Punot Restaurant: Ilonggo brunch with a twist

Punot Restaurant in Iloilo has made a name for itself as one of the city’s best dining destinations. What set Punot apart is its ingenious fusion of Ilonggo comfort food with international cooking styles and tastes. This winning ingredient coupled with a relaxing riverside ambiance, reasonable prices, and consistent quality makes Punot an excellent gastronomic experience for both visitors and locals.

Weekend Brunch Dishes

Punot recently introduced a fresh set of Ilonggo and Filipino fusion dishes for its weekend brunch menu In addition to its yummy collection of best sellers. Let’s start with the crowd favorite — the Punot Ilonggo Brekky, a large rice bowl generously topped with local breakfast classics.

Punot Ilonggo Brekky. A take on the English Breakfast with Filipino classics — longganisa, tapa strips, tocino, danggit, and fried egg. Served with garlic rice.

If you’re looking for Ilonggo comfort food, this dish totally hits the spot. It is cooked well enough that you would want to have it all to yourself and even an extra cup of garlic rice. For conventional Filipino “appetites,” Punot’s Ilonggo Brekky is served large enough for two people.

Other new dishes on the brunch menu include Punot’s Eggs Benedict, Ilonggo Toast with a choice of maple banana chips or bukayo as toppings, and hot cakes.

Eggs Benedict. A brunch staple — poached eggs, ham on pan de sal with Punot’s spacial hollandaise sauce.

Ilonggo Toast with maple banana chips. Punot’s version of the classic French Toast, a sweet dish of pan-fried bread with milk. Topped with apple cinnamon and melted local Cacao.

Punot’s Ilonggo Toast with bucayo

Out of the set, I enjoyed the Ilonggo Toast with bucayo (sweet coconut strips) the most. The combination was unexpected, had a very comforting Ilonggo flavor, and, last but not least, tasted really good.

Hotcake. The traditional sweet Pinoy hotcakes — Punot style! Topped with blueberries and cream.

For dessert, we were served Bayi Bayi Croquettas. Bayi Bayi (or Baye Baye) in itself was already a delight to eat but giving it a warm crunchy coating and a creamy dip was genius! Bayi Bayi is one of Iloilo’s treasured local delicacies commonly sold in Pavia and Santa Barbara, two towns that you would pass by on your way to the Iloilo Airport.

Bayi Bayi Croquettas. Inspired by the Spanish croquettas, Punot puts a twist to this local treat!

These two drinks were both mus-tries. The Morning Glory, concocted from a mixture of fresh fruits leaned more on the safer side, while the Taho Mixer, offers something new to try.

Morning Glory. A refreshing combination of apple, orange, green mango, and Punot’s special syrup.

In the Philippines, “taho” generally refers to a sweet drink made from silken sofu. This is not the case with the Taho Mixer at Punot. In Iloilo, “taho” could mean “ginger tea” or salabat. Punot made a refreshing cold drink out of it and added a zesty twist, quite successfully I may add.

Taho Mixer. Punot’s own interpretation of an old Ilonggo favorite.

My mornings aren’t complete without a fresh cup of coffee, which is why I got really excited when coffee was prepared on our table fresh from a Moka Pot. These Italian devised coffee makers are somewhat of a rarity in Iloilo. We were served with a hot cup brewed from coffee beans imported from Italy. It was excellent as expected.

Punot also serves coffee brewed from local beans that are freshly ground daily. Now, that’s something I would like to try next time.

Caffe ala Italia. Coffee brewed from the classic Moka Pot imported from Italy and Italian coffee beans (upon availability).

A cup of freshly prepared Cappuccino at Punot.

About Punot

Punot Restaurant can be found along the Riverside Boardwalk, located near Smallville Complex and the Diversion Road-end of the Iloilo River Esplanade.

The Weekend Brunch Menu is available every Saturdays and Sundays from 10pm to 2pm.

For more info, you may find them on Facebook or call them at (+63)(33) 320-9893