A Taste of Iloilo

We went to Iloilo last year (November 2011) with a goal of making it as a starting point for our brief Boracay escapade. However, our short stay in the place has made it more than just our starting point.

my brother and mom at the arrival area

We arrived in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo at around 9:30 am. Since we have planned to stay in our family friend's house, we waited for their relative to fetch us. After waiting for almost a quarter, a pick-up arrived and drove us to a 20-minute ride to New Lucena. 

an old church  in New Lucena

The house where we stayed in New Lucena is just across the church, adjacent to the plaza and school, and just a few meters away from their hospital (a primary one) and wet market. It definitely has the best location in town.

We were welcomed by a sumptuous brunch where estufado, dimsum, grilled catfish, and homemade kalamay (one of the best kalamays I've ever tasted!) were served. After that festive welcome breakfast/lunch, we took a nap (an understatement for almost a 3-hour sleep). It was raining cats and dogs when I woke up so we have to postponed our plan of heading downtown.

heading to their mercado

When the rain finally stopped, we head to their mercado (market) to try Iloilo's signature dish: the La Paz Batchoy. La Paz Batchoy is a noodle soup with a variety of meat and veggies, often served with pork cracklings on top. 

A bowl of their special batchoy costs P20. I bet this is way cheaper than the ones being offered by the restaurants in Iloilo City. We paired this warm bowl of batchoy with hot pandesal bought from a panaderia nearby. 

It was too late to head to downtown area so we spend the rest of the day playing bluff, taking a walk around their town, and taking sunset shots.

lovely sunset!

We set our clock really early the following day to catch a bus heading to Caticlan. The ride from New Lucena to Caticlan is around 6 hours (yes, we're heading to Boracay). 

a breathtaking view from Mt. Luho view point

When we got back from Boracay island, we were dead tired not just from the bus ride but as well from our beach bumming, food trip, and ATV adventure from that paradise. 

The weather is good when we woke up. Because we're scheduled to go back in Davao the following day, we spent the entire day in the downtown area, a 30-minute jeepney ride from New Lucena.

When we reached the city, we rode another jeepney bound for Jaro where the cathedral, Ted's batchoyan, and house of biscutcho could be found.

the cathedral

bell tower across the cathedral

Because of time constraints, we decided to skip some of the known establishments of the city and head to SM Iloilo instead to take our lunch and buy pasalubongs which are basically food specialties of the place. 

Piaya, pinasugbu, butter scotch is ♥.

You tend to overeat when you have these food in front of you especially if you can't find them in your city.
Silvanas from Brownies Unlimited

If you're bound for Iloilo, I suggest that you make most of your time there. I'm personally not satisfied with this trip because I felt like I haven't explored the city that much. This is why I'm planning to go back there hopefully this year :) 

Have you been to Iloilo?

I want to know how you spent your time there. Feel free to share!