Touristang Pobre Went To The Negros Gourmet Experience

Have you been to SM City, in Bacolod, recently? There is more than one reason to go to SM, and that is to witness first hand and enjoy the different flavors of Negrense cuisine.  This is the holding of the Negros Gourmet Experience.  It is a three-day event starting June 12 up to June 14, 2015.  The event is located at SM N4 Parking Area and opens at 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon until 11:00 o'clock in the evening.

There are around a dozen tents occupied by famous restaurants and food business establishments in the City of Smiles. Customers can order their favorite dish and drinks.  

TXACHO SPANISH RESTAURANT & TAPAS BAR

Paella Negra by Txacho.  Savor this yummy paella prepared by the Master Chef of Txacho at Negrense Gourmet Experience now on-going at SM City N4 Parking Area from June 12-14, 2015. I love paella especially the one that we used to eat during parties in the early part of 1970s. If I remember it right, Paella a la Cubana made of rice and mixed with seafood like oysters, among others. 

How to cook Paella Negra?  There are several styles of cooking Paella Negra based on its ingredients. Here's how from usaricetv which I downloaded from youtube. This is for Spanish speaking followers but the process can be understood without the use of any language translation.   

                                          

Source: usaricetv, youtube.

For Paella Negra Ingredients, please refer to this link: 

http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/234239896/paella-negra/

 CHIFA

Chifa is a restaurant that serves Asian and Chinese inspired Peruvian dishes, such as the popular Lomo Saltado (Beef) and Pollo Saltado (Chicken).

Lomo Saltado served at Chifa. Orders are available at the on-going Negros Gournet Experience at SM City N4 Parking Area, beginning June 12 - June 14, 2015.

Lomo saltado is a popular, traditional Peruvian dish, a stir fry that typically combines marinated strips of sirloin, or other beef steak, with onions, tomatoes, and other ingredients, served with fried potato slices (french fries) and rice. The dish originated as part of the Chifa tradition, the Chinese cuisine of Peru, though its popularity has made it part of the mainstream culture.^[1]

The dish is normally prepared by marinating sirloin strips in vinegar, soy sauce and spices, and stir frying these with red onions, parsley, tomatoes, and possibly other ingredients. The use of both potatoes (which originated in Peru) and rice (which originated in Asia) as starches are typical of the cultural blending that the dish represents.^{[2] [3] [4] (Source: The Wikipedia)}

Source: youtube by Peterflay

The Pollo Saltado is one of the best dishes that I savored.  In fact, I got the urgency to know how it was cooked.  Through this website, written hereunder, I was able to get a copy of its recipes and how it is cooked.  I wish to share this with you.

(Source: No Time To Cook website. http://www.notimetocook.com/profiles/blogs/pollo-saltado)

POLLO SALTADO (serves 2)

2 large boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4 “ inch pieces
3 Tbsp soy sauce
¼ Tsp paprika
1/8 Tsp ground cumin
2 C frozen French fries
½ of a red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium-sized tomato (ripe but firm), cut into wedges
¼ C cilantro leaves, plus extra for garnish
2 Tsp white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp Peanut or vegetable oil

Preheat oven according to the directions for baking the French fries.

In a bowl, combine chicken along with 2 Tbsp of the soy sauce, paprika and cumin. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place fries on a baking sheet and bake in oven according to directions, or until light brown and crispy. Remove from oven and set aside.

Drain marinade from chicken, drying the meat thoroughly with paper towels.

Heat a wok or large skillet until hot. Add 2 Tbsp of the oil and allow it to start smoking. Working in two batches, stir-fry chicken until the outside is browned and the inside is mostly cooked. Remove chicken meat from wok and reserve in a fresh bowl.

Add the remaining Tbsp of oil to the wok. Add the onion and the garlic and stir-fry until the onion just starts to soften (about 1 minute). Add the vinegar and the remaining Tbsp of soy sauce. Stir to incorporate.

Add the chicken (along with accumulated juices), tomatoes, cooked French fries and cilantro. Stir-fry until the chicken is fully cooked and the fries and tomatoes are heated through (approximately 45 seconds).

(Source: this link - http://www.notimetocook.com/profiles/blogs/pollo-saltado)

Choros a la Chalaca is another popular Peruvian dish served at CHIFA Restaurant. It comes as an appetizer. Photo, below, shows the green shells loaded with great tasting sliced tomatoes and other ingredients.

From the website, Yanuq Cooking in Peru, this link - http://www.yanuq.com/english/recipe.asp?idreceta=599 - Here's the ingredients of Choros a la Chalaca and how to cook it. 

Choros a la Chalaca, Mussel Peruvian Style Ingredients: 

1. 12 mussels tightly closed
2. 2 medium size onions, finely chopped
3. juice of 3 key limes
4. 1 tablespoon aji amarillo resco/fresh yellow aji (chili) blended
5. 1/2 rocoto/red hot pepper, rinsed, seeded and deveined, finely chopped
6. 1 1/2 table spoon parsley, finely chopped
7. 3/4 cups corn kernels, cooked
8. 1/2 tomato, peeled, seeded and cut in small cubes
9. 1 tablespoon oil
10. salt
11. pepper
12. 1 key lime, cut in wedges to serve

Preparation

• Rinse mussels thoroughly and scrub under running water.  Discard any mussels that are not tightly closed.
• Cook mussels in boiling water and remove from pas as soon as they open, to prevent overcooking them. Discard mussels that do not open.  Cool.
• Open mussels with a knife and place half on a serving dish. 
• Combine in a medium size bowl, onion, red hot pepper, tomato, parsley, corn, aji, oil, key lime juice, salt and pepper.  Let mixture stands for 15 minutes.
• Place approximately 1 1/2 tablespoon of this mixture over each mussel. 
• Serve with lime wedges.  
• 3-4 servings. 

GORKA & Wantan Noodles 

Tasting the wantan noodles by Gorka, is such a heavenly experience.  For a simple dish such as noodles, there is an extra flavor in Gorka's wantan noodles that made it lovable to the palate. 

CHCKEN DELI

PASTRY SHOP OF BOB'S 

TIME OUT RESTO

Photo below shows this mouth-watering combo of chopped grilled pork, a garlic or steamed rice with your favorite drink, available at Time Out Resto.

C's 

YELLOW CAB

SADDAM'S Shawarma

Sage

Homegrown Bar

Sbarro Pizza

The colorful center-piece of the Negros Gourmet Experience is this glowing fountain

This live band provides entertainment nightly from June 12-14, 2015.

The Negros Gourmet Experience awaits you at the SM City N4 Parking Area.  Bring your family and friends and enjoy the food, the music and the camaraderie of your friends and loved ones. 

Blogger's Note:

Negros is an island in the Philippines.  It is located in the central Visayan region of the country. Negros is divided into two provinces, the Occidental side on the west with Bacolod City as the capital and the Oriental side on the east with Dumaguete City as the capital. It is now, 2015, a new Region in the Philippines.  It is called, Negros Island Region.  

Considered as one of the richest islands in the country because of its sugar industry, Negros has remained one of the vibrant economies in the Philippines.

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Touristang Pobre, aka Henry, is a writer since the 1990's. He was a former travel writer of What's On in the Visayas and Mindanao.  It is based in Cebu.  He was also a columnist of the Negros Daily Bulletin before he became a travel blogger.  After retiring from the government in 2004, he spent most of his time writing a book which remained unpublished to this day.  He is the face behind Touristang Pobre - http://www.touristangpobre.blogspot.com  and Touristang Pinoy - http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Touristang-Pinoy and he is the Founder & CEO of Earthniversity - http://www.earthniversity.com

He is a permanent resident of the United States but called Bacolod City, Philippines, his hometown.  You can reach him through this blog.

Intellectual Property Notice:

All photos in this blog is the property of Touristang Pobre.