Glad you enjoyed the food. That restaurant has a beautiful back-story. It started as a simple roadside ihaw-ihaw, like a really small one. The proprietor, whom we lovingly refer to as Nong Tatoy, would go out to fish at dawn, then his wife would go sell his catch. From their meager earnings, they managed to save up and start a small, a very small, roadside ihawan. And from there, they grew the business with unrelenting hardwork and love. Whenever we went to Ilo-Ilo, we had to go there for an "obligatory" visit- he made it obligatory for us to visit them whenever we are in Ilo-Ilo, otherwise *ma-sungon siya(sorry, don't know how to translate this one). We would always find Nong Tatoy(or Lolo Tatoy for us grand nephews and grand nieces- i'm his 2nd degree nephew)), hard at work sweating it out at the litsunan and inasal section of the kitchen, along with his litsoneros. One of the stories i would often hear told and retold about lolo Tatoy is how whenever anyone from Villa(our small barangay community that was also once a garbage dump) would come asking or hoping for work, that he would never turn them away. He always had a place for anyone who would come to him looking for work. They are two of the sweetest and most down-to-earth people you will ever get to meet.
If you haven't watched his videos before then you can just shut up or skip the video, that's already their signature in making videos. together with his brother
alimusang adobado my peyborit!!1 waay kamo nagkaon sa tytche? sa tupad man lang da. also bebot and mila’s. kung ara na kamo da sa Iloilo, lagaw man kamo sa akon place, Passi City. may ipabugal man kami nga resto, ang MIDWAY, Dondee batchoyan kag ang Esong’s inasal. sa may dumarao, capiz which is 20 mins car ride halin sa Passi, may nami man nga resto, UMA Cafe. daw waay nyo pa na feature ang Sobredo batchoy sa Sta. Barbara. namit man dira and the Siopao kag toasted bihon sa Kongkee restaurant sa Pavia town plaza.
