For a long time, RP was quite happy with their business in Iloilo and Cebu cities. However, when foreign tourism slumped following the Abu Sayyaf kidnappings, the restaurant business experienced a dive.
"When the Japanese decided to pack their bags because of the Abu Sayyaf, our business in Cebu went down a little," he admits.
That’s why when some of their close friends suggested the Gorriceta brothers try the market in Metro Manila, they put their heads together and thought about it real hard. After much discussion, they agreed it was time to go Manila and try their luck there.
Those who’ve been to Iloilo would know Marina. Its restaurant near the airport is the first landmark you will see on your way to the city. And it is there that most travelers to Iloilo get to sample authentic Ilonggo cooking.
What exactly does Marina have to offer?
Says RP, "It’s a family-oriented restaurant that serves native Ilonggo cuisine, as well as seafood dishes."
Prides of the house are the oysters, which are flown in fresh daily from farms in Iloilo, an assurance for finicky Manila diners that these shellfish are red tide-free.
RP is truly proud of their oysters. A bucket of 12 to 18 oysters retails for P180, whereas the competition might sell a bucket of eight oysters for around P200. Of course, in Iloilo, a bucket of oysters retail for only P45.
The oysters are served any way the diner wants them. They can be served fresh, kinilaw, sizzling, steamed, baked or grilled. I tried a couple of buckets of oysters during a visit to Marina a few weeks ago, and I had them fresh. With just a few squeezes of calamansi and some spiked native vinegar, or sinamak, I downed a dozen or so of those shellfish. Boy! They were really sweet and succulent!
Of course, there’s more to life than oysters. And at Marina, that can only mean seafood and more.
I’ve always fancied the Ilonggo dish known as adobadong bulgan. The bulgan is actually sea bass that is cooked adobo-style in coconut cream. I remember the adobado sauce to be nutty and light, contrasting nicely with the tender fish of the bulgan. Marina’s version of adobado is a little bit spicier, the sauce a little bit heavier. It is perfect over a steaming mound of plain rice.
An order of grilled squid proved to be a delight, too. I found the squid a bit huge for two, looking more like a monster with a heavy kilo of tentacles. However, it was sweet and juicy, even if the squid was a bit chewy.
The day’s find was, of course, the Ilonggos’ favorite diwal. RP was at a loss for a more common name for diwal. Simply call ’em angel wings.
"That’s what everybody in Iloilo calls it. If you spread open the diwal’s shell, it looks exactly like angel wings," he says.
The diwal experienced a fad in the ’90s. It only sold for a peso apiece then. Nowadays, a kilo of diwal sells for P2,000.
The diwal is now a rare delicacy. Due to overharvesting and pollution of sea beds because of prawn farming then, the number of diwal has slowly gone down through the years. The fact that it doesn’t grow as prolifically in fish ponds as it does in sea beds adds to its cost.
How does the diwal taste like? It has a flavor similar to clams, or halaan, but it is more delicate and nutty. It goes down with just a slurp. A very expensive slurp, I must stress.
La Paz batchoy? Cookies and sweets from Panaderia de Molo? It’s all here, too.
Marina had a notorious reputation a few years ago because of its bikini-clad carwash girls. It was just a gimmick, RP says, a gimmick that clicked and got him into hot water.
However, Marina no longer needs any gimmicks to succeed. Those who hanker for real Ilonggo food need only to drop by its outlets at Pearl Plaza in Ortigas Center and along Jupiter St. in Makati City.
For those who can’t wait for a trip to Marina, or for those who would simply want to try Ilonggo food at home, RP shares the recipes to some of Marina’s most popular Ilonggo dishes.
PANCIT MOLO
1/2 kilo ground pork
1/2 kilo shrimps, chopped
3 Tbsps. garlic, minced
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
molo wrappers
2 Tbsps. cooking oil
1 clove garlic crushed
1/2 cup onions, sliced
1/2 cup shrimps, sliced
5 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp. fried minced garlic
1 stalk onions, sliced thinly
Mix well ground pork, shrimps, garlic, onions, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Wrap a teaspoonful of meat mixture in molo wrappers then set aside. Heat cooking oil and sauté garlic and onions. Stir fry shrimps and add chicken broth. Let boil and drop in molo balls and simmer for 10 minutes or till balls are thoroughly cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with fried garlic and onion leaves. Serve steaming hot.
LA PAZ BATCHOY
1/2 cup pork liver
1/2 kilo pork intestines
1/2 kilo pork heart
1/2 kilo pork belly
2 tsps. salt
1/2 cup fried minced garlic
1/2 cup chicharon, crushed
1 stalk onion leaves, sliced thinly
miki
soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Clean pork liver, intestines, heart and belly thoroughly. Boil for 30 minutes or until tender and season with salt. Remove innards and reserve the soup stock. Slice innards into bite size and set aside. Put miki in a strainer and immerse in boiling soup stock to cook. In individual serving bowls put cooked miki, and add in the sliced innards and ladle in soup stock. Top with fried garlic, chicharon and sliced onions. Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper to suit individual taste.
KANSI
250 grams chopped kansi, or kenchi to the Tagalogs (bulalo can also be used alternatively)
200 grams langka, sliced
150 grams pechay
1 cup batuan juice, squeezed
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 tsp. astiwetis (achuete)
3 grams long hot pepper, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. seasoning
Stir fry kansi in onions, add water and boil. Wait until the meat is tender. Put the sliced langka, astiwetis and batuan juice. Add salt and seasoning to taste. Add long hot pepper and pechay. Boil for two minutes.
CHICKEN BINAKOL
1 whole native chicken
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped
1 stalk onion leaves, sliced thinly
1 cup coconut meat
2 cups potato, peeled, sliced
2 cups red pepper, sliced
1 stalk lemon grass
salt
chicken powder
water
Boil the native chicken for 15 minutes or till tender. Remove the chicken, chop into small parts then set aside. In a large pan, heat cooking oil and sauté onions, tomatoes and the chicken. Add water and the potato, bell pepper, lemon grass and chicken powder. Boil for about 5 minutes, add the coconut meat and sprinkle a little salt for flavor. Transfer into serving bowl and garnish with onion leaves, ready to serve.