Roberto's: Iloilo City's iconic restaurant

Photo courtesy of OBOI from Skyscrapercity forums

I was keen on updating my photos of the Roberto's; scenes in and out of the restaurant itself plus their other food fares. Since most of my entries for this iconic restaurant is about their Queen sio pao, I had a blog-induced snack today in one of Iloilo City's most popular and iconic restaurants.

Just a simple logo but is very recognizable throughout Iloilo

Their famous Queen sio pao is available for around 4 days a month only. Next stop: September 1-4, 2009

Chaotic standing room only especially during lunch and snacktime

Their signature red and white wooden chair

Some modern fixtures but they only take the sidelights since it's still their signature furnitures that take the spot.

Their (in)famous kitchen and food preparation area

As they say, Roberto's is the restaurant that burgers built.

Their combo meals paying respect to the (dancing) Queen (sio pao)

Coolers to take the heat away

Their equally famous pancit dishes and meatballs

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region.� Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of� batwan � and the� malinamnam na sabaw .� One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces� 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit � (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home.� A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ".� Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.

Sooo Pinoy in Davao at Harana Restaurant

On our last day in Davao, breakfast was as satisfying as good music to the ears. A spread of Filipino favorites was laid for us to savour at Harana Restaurant. A welcome sight of gardens and wide open spaces gave us the appetite for the first meal of the day and among the last few we will have in this food trip across Davao. Right on the date that day, June 29 is the anniversary of Harana. During this dates milestones were made at Harana - in 1970 and 1979, when its first and second branches were opened. And in 2012, it was Sooo Pinoy that made another milestone at Harana. I was part of Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip na Pilipinas! which is set to visit 300 restaurants in 10 key regions/areas all over the Philippines. Davao is the 4th food stop after Iloilo , Bora cay and Cebu that started last March. The goal of the Food Trip is to show that Filipino dishes per region have different identities based on the culture, lifestyle and history of the area. � The Food Trip also aims to show th

A cooking weed called Lupo

Lupo is a weed that is commonly found in ricefields and roadside in provinces. It is most prevalent in Ilonggo cooking compared to others as it is mostly the Ilonggos who can recognize lupo , though maybe called differently in other places.� Most commonly used in laswa or monggo dishes to add greens like kamote tops, it also makes � a good partner in� sinabawan na isda recipes. It has hints of bitterness � but don't expect it to be ampalaya-bitter like. It is mostly sold in wet local wet markets by the tumpok .

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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