...AND THIS IS ONE OF THE POSTS THAT COME UP: I found Iloilo to be another world entirely - a place where the cuisine reflected not only the province's coastal terrain but also the famously hospitable sweet nature of the Ilonggos. I remember quite vividly the time my aunt drove me all the way to Tiolas, the last town on the border to Antique, visiting the historic churches of Tigbauan, Miag-ao and San Joaquin. We would stop intermittently as we came across roadside vendors and food hawkers along the way. I had my first taste of bingkâ (that's bibingkâ to us Luzonians) in Oton; inasal na manok (barbecued native chicken flavored with lemongrass and achuete) in Villa beach; and a deliciously grilled fish steak oozing with fat called sibingan, peddled by an elderly lady as we were nearing Tiolas. It was clipped between two flat bamboo sticks, much like an elongated clothespin. As I bit a morsel off the somewhat charred fish steak, oil dripped down my lips. It was a belly portion of what I was to learn much after a blue marlin. It was still unheard of in Manila then, but the experience was indelibly etched in my taste buds.
Upon reaching Tiolas atop a hill, we stopped by this karinderia nestling on a precipice with a spectacular view of Guimaras Strait. Perched on the rocks below was a flame tree in full bloom, solitarily and bravely, constantly being battered by the breaking waves. Here, I had my first fill of what was typically daily Ilonggo fare: kadios kag pata (black eyed beans with pork trotters); ubad (pith of the saba banana trunk) cooked with native chicken and green langkâ; takway adobado (gabi root) simmered in vinegar and guinamos (Panay island's distinct dark shrimp paste); and guisadong pancit Efuven (sauteed egg noodles). Simple and honest food but made memorable with the constant sea breeze and sound of breaking waves. - by Claude Tayag (nephew of Pons and Alice Saldana).
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