They Now Serve Batchoy at Jolibee

Last Sunday on the way to the Manila Airport, I stopped by at the Jolibee branch along MIA Road to grab a quick lunch and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were serving La Paz Batchoy. I thought of ordering their "Jolibee-style" batchoy but as I was already craving for their chicken beforehand I just made a mental note to try it next time. Now I wish I tried it so I could have given my verdict and shared it in this blog. But on the other hand, considering that my taste buds are used to the authentic, "real deal" batchoy at the La Paz Market, Jolibee's concoction might pale in comparison and I may end up disappointed. So I may end up not ordering it each time for fear of being disappointed. I remember testing Lucky Me's batchoy instant noodles and it was atrocious. There is also a Ted's Batchoyan in Ali Mall, Cubao but after several visits their batchoy somehow falls short of my expectations.

Batchoy for Ilonggos is a comfort food, an acquired taste. I have been eating batchoy way back when it was sold for just five pesos a bowl (with "one-to-sawa" caldo or broth) and back in my college days, no semestral break can be complete without a trip to the nearest batchoyan in Iloilo before going back to Manila. To me batchoy is not batchoy without chicharon (pork skin cracklings) and atay (liver). I always eat mine with pan de sal and Mountain Dew, with usually a request to the cook to add a little extra chicharon. I always slurp the broth first, ordering an extra bowl of caldo if I'm really famished, and I would then proceed to eat the noodles, meat and other ingredients. Broth first, laman later - this I am told is how real Ilonggos eat their batchoys. Ilonggos usually judge how good a batchoy is by how tasty the broth, by how good the timpla sang kaldo is. Aside from bulalo (bone marrow), I am told that they put a special kind of bagoong (shrimp paste) in the broth and that's the secret formula for making the soup so rich and tasty. Atay, pork innards, chicharon, bone marrow and bagoong - batchoy is a real bahala ka sa buhay mo, "cardiac delight" - this is the reason why it is so delicious - and one cannot really have this bowl of pure cholesterol everyday unless you aspire for a "near death experience" (or unless you work as a kargador at the La Paz wet market).

The beauty of batchoy is that it is uncomplicated to make and it could be eaten at any time of the day. There is no "proper" time for eating it and for many Ilonggos, batchoy is not merely a soup but an all-in-one meal. For the kargadors of La Paz public market, batchoy is their version of the "power breakfast." For penny-pinching college students in Jaro, it is a good substitute for lunch or dinner. Batchoy is the merienda of choice of many office workers and the batchoyan is a mandatory pit stop for balikbayans and OFWs in Iloilo City. And batchoy is neither only for the poor nor people who are trying to save money. I have seen doctors, lawyers and politicians at batchoyan restaurants. A trip to a batchoyan is also a customary last stop for people on a spending spree - after an all-night drinking binge around town, a steaming hot bowl of batchoy is the best way to cap the night (or early morning as the case may be). Since different kinds of people crave batchoy at different times of the day, batchoyan restaurants in Iloilo are usually open round the clock. As for me, the best time to eat batchoy is during rainy days when the cold weather seemingly gives the warm and tasty broth additional taste.

I am sure the people at Jolibee had put in a lot of time and money studying the feasibility of putting batchoy on their menu. I suspect that their real target market for their batchoy are not really the Ilonggos (who like me might put off ordering it for fear of disappointment) but the people at large. This must mean that the batchoy has gained nationwide acceptance and no longer limited to the Ilonggo palate. Now it can be said that the once-humble batchoy has gone mainstream. It is no longer the humble, "poor man's soup" eaten by the kargadors at the public market but has gained a place in the nation's largest fastfood chain no less. People all over the country (or wherever there is a Jolibee branch, which is pretty much all over the country) can now enjoy it and I am happy that this original Ilonggo concoction has gained such widespread acceptance throughout the country.

Release the MOA

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Congressional Inquiry into June 21 Flood Sought

Iloilo City Congressman Raul Gonzalez, Jr. has filed a resolution calling for an investigation into the Iloilo Flood Control Project and its possible role in aggravating the flood that hit Iloilo last June 21 (read more here and here).

There have been many theories bandied about by so-called experts blaming so and so for causing the flashflood. Almost everyone in Iloilo has a theory or an opinion on what really caused the flood and this "guessing game" has been for some time a favorite topic of coffeeshop habitues in Ilolo. A professor from the Western Institute of Technology has given his two cents worth and PAG-ASA officials have come out with an analysis of Iloilo's terrain claiming that it sits on a flood plain which makes it flood prone (hellooo don't we all know that already!). Environmentalists claim that years of deforestation in outlying areas has stripped Iloilo City of its natural protection and massive urbanization - the conversion of farmlands into subdivisions, malls, etc. and garbage - has also contributed to the flooding (As they say, cement is the flood's best friend). The Catholic Church is blaming the mining firms, although I don't think there is any large-scale mining going on in Iloilo right now.

The above theories are all plausible. Still, it doesn't fully explain the destructiveness of the June 21 flood. While certain parts of Iloilo City are flooded everytime there's a storm, the June 21 flood was highly irregular because of its magnitude and suddenness. People are used to floods but they are not used to floods with a swift, strong current. That is why many people were surprised and unprepared for the June 21 flashflood. It may be true that deforestation, urbanization and overpopulation have all contributed to the flooding of Iloilo City. But something must have triggered or caused the waters to come rushing into the streets and into the homes in just minutes.

I've always maintained that the Iloilo Flood Control Project is an extravagant and uneconomical way to solve the flooding problem. Instead of spending P8 billion on constructing a giant canal (which is what the project basically is), we would be better off spending the sum to replanting our forests, declogging/widening our sewerage system, relocating squatters living along waterways, formulating and implementing a land use plan, and educating our people to care for their environment. Doing all of these will not entail P8 billion. Sadly, foreign donor entities prefer big infrastructure projects than labor-intensive, people-centered ones (I wonder why). The biggest irony is that the Iloilo Flood Control Project when completed will not really stop but only MITIGATE flooding in Iloilo, as the project engineers themselves admitted. We are spending P8 billion on something that will not really solve the problem.

Phase I of the project is nearing completion and proponents of the Iloilo Flood Control Project are already asking for the second half of their P8 billion-plus funding in anticipation of their Phase II construction. Instead of releasing the money, I think it would be better for our decision-makers to hold it off until the congressional inquiry finishes its investigation and comes out with a recommendation whether to complete the said project or not. The congressional inquiry should be able to shed light on the real causes of the flooding problem. By knowing the real causes, government will be able to implement real solutions to the problem.

Mel Carreon Strikes Again

Here is a newspaper article by Florence Hibionada about Mel Carreon which I guarantee will put a smile on every Ilonggo's face ("Mel to Ilonggos: "I am the man behind 'Bangon Iloilo, Aton Ini' battlecry").

If you're interested to know more about Mel Carreon, please read this entry I wrote about him about a year ago ("Run Carreon Run!").