World Class Chefs
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Ramilo (Ram) Villaluna
Ram is a budding chef from Iloilo City (Molo). He gained his training in Culinary Arts at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies under food guru Gene Gonzalez, Institute of Culinary Education (formerly Peter Kumpps) in New York. He took up bread making, and he studied food styling under Delores Custer of the Culinary Institute of America. It all started in Antique where his father owned a restaurant many Antiquenos learned to love. He continued the culinary legacy of his father and now, Ram owns a catering business, Cindy\'s Catering. Food is Ram\'s life, seriously speaking. I am short in saying that he is married to the food industry that, he spends most of his time teaching and mentoring at the Department of Culinary Arts at the University of San Agustin in Iloilo. If one cannot find him in the classroom, Ram will be on the road crisscrossing Iloilo and Antique having first hand in the management of his thriving businesses from both provinces. He also has a once-a-week TV show in GMA 7 \"Food Trip\". I met with Ram once before and he exudes perfectionism, the character that will beam him up to the limelight of culinary arts. At present time, Ram is extremely busy in Manila. I believe he is one of the finalists in The National Food Showdown 2010 sponsored by ABS-CBN. We wish you all the luck, Ram! Maybe, after this showdown, Ram will have the opportunity share favorite recipe here at ILONGGO LIVING.
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Archive for January, 2009
Synopsis of My Trip to Iloilo – Part 5
My last week in Iloilo was well spent with family at the Christmas dinner table. I promised them that I’ll cook turkey and Chinese ham. Lechon was out of the picture as turkey will replace the centerpiece. The rest of the foods where prepared by my brother and sister-in-law. Keso-de-bola Marca Pena was also part of the scene!
It took me 5 hours to cook this 15-pound turkey! All of the ingredients where modified as they were not available. Surprisingly, the taste was great, as if I used ready-made ingredients!
The long-awaited Chinese ham! Oh boy, did it ever satisfied my craving for it.
CHRISTMAS 2008 DINNER TABLE
The other end of the table with the Chinese ham.
Synopsis of My Trip to Iloilo – Part 4
One day, we decided to hunt the best pizza in town. Due to limited time and resources, we decided to narrow down our pizza choices to two.
Pizza from Piazza - the WINNER!
Pizza from Afrique - Runner up
- Marcos encouraged us to visit Fort San Pedro. The wait was worth the while as the sunset showed its glory for just few minutes!
Then we proceeded to THE BOARDWALK for dinner. We parted ways with Marcos, so Jorp and I went to search for Arroz a la Paella. I’ve been craving for this entree for a long time and it’s nowhere to be found still! We decided to settle in Red Paprika. There, we ordered lechon kawali, lingua estofado and chicken binakol.
Synopsis of My Trip to Iloilo – Part 3
A visit to my HIGH SCHOOL ALMA MATER, ILOILO HIGH SCHOOL, now known as Iloilo National High School. Marcos and Rex were patient enough to keep me company for this nostalgic visit. Incidentally, Marcos is also an alumni of this school, as well!
Inside the main building, an instant flashback of high school memories!
Synopsis of My Trip to Iloilo – Part 2
Another brighter shot!
PROVINCIAL CAPITOL. Looking up inside the looby.
And yet, another shot at a different angle.
Hey, wait a minute, those three guys up there looked familiar to me!
View at the rooftop of the Capitol. Thanks to Marcos for bringing us up there.
Synopsis of My Trip to Iloilo – Part 1
My recent memorable trip in Iloilo culminated about three weeks ago. Due to technical difficulty encountered with my previous web host, I was not able to post in Hapit Anay the remaining half of the pictures I had taken during the trip. So, I decided to relocate, renovate and rename my previous website.
So, I will start where I left off at Hapit Anay.
Dulgies Trip, Again?After spending a wholesome lunch at Breakthrough, Marcos, Jorp and I decided to pick up our order of the famous bingka in town at Mohon. Surprise! Someone picked up our order by mistake and we ended up with nothing. That’s STRIKE ONE! Empty-handed, we then proceeded to pick-up our order at Nang Palang’s, a fair distance from Mohon. Initially, we where gratified as we got all our orders from there. Only to find out later that their good-looking bingka was a flop! That’s STRIKE TWO! Then on the way back to Jaro to pick up RCJ’s bingka, someone pick-pocketted my borrowed cell phone. That’ STRIKE THREE! We had enough bad experiences for a day. Though we found out the last two later before we went to Dulgies. Marcos splitted from us, so it’s Jorp and me who went to Dulgies.
JAPANESE CHEESECAKE. Once glazed with strawberry toppings, they looked and tasted good.
BREAD PUDDING with ICE CREAM. Drizzled with caramel sauce.
RCJ BINGKA. This is the larger size, costs 80 pesos and rated the best!
NANG PALANG'S BINGKA. They looked so good but don't be deceived by it because the taste was a flop.
BUKO-PANDAN PIE. This delish pie redeemed Nang Palang's image. They also comes in buko-pineapple flavor.
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