Western Visayas Food Trip: The Home of Pancit Molo and Incredible Seafood
Enjoyed a lovely afternoon walk through Molo’s public square and up to Molo Church. Welcome to Iloilo!
I felt like I was in an episode of Kodoku no Gurume - easily my favourite food show - looking for the kind of meal that would fill my body, mind and soul, and felt really true to the area. Down from the church - past the jeepney stop and roadside barbecue stand - you’ll find Panaderia de Molo, home to the Philippines’ incredibly tasty Pancit Molo. I got a bowl of pork-filled wontons, and Anton got a bowl of chicken. That broth was so good - unctuous, fatty but not greasy, rich and with a hint of sweetness.
The township of Molo was Iloilo’s original parian, or Chinese district. I totally spent some time imagining what it might have been like in the 1800s, when the port of Iloilo opened as a satellite hub for the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade - though of course, Filipino people have long traded with Malays, Chinese and other Southeast Asian peoples.
This melding of techniques (noodles stuffed with meat), tastes (a sweetish, vegetable-speckled filling), and bone-crushingly good soup (literally, those bones spend hours breaking down) is just about all I can think of through winter.
We walked along the Iloilo Esplanade at a pretty magical time. The sun was about to set, I could hear the river flowing steadily, and over the ridge I could see the water and the riverbank itself was free of garbage. I totally understand why it’s a great place to live.
Today, the river is anchored on one side by a row of shiny BPOs (a term most Filipinos prefer over ‘call centres’), and on the other, by surprisingly low walls and gardens surrounding some of Iloilo’s oldest family homes and businesses.
We headed to Samurai Restaurant - a no-frills seafood shop - to order a bunch of clams, oysters and fried rice studded with crab fat, known as my beloved aligue.
The next day, I headed out at 7 am to visit a wholesale market (called ‘bagsakan’) around the corner from my hotel. I mean, I’m pretty comfortable with travelling anywhere in the Philippines, but it still always takes me a couple of days to adjust to the pace, volume, heat and frenetic energy of the country - especially in cities. There’s just so much going on, it really does feel like an assault on the senses! But in a good way that I crave.
My Canadianized self needed a break from the heat, though, and I’m glad I gave in to Starbucks.
I wandered over to the Port of Iloilo (established 1855 and still in use today) before backtracking to Calle Real (the city’s oldest shopping street, where you can also find the famous Roberto’s Queen Siopao), then back to La Paz Market for a 3 pm iced coffee at Madge Cafe.
Finally, a dinner at Breakthrough Restaurant. An experience that wouldn’t have been the same without a good friend to enjoy it with.
What a feast: buttered shrimps, super fresh, delectably coconut-y kinilaw na taningue, battered soft-shell crabs, the tastiest shellfish soup ever with imbao (mangrove clam), and fried rice with kalkag (dried small shrimps). Dinner for company!
Sa uulitin! Until next!