Pancit Efuven, Lobster Salad + More Visayan Cuisine Shines at The Manila Hotel Buffet

(SPOT.ph) Batchoy, molo, kinilaw, and more—all delicacies that Western Visayas is more than proud of. And for the month of August, there's no need to head out of Manila to get a taste. The Manila Hotel has teamed up with Chef Rafael "Tibong" Jardeleza, Jr. to bring over the tastes of Western Visayas to Café Ilang-Ilang. Drop by for their lunch or dinner buffet to be treated to flavors and techniques that are unique to the region, including, yup, Batchoy Ice Cream.

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Manila Hotel brings Western Visayas flavors to their Cafe Ilang-Ilang buffet

Chef Tibong is an advocate for Ilonggo heritage cuisine. His cookbook Flavors of Iloilo, published just this year, acts as a treasury of all the techniques and recipes of the cuisine. You can see, and taste, all that in action at the Flavors of Western VIsayas, which runs until August 31 at the Café Ilang-Ilang. 

"As you can see, the Ilonggo heritage cuisine is talagang linuluto ng maayos, na galing pa sa mga lolo't lolohan natin," said Chef Tibong during the media preview night on August 4. This buffet is more than just about the food presented, said the chef. Each dish and recipe has a story, after all, and you can see it in the care they give preparation. 

Chef explains that there will be around eight cycles throughout the buffet's run. "Hindi ito 30 days na pare-pareho lang ang pagkain." This means that apart form Cafe Ilang-Ilang's already expansive fare (a visit to their buffet means lining up more than once at their Japanese station), you can expect to find Ilonggo and more Visayan dishes in the mix. "A total of 120 dishes will be presented [this] month," said chef.

Arguably the star of the show when we visited has to be the unique take on an Ilonggo classic: batchoy, in ice cream form. Think a milky base made with gelato techniques, with a subtle savory note, then topped with all the fixins'. There's chicharon and crisp garlic for crunch, chives for aroma and a bit of green, and even dried noodles. Pile it all on your teaspoon and be ready for a surprisingly pleasant mix; depending on how much aromatics you put, you could choose which flavor profile to put forward. 

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Apart from the batchoy dessert, you can expect dishes like Guimaras Mango with Ginamos sa Tulapo, KBL (Kadios, Baboy, Langka), Laswa, Pancit Molo, Pancit Efuven, Beef Morcon, Chicken Binakol, Lengua Estofado, Bitchuelas, Sopa de Ajo, Fabada, Kinilaw na Tanguigue, Paella Negra with Chiperones, Canonigo, and more. 

As in the name, the historic Manila Hotel has always been a bulwark of all things Manila. With this partnership, the hotel is bringing in new flavors this time from another region.

Take a look at the Manila Hotel Western Visayas buffet:

The Flavors of Western Visayas at the Manila Hotel's Café Ilang-Ilang will run until August 31. Try Ilonggo dishes and more at their lunch buffet, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and their dinner buffet, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Lunch rates are at P2,995 from Monday to Saturday and P3,145 on Sunday; Dinner rates are at P3,145 from Sunday to Wednesday and P3,790 from Thursday to Saturday.

The Manila Hotel is at 1 Rizal Park, Ermita, Manila. For more information, visit The Manila Hotel Facebook page.