Of all the places that I’ve been to, Iloilo City is perhaps one of those places on Earth that truly prides with their eclectic ambrosial food and divine cooking prowess.
Every restaurant or food joint we dined, the food were “oh my gosh is this for real?” kind of awesomeness that it takes a few minutes for us to pull down our thoughts from touching the sky due to sensory orgasm.
Yes, Ilonggo food are that insanely “full of awe” good it’s so surreal it short circuits our faces to a silly smile of “I can die now” satisfaction.
Last year, it was a joy for me to finally bring my girlfriend to Iloilo City; the Land of Lapaz Batchoy, Pancit Molo, Biscocho, seafood.. heck, every darn great Ilonggo food found in the Visayas Islands.
My girlfriend was the main reason why I became a food junkie plus the extra 25lbs of goodness I carry in my love belly. Before she came to Iloilo, she was pretty so and so whenever I told her about the legendary Ilonggo food.
The only way to convince the most discriminating food lover I’ve ever known is to bring her and let her have a bite to dispel any heretic skepticism that’s been clouding her from seeing the light.
So we finally decided to crank up our plans to reality and hit our shoes to explore the Panay Island for more than a week. So our first stop was Iloilo City:
First Day:
Now our first stop: Lapaz Batchoy and Etude house at SM City.
Exploring the streets of Iloilo City via a two pair of sneakers:
Dinner at Smallville’s Grillers Oysters House.
We met David and his wife Amor on our first night and they treated us on an awesome mouth watering goodness at Griller’s Oyster house. David is one of my closest friends in Iloilo when I was still studying in Iloilo more than a decade ago. Wow, saying that makes me feel so old. Thanks for the treat bro! *Bromance*
My girlfriend became a believer of Iloilo’s food delight that night, but little did she know it was just a tiny speck of what was to come.
It was like a tip of the iceberg or a single note of Handel’s climatic “Hallelujah” chorus and the cherries on top were yet to be served.
After that one hefty honest to goodness dinner, we went back to Centennial Hotel and slept with a silly smile on our faces.
That concludes our day 1 so there you have it.
By the way, here’s my girlfriend’s take on our first day: http://reiyakhu.tumblr.com/post/14867433170/in-transit-teaser-iloilo
Day 2: Next Post! ^_^