“You look gaunt. Let’s fatten you up,” is one of the best lines my aunt uttered to me during my recent jaunt to Iloilo. And, fatten me up she did. I must have eaten more rice in my week-long stay there than the entire month of March.

Eating in Iloilo is a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious adventure because a) I eat with my family, b) fresh food, sometimes picked from the yard, is served, c) dishes are home-cooked, d) healthful plates of fish and vegetables abound, and e) I use my hands as spoon and fork when I can. Yes, I eat like a caveman, and nothing feels better than that.

Two of the standout dishes I gorged myself on were tinola and pancit Molo. The former was prepared by my cousin and was paired with fresh grilled fish (combined effort of my father and aunt) while the latter was served by the owner of the restaurant 1974. Both were mouthwatering and piquant.

The tinola was an afterthought of a late Sunday lunch. It had meat slices, string beans, and freshly picked jackfruit from the front yard. The meat was so tender that it fell off the bones. The string beans and jackfruit were sweet. The broth was perfectly seasoned and made zesty by batwan (or batuan) fruits (Garcinia binucao). Batwan is a green spherical fruit that usually spices up Ilonggo dishes like KBL(kadyos, baboy, langka), but it is not as overpowering as calamansi or lime. I remember that I ate three cups of rice, 1.5 grilled fish, and multiple servings of the tinola. I did not want to stop eating (hahaha) but I was so bloated that I had to restrain myself from cramming more carbs into my system. The good news was, I walked more than 12,000 steps that day. Hahaha.

It is almost profane for an Ilonggo to say that I do not crave for La Paz batchoy. For me, it is too hot. It makes me sweat like a pig, and I do not care much for its broth. However, I am an appreciator of pancit Molo, and my fondness for it is only exceeded by my kinship for arroz caldo. Pancit Molo is a soup with clear broth and livened by meat-filled wontons, usually pork or shrimp, and garnished with scallions and toasted garlic. God, the smell of pancit Molo is enough to make me drool.

This particular pancit Molo I consumed at 1974 was paired with soft, almost buttery, garlic bread. The broth was to-die for, and the wontons were flavored to the hilt. It was the ideal late afternoon/early dinner meal.

I cannot wait to go back and feast on these dishes again! And I looked far from gaunt when I left Iloilo.