Early this month, I found myself checking in at Iloilo airport, about 4:30 PM. Being alone, and seeing that it was still too early for my 7 PM flight back to Manila, I went for a walk outside the airport in search for a carinderia. In other words, looking for something interesting to eat (or something interesting to see), as generally, I find airport restaurants in the country dull.
No other passengers. I guess, no one would venture out of the aiport anymore after securing one's boarding pass - except me
Walking past the airport gate, a little past the flying school’s some kind of an aircraft laboratory, I reached the doorstep of this tinuom carinderia. Tinuom is chopped native chicken that is boiled mainly with tomatoes, onions, salt (and maybe lemongrass), inside a banana leaf. It must be carefully wrapped so the stock won’t leak, else it wouldn’t be as richly flavored as it’s supposed to be.
Cooked with banana leaves which makes the broth flavorful in a bukid way. No sautéing done with the native chicken which makes it healthful than tinola, I suppose
Tinuom is said to be Cabatuan’s specialty, a town that has recently become an airport town. More than 2 decades ago, I was playing by the river, by the mango tree in barrio Tiring of this town. Never did I thought that Iloilo airport will be relocated in this countryside (bukid).
Tied and wrapped during cooking, the one on the left side. That whole wrapped thing (with water inside) was boiled in a caldero
Tinuom is a kind food I can identify with eating in a nipa house in the middle of a bukid. It tasted like bukid, my kind of flavor, my kind of interesting meal before boarding.
Flying school just beside the tinuom carinderia. From afar, the lab looked like a sari-sari store. I guess Coca-Cola doesn't limit its signage sponsorship to stores only, for in this case, an aircraft lab
A sari-sari store by the road leading to the gate of the airport. Everything is surrounded by ricefield
makadto 