Taste the authentic Asian-inspired noodles on weekdays and seafood buffet on weekends
By: Cheryl M. Luis
As the pandemic comes to ease, hotels and restaurants are opening again. Dining-in customers are being expected, that’s why Park Inn by Radisson Iloilo’s restaurant – ‘Ani’ opened its doors to cater to the Ilonggo customers.
To make a diverse flavor, Mr. Ogie Manuel – the General Manager of Park Inn Radisson Iloilo, challenged Ani’s chefs to create a unique menu for the restaurant. Through his encouragement, the staff decided to serve noodles for weekdays that are available for room orders, restaurant dining, take-outs, and a sumptuous seafood buffet for lunch and dinner on weekends.
“I worked in Singapore for many years and noodles have been a staple food for me. That’s why I told our chefs to create a special weekday menu that will cater to the Ilonggos, as for week-ends we serve a seafood buffet for lunch and dinner. Also, due to the pandemic these restrictions and alert levels, made a huge impact on the hospitality business, but I’m truly optimistic that we will manage to keep our staff and still give them jobs,” Manuel said.
The restaurant is not just giving jobs to its staff but also farmers around the province as we aspire to support locally grown produce. Park Inn by Radisson also has this small herb garden wherein they grow their herbs and some ingredients used in their restaurant.
“We own an herb garden; it’s just small and located at the back of the hotel. We grow basil which is used for pesto, arugula for salads and blue ternate where we use the flower for hotel concocted drinks. We have also tomato and ‘sili’. The good thing also is we compost our food wastes and use them for fertilizer. Our plastics and cartons are being sold to a supplier who has a recycling business, our used oil is sold to another DENR licensed supplier who recycles for use in machinery, etc. These are small things but could help the community and reinforce our sustainability efforts,” Manuel added.
The Menu
The available noodles for weekdays are:
JJAMPONG – spicy seafood, vegetable and wheat noodles seasoned with gochugaru (Korean pepper flakes) served with Kimchi and Butchi as a side dish. TONKATSU RAMEN – pork broth, noodles, chashu, medium cooked boiled eggs, mushroom, and tare served with Kimchi and Butchi as a side dish. SINGAPOREAN LAKSA – bite-sized rice noodles, seafood, laksa paste, coconut milk, and spices served with Kimchi and Butchi as a side dish.
SEAFOOD JJAMPONG 
TONKATSU RAMEN
BIBIM GUKSO – cold somyeon noodles, vegetables, and seafood served with tangy gochujang sauce served with Kimchi and Butchi as a side dish. SOBA COLD NOODLES – chilled buckwheat noodles served with tsuyu dipping sauce served with Kimchi and Butchi as a side dish. THAI RED CURRY NOODLE SOUP – red curry broth with bite-size chicken, rice noodles, cilantro, and basil and lime juice served with Kimchi and Butchi as a side dish.
While on weekends, the seafood buffet consists of fresh catch from the sea, cook with perfection in the Ilonggo way, complete with vegetables, sushi, grilled octopus, and a dessert selection that will truly entice your sweet tooth.
BATUAN ICE CREAM WITH COOKIE FLAKES
The Chef’s
Ani has three respectable chefs that they are proud of.
For the noodles and ramen Chef Jowin Botea and Chef Marvin Estangue are the brains behind this promotion. Chef Marvin is a native and graduated here in Iloilo but worked in different restaurants in Manila that honed his talents and make these noodles to perfection. He shared that he developed this menu because of his Japanese-Korean mentor who taught him recipes, making these noodles authentic and flavorful.
Another is Chef Ronaldo Villadelrey. He is a pastry chef who loves to experiment with local ingredients to a tasteful product. One of these is the “Batuan” ice cream which he developed.
“I just saw this ingredient as one of the components of ‘Nilaga’ and other Ilonggo delicacies, so I decided to make this sour fruit as ice cream. The customers love it so it makes me happy too,” Villadelrey explained.
For colds like Kimchi and other side dishes, Chef Mary Joy Felarca is in charge.
Noodles are energy food. These carbohydrates like pasta provide glucose, the crucial fuel for your brain and muscles. So if you are fed upon eating the same menu or just want to taste the authentic fusion noodles from Asia, visit Park Inn by Radisson Iloilo ‘Ani’ all-day dining restaurant located at SM City Iloilo Mall Complex, Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue, Mandurriao Iloilo City.
For the weekend treat yourself to a seafood buffet, that is fresh from the Iloilo Sea. You can also like and follow their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ParkInnbyRadissonIloilo for more updates. /PN
* PHOTOS BY JAPHET FAJARDO
