Bacolod Chicken Inasal – Lutong Bahay, Ilonggo Style

Seeing families together in a mall on weekends has become such a common sight these days, especially for people in urbanized areas like Metro Manila.

This bonding time has become precious for the time-pressed families, where each member is pre-occupied with a lot of things during the weekdays. Each moment matters, so why bother to spend time for elaborate, time consuming meals?

Thankfully, eating places abound almost anywhere, where families and even a group of friends can still enjoy home-made meals.

Bacolod Chicken Inasal Glorietta 2

Bacolod Chicken Inasal

Bacolod Chicken Inasal Menu

For those who crave and miss the lutong-bahay meals, there are many variations based on places of origin (e.g., Tagalog, Kapampangan/Ilocano, Bicolano and yes, Ilonggo). An example would be Bacolod Chicken Inasal  in Glorietta 2, Makati where my family and I had lunch recently.

In a span of around 15 minutes, our table was filled with three (3) main meals, drinks and and desserts:

  • Chicken inasal with garlic rice, eggplant atchara, buko pandan and iced tea
  • Chicken adobo, garlic rice, maja blanca and iced tea
  • Salmon belly sinigang, ginataang monggo and langka, rice, ginataang halo-halo and a cup of hot coffee

Of these, the chicken inasal is most associated with the city of smiles (Bacolod), while the rest is common everywhere in the Philippines, with the exception of the use of “batwan” that differentiates an Ilonggo from a non-Ilonggo soup.

Chicken Inasal

Sinigang sa Batwan, Tinola sa Batwan

Ginataan or Lugaw

Ginataang Mongo

Maja blanca

Batwan is a round-shaped, greenish-coloured and sour fruit that is considered a ‘must have’ in every Negrense’s home, much like the tamarind is to a Tagalog. It is used for sinigang, kansi (beef nilaga), kilawin and other dishes that require sourness. Some food processing companies have also made candies, purees and preserves out of this fruit.

Toto

Whenever the pagka-hidlaw (longing) strikes for Ilonggo dishes and soups using batwan, I’m only too glad that it wouldn’t take me that far, due to eating places like the Bacolod Chicken Inasal.

Bacolod Chicken Inasal photos here

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Denice Christine Garcia-Pilla is a freelance published writer and editor in between her profession as a market research professional. Her works have appeared in numerous print and online publications in Asia and the United States including the Asia Pacific Business Guide, Launch Asia, Quantum Spirit, Men Zone, The Philippine Star and Lifestyle Asia. She has profiled a number of CEOs, Presidents, entrepreneurs and tycoons of top corporations in the Philippines, as well as renowned international authors such as Mark Victor Hansen of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and Philip Kotler. After a decade of hiatus from the writing scene with motherhood taking center stage of her schedule, Denice is once again picking up from where she left off via the Side Tripper, where she shares her travel adventures and side trips through the lens of photographer Kit Elton Pilla, also known as her husband and father to her son Kyle David.

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