In recent weeks, I have been frequently eating Batchoy. Be it during lunchtime, an afternoon snack, or an early dinner, I took my time to visit my favorite place and buy a bowl of the “extra super” serving of that savory noodle soup partnered with a Pandesal or Puto and a bottle of ice-cold Coca Cola. Truly an Ilonggo delicacy.

For the comparison of the best Batchoy stalls or restaurants in Iloilo City, I would still consider those located in the wet markets for the mere reason of genuinely quality of the ingredients and the broth. You must not disregard the broth as it is sort of the soul of the cuisine.

Next in the category is the noodles in which we usually have two choices of Pancit, and Bihon. I would prefer the former as it reminds my taste buds of that of the Ramen noodles. The toppings, of course, are also important. It is usual Pork bits, liver, and chicharon but a little extra is much appreciated.  I needed to chew on something while enjoying every sip of the soup.

My favorite Batchoy destination is at the Iloilo Central Market, particularly at Joel’s or Popoy’s Batchoy. They are usually located just side by side with the other two Batchoy stands (Mia’s and I forgot the other one). You will notice as you approach the place as there will be people that will call you and ask if you are eating Batchoy and insist to eat at their stall.

It is quite annoying but you cannot blame them as they compete with having more customers than the other. Anyhow, you can just assert that you are going to Joel’s or Popoy’s and they will just guide you on getting there. Once you are there, take a seat, state your preferred bowl size and add-ons and wait for a few minutes before they serve that Ilonggo bowl of goodness. Oh and don’t forget to ask for extra soup or caldo and make sure you finish the first one.

Late afternoon up to early evening is usually the peak hours of these stalls as a lot of people, from students in a nearby university to office workers and even some tourists go there for the Batchoy. Given the quality, it is also affordable as the Extra Super only costs 60 pesos and with the 10 pesos for the Pandesal or 15 pesos for the Puto. Add up the 15 pesos for the soft drinks and you are good to go. Total bill: 85-90 pesos. Solve.

Overall, it is below a hundred-peso budget for a delicious Batchoy meal. A pretty typical price for a quality dish that sometimes those branches in malls are lacking to maintain. Authenticity and price can go hand and hand. What the important thing is you can say “Namit, nabusog gd ako.” post-meal.

Batchoy has been one of the Ilonggo’s signature dishes and there has been a competition of which one serves the most delicious Batchoy dish. We have known of other unique versions like the one with the Coconut meat but still, nothing beats the original.

One afternoon after office work, I decided to pass by the Iloilo Central Market for a late Batchoy snack. The urge and crave that time was somewhat enhanced by the gloomy cold weather. The market is just two blocks away from the Iloilo City Hall so it was just a small walkathon. As I entered the market, there were a lot of people around looking busy buying goods and other items. I then quickly went to the stall where Popoys is located and found a line of people occupying a long bench and enjoying their hot bowl of Batchoy. That scene somewhat got me excited to order mine. I then asked the lady who was taking the orders to serve me one bowl of Super Special Miki Batchoy. That time though I forgot the add one fresh egg for the topping. I was situated near the area where the batchoy are made. I see their cook chopped up the ingredients along with the noodles into the bowl and filled it with broth taken from a large cooking steel pot. It was a beautiful sight to see. Again, I forgot to take a picture of that part.

Here is the bowl served after a few minutes of waiting.

That heavy chicharon topping made it looked more delicious. I sprinkled soy sauce and pepper before mixing the soup with the noodles and toppings and took my first sip. It was a very satisfying taste. See below the close up as I took a spoonful of the meat and liver toppings with the noodles.

Popoy’s Super Special Miki Batchoy costs about P60php and the add-on fresh egg at P10. You can also order Pan De Leche bread for another P10 and soft drinks for P15. All in all, the Batchoy cravings will only cost you P95. That is a lot cheaper than eating in branches located inside malls and I have noticed that the servings are also larger.

Be sure to add Popoys Batchoy in your food trip list the next time you drop by Iloilo City in particular, in the city proper area.

Until the next blog post.

*header pic grabbed from Foursquare.