Batchoy at 21 Restaurant
Cold Afternoon Cravings
The thought of having a bowl of steaming batchoy crossed my mind after experiencing cold afternoons brought about by heavy rains during the past week. At times like these a certified Ilonggo’s top of mind is always batchoy, our authentic noodle dish.
Batchoy originated in La Paz, a district in Iloilo City in the the province of Iloilo, island of Panay. Later on, Ilonggos around the region created their own version on how they would prepare and cook this noodle dish. The specialty crossed the waters to Negros Island because as history says, old folks from Iloilo would also travel to Negros and others later on relocated to some parts of the province while most of them opted to stay in Bacolod.
At present, there are some local restaurants in the city that include batchoy as one of the stars in their menu. Even in carinderias and small eateries anyone can order this Ilonggo noodle fare. It’s easy to prepare and one can even make his/her own homemade version. In fact, most of the ingredients are readily available in the public market. Just make sure the pork innards are well cleaned before cooking.
In Bacolod, 21 Restaurant is known to serve delicious, satisfying batchoy. Whenever I ask people what place they can recommend for batchoy, this restaurant always tops the list.
For 110 Php, I enjoyed my batchoy with its trimmings and other ingredients that make the broth rich and flavorful. Really good!
A bowl of special batchoy usually has the following ingredients:
- batchoy noodles
- thinly sliced pork liver
- thinly sliced pork meat
- pork intestine (chopped)
- 1 fresh egg (optional)
- bits and pieces of crunchy pork cracklings (chicharon)
- loads of toasted garlic
- sping onions (chopped)
- batchoy broth
Others establishments add extra trimmings such as the very sinful pork brain (Oh, your cholesterol pleaaase!), and other pork innards but I prefer to have my own batchoy fix without these cholesterol-loaded stuff. As long as the broth is flavorful and the noodles are firm, a bowl of special batchoy is enough for me. And I really do get excited as I smell that strong garlicky aroma while it’s being served.
This is really good!
I also ordered Manapla puto (steamed rice cake) to balance the batchoy’s salty and savory taste. Manapla puto is a native delicacy made of rice flour that is mildly sweet and fluffy in texture. Buttered toast also goes well with batchoy.
21 Restaurant also serves meals from lunch, merienda (snacks) and dinner. It is famous for its Bacolodnon food offerings like chicken dinuguan, Lola Nitang’s bibingka, pancit malabon, pinitaw, chicken & pork adobo flakes, crablets with sinamak (spiced vinegar), chicken inasal lollipop, tangigue kinilaw, fried isol (chicken ass) and more. And… 21’s moist chocolate cake is a must try! It is not too sweet, guys! No worries.
21 is a family owned restaurant located along Lacson Street, Bacolod City’s main highway.
Open daily from 11am-11pm.
***Disclaimer: This blogger did not receive any cash, gift or food from this establishment. This is not sponsored. ***