If you are like me who was born and raised in Negros and have been fed with Ilonggo cuisine for more than half of my lifetime, you will be able to relate with my desire to always go for the types of cooking and food that I grew up with.
Although I have been living in Metro Manila for more than a decade now, I still cannot change the default preferences of my palate. That is, to go for authentic Ilonggo cuisine.
Because of this, I have discovered a lot of Ilonggo restaurants and well-known chefs who are Ilonggos in Metro Manila. I have been attracted to outlets claiming that they serve authentic Ilonggo chicken “inasal” and “kansi,” but honestly, only a few of them can really satisfy my craving. It is like a famous quote of Cassandra Clare: “They say time heals all wounds, but that presumes that the source of the grief is finite.” The feeling of longing for the real authentic one still there.
Chicken Inasal
Cansi
Lately, I discovered that Bacolod City’s Aida’s Chicken has a branch in Makati Square. It serves a bowl of “cansi,” a beef broth soured by a fruit called “batwan.” It also has chicken paa or petso “inasal” marinated with “calamansi,” mixed with “tuba” (Visayan vinegar), annatto and then grilled over hot coals or “uling” while basted with the marinade or chicken oil. Overall, I am glad that it has remained true to the Bacolod City quality that it has shown.
Aida’s Chicken in Manukan country in Bacolod is one of the places on my list to always visit when I am in Negros. Every time my family in Negros wants us to visit us here, “batwan” has always been my “memento” wish because I also cook “cansi” at home, since my wife is also an Ilonggo.
More Aida’s Chicken Photos here
By the way, if you miss ”Kinilaw na tangigue, gurayan or dilis” and “Tinolang isda” soured by tomatoes and “batwan,” it also has these in Makati Square branch. These are reasons enough to visit the place. I think it also serves a variety of other dishes on their menu, most of which are authentic Illonggo.
Aida’s Chicken Menu
Eating at Aida’s Chicken brings me to Negros, with all of the paintings hung on its restaurant wall, painted with some well-known Ilonggo artists which I’ve known some of them personally like Alvarado and Co.
Location: Makati Cinema Square
Chino Roces Avenue
Makati City, Philippines
Tel No.: (632) 403-9391
