My Iloilo Food Trip - Part 2

Sweet Indulgence
After a hearty and totally heavy meal at Mojave, we all decided to slow down our pace and proceed to do this in the midst of sweet and sugary dessert celebrations. From freshly prepared gelatos to single serve desserts, Nothing But Desserts also found at the Avenue in Smallville, Diversion Road Iloilo city is a haven for people in love with anything sweet.

Nothing But Desserts' Offerings


Full Display
I immediately notice the red and white seats and cushions of the place, very hip and modern yet comfy - it beckons you to stay and enjoy your share of the calories, really. Chocolate decadence, gelato goodness and mousse magnificence are abundantly displayed in their chillers, beautifully garnished with a variety of fruits, syrups and chocolate tuilles.

Chocolate Bark by the Grams



Our group decide on the creme brulee as recommended by our host and were pretty happy with our choice as the product's creaminess and smooth mouthfeel envelope our tongues.

Creme Brulee



Not to waste the opportunity, I order the Mint Gelato (I'm a sucker for anything mint!) and after a spoonful, release a sigh of sheer happiness and satisfaction.

Menta Gelato


A meal is really incomplete without desserts, don't you think?

My Iloilo Food Tour - Part 1

Fantastic. That's how I can begin to describe my recent food trip in Iloilo, a city that I haven't visited for years. My Ilongga friend who is now residing in the US was the only compelling reason for me to go there really, but because of work, I found myself in the midst of good company and great food.

Flavors of the World
A new row of restaurants - The Avenue found in Smallville, Diversion Road IloIlo city, boasts of various cuisines for foodlovers who do not mind paying an extra for quality food. As our host has mentioned, the prices are quite premium based on Iloilo standards, but, after scanning the menus, it was fairly priced considering its portions and quality.

Found in a restaurant cluster arranged in horseshoe configuration, you will find food establishments featuring various cuisines - Filipino, Tex Mex, Italian, Desserts, Gelato and Coffee.

Spiced Popcorn


Ready for War
Lunch was our first meal in the city. Mojave features Tex Mex cuisines. When you enter the place, you will notice a popcorn machine on one corner and will be given a bowl of delicately spiced popcorn while waiting for your oders to arrive. I say orders because we were there to feast and fight - well, we were kind of getting ready for war with the amount of food we ordered - hearty soups, nacho platters, steaks, wings, cheese crusted fish and bottomless red iced tea.

Tostadas


Other than the popcorn, we were also treated to a platter full of tostadas which I really enjoyed because of its distinct thin-ness, texture and crunch coupled with the tangy tomato salsa dip.

Mojave's Nachos


Their take on nachos is served fanciful on a hand-painted platter and generously topped with cheese, salsa and chili.

Then came a parade of Mojave specialties - Cheese Crusted Cream Dory. Notice the cast iron skillets where they serve the items. Pretty but heavy to pass around.

Cheese-Crusted Cream Dory


Their buffalo wings are relatively big and had a sweet and spicy barbecue profile.

Buffalo wings


Our group also opted to try the Mixed seafood and chicken fingers platter. This is their version of fish/chicken and chips. It includes shrimps and calamari as well.

Mixed Seafood Platter


I love anything that is barbecued. Mojave also serves grilled pork ribs basted with their signature barbecue sauce.

Grilled Pork Ribs



Local or Imported?
The highlight of Mojave's menu are their steaks. They serve both local and US Angus beef. We tried the Rib eye Angus and the Local Beef Tenderloin. Both were fantastic and were served with your choice of sauce (mushroom, bernaise or peppercorn), a side of vegetables and real mashed potatoes.

Steak Plate


I believe our meal lasted for 3 hours and in between bites, we quenched our thirst with sips of Mojave's red iced tea - freshly brewed tea laced with grenadine syrup.

Notice there's no dessert - more on that later.
Life's good. Food's better.

Hunt for the Kitchen

When you see Cookbook Kitchen, you suddenly wonder how in the world can such a place be filled up for lunch when location-wise, it is neither situated in the mall nor is it close by any commercial establishment whatsoever. The restaurant interiors are not even grand and there's not much parking. It violates all the basic requirements of choosing the perfect place for a restaurant.

So we all kept wondering while going through the menu and found our answers as soon as the food arrives.

We ordered what was recommended - Baked Cream Dory with Parmesan crust, Adobo Pasta, Lamb Shoulder Chop with Fennel sauce, Cinnamon Spiced Grilled Pork Belly and Strawberry Shortcake.

Baked Cream Dory with Parmesan Crust

I love this dish because it is rich and delicate at the same time. Perfectly seasoned, the serving is actually good for two and comes with a deep brown crust that covers perfectly cooked layers of tender and melt in your mouth fish.



Adobo Pasta

My benchmark of Adobo is that of my dad's - his version is one with generous amounts of garlic and freshly cracked pepper, complemented with soy sauce and vinegar that lovingly flavors chicken and pork. Cookbook Kitchen's adobo pasta though was rich in garlic and very subtly flavored, it kind of reminded me more of a salpicado than adobo, but very good nonetheless.



Lamb Shoulder Chop with Fennel Sauce

There was a review that mentioned that the lamb served to them was quite tough. That was not in our case. Our lamb was perfectly grilled and the sauce had a the flavor profile of tamarind and fennel combined. And because I have this prejudice with lamb having that "gamey" flavor, it is a pleasant surprise to find this particular dish without such.



Cinnamon Spiced Pork Belly

Liempo, belly, country style pork - however way you call it, I just love this cut of meat. Nothing beats grilling this cut and with this one seasoned with cinnamon, it just keeps you asking for more.



Strawberry Shortcake

This one's pretty and is big enough to feed the entire barkada. Lots of ice cream on a bed of vanilla sponge and generously topped with frozen strawberries. It would have been nicer to have fresh strawberries though.


I have been warned. Find Cookbook Kitchen and it'll be all worth the effort. We found it alright, and boy, are we glad.

Happy hunting!