Iloilo: UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy

Avisala!

It's been a week since I posted something because I got exhausted from our Iloilo City food trip and museum hopping last weekend. Karenina (@itskareninamoi) and I went to Iloilo City with the sole purpose of trying the famous food that made the city into the UNESCO Creative Cities Network under the Gastronomy category. There are now three cities in the Philippines that are part of UCCN with Baguio as Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art in 2017, Cebu as Creative City of Design in 2019, and of course, Iloilo as Creative City of Gastronomy in 2023.

I have been to the three cities. Of course, I'm from Cebu, so Cebu City felt like my backyard. I've traversed its mountains almost every weekend and explored the spots the city is proud of. I went to Baguio last year after we climbed Mt. Pulag, but I didn't write anything about the city because of our bad experiences. I'll still give the city another chance, but not this time. Maybe I'll visit again in the next few years.

What was supposed to be a food trip became a tour of the city's history when we visited eight museums. It was exhausting but a lot of fun. Of course, we didn't miss trying La Paz batchoy, Pancit Molo, Sikwate de Batirol, Molo Church bibingka, and the famed Brandy Coffee.

As I've mentioned, we've been to eight museums and I'll probably share all of them in their respective posts, but for now, let me share the most prominent one for me. It's the National Museum of the Philippines - Iloilo. It houses the Oton Gold Death Mask and is situated in an old prison at the back of the Provincial Capitol.

We also tried walking at the Iloilo Esplanade. What started as a flood control project became the longest linear park in the country. It also became a remarkable urban development project and a symbol of how to properly spend taxpayers' money. The project consists of ten phases of interconnected parks and promenades.

I still have a lot to share, but I guess that's all for now. See you in the next post!

Kim Ybañez

_{Welcome to Kim's small corner in Hive. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits remote destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines). He's also a trying-hard photographer so stay tuned as he shares his photos and his thought process while creating them.}

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