with the top plum as well as the third place while the pair from WVCST took the second place. But they were all winners as they not only showed grace under pressure, with all those lights, cheers and jeers but they also concocted good cocktails and presented them well. It was also a good ground for them to showcase their learnings as well as their hardwork in making these performances and those colorful and flavorful drinks.

A night of good cocktails and skillful bartending flair at The Avenue Complex as a successful 4th installment of the Dinagyang Bartending Cup came to a close with a promise of a bigger, more entertaining and more intoxicating competition is up on it's wooden (5th) anniversary next year. And it was another experience for me not only as a judge but also as a spectator ... with some hints of intoxication-lol.

Check out more photos on The Avenue Complex Facebook Account.

Unmarked photos in this blogpost are courtesy of Great Foods Concepts Inc.

Ube brazo de mercedes from Lapaz Bakeshop

It was just an impromptu food trip in and around Lapaz market a few months ago when I discovered this ube brazo de mercedes from the Lapaz Bakeshop. It was also my first meeting with the organizers of the Tabu-an Food Festival - Chef Tibong Jardeleza and Mr. Eugene Jamerlan, that I got to taste and take home this ube dessert that later on became a staple at home.

Lapaz Bakeshop sits on the corner of Tinda Lapaz right across Grand Dame Hotel. A restaurant named Lapaz Kitchenette was the previous locator of the space and it was famous for it's PhP59 buffet. The bakeshop is among the bigger "small town" bakeshops in the city with it's wide range of breads, pastries and cakes plus shorts snack items. It even has branches in some towns in Iloilo including one in my hometown, Sta. Barbara.

It was a quick side trip made by Sir Eugene that time that introduced me to this ube variant of brazos. He bought a few slices of this dessert and brought it inside Madge Cafe inside the market. It was perfect with the cafe's native coffee and the filling is somewhat like ube halaya. The meringue is just shaded with food coloring but overall the dessert is very good and in fact still a novelty item as it's the only one of it's kind I knew of so far.

Instead of confectioners sugar sprinkled on top, it has skimmed milk that gives it more flavour and texture complementing the rich ube flavour. A whole roll yields around 20 thin slices and sold at PhP22.50 per slice. Almost priced like most brazo de mercedes' or maybe a little more but hey, it's ube and you won't regret you bought it. You might even get another slice or even another roll!

Linaga nga lanit-lanit

How cholesterollific this linaga is but admit it it looks very delicious! On the way out of the the Iloilo Central Market, we chanced upon this stall serving this stewed lanit-lanit or tendons. The lady who ordered it was about to take spoonful of her lunch when we stopped her just to take a photograph of her lunch bowl and she found it funny-lol.

But I found it very salivating looking at the steaming broth that probably is soured by batwan just like most linaga served in Iloilo. The thought of having the chewy portion of the cow or pig is a steaming and sour soup easily made me forget that I just had (a Tabu-an) lunch. I usually dig in/look for this part whenever I order linaga or kansi but this bowl has lots of it so I might be checking this one out very soon when I get back to the Iloilo Central Market for another Tabu-an lunch and might as well include this linaga nga lanit-lanit on my menu.

Chocolate Treats for Valentine from Tinapayan Bakeshop

Say it with chocolates this Valentine as Tinapayan brings out a lot of chocolate treats in time for the celebration of heart's day. Choose from a variety of chocolate bars that come with Valentine greetings covers and comes in regular and mint flavours. There's even a "love recipe" at the back to keep the relationship burning with passion even after the heart's day celebration.

But if you really chocolates that come in those iconic heart shapes then look no further as Tinapayan also brings their Choco Hearts in different flavours and colours in dainty packages. they come in boxes of 4's and 9's.

These treats are available at all Tinapayan branches situated in all Iloilo Supermart outlets. Have a sweet celebration of Valentine's Day!

Assumption Tarts

A few days ago , we dropped by Assumption Iloilo, to fetch someone and along the journey, the talk somewhat centered on the Assumption Tart. I just kept on listening to get an idea of what it is. A lot of tart photos swam in my thought as they talked about these pastries . And it was a very big surprise when we reached our destination that our host served us Assumption Tarts. How easy it was it to have my dreams fulfilled that time!

So it wasn't really what I had in mind for a tart. Looks like baked pizza doughs arranged neatly in a container. A little Googling reveals that these are actually pie crusts served with guava jelly generously spread on top. But according to a reliable source, the Assumption tart was a cake that fell, you know, something went wrong in the preparation of the cake that resulted to a gastronomic catastrophe. Also, its a take off from short cake or masa podrida made with flour, lard, salt and sugar according to my source.

More Googling reveals this Philippine Star article that says "To this day, the "Assumption Tarts" are baked by the nuns, and though they are now packaged in fancy tin cans, supply is only as good as the nuns can meet the demand. There have been offers for the nuns to set up "Tarts" outlets in the malls, but the good nuns politely turned them down. "

I tried them plain and I liked them the way they are. They're crumbly and melts in the mouth with the floury taste lingering until you have another bite. And as first defined of it being perfectly partnered with guava jelly, our host brought a a bottle produced by the Trappist Monastery in Guimaras. Now this was really a perfect day of having wishes come true without even wishing for them. They just come out naturally and not to mention delicious.

So you'll have to get the assistance of Assumptionistas in order to avail of these Assumption tarts for you to have a taste and savour the goodness these nuns have been making (maybe from their mistakes) for years now. Bon apetit!

Binuro na, pinamalhan sa bayabas pa

Among the "big hits" of my recent Tabu-an lunches lately was the pinamalhan nga bilong bilong. What makes it more flavourful is that it is binuro at first then stewed in vinegar, soy sauce, oil and guava. But it isn't the usual binuro since this one is just freshly binuro, around 2-3 hours. After being given the salt bath, it is not washed in water but the bilong bilong being shaken to get rid of the excess salt then it's prepared as pinamalhan.

But if there are leftovers, which is rare, Chef Tibong Jardeleza suggests to reheat them then shower with olive oil for another sumptuous bilong bilong experience. No one will know they're just leftovers unless you tell them so. That's Chef Tibong's Bilong-bilong sa Tabu-an, Binuro na, pinamalhan sa bayabas pa!