THE PROPOSAL to hold an annual National Batchoy Festival in Iloilo City has been revived and is now being reviewed by the city council committee on tourism, culture and historical affairs. Councilor Joshua C. Alim, who made the proposal, said batchoy, Iloilo’s traditional dish and must-eat food for visitors, deserves recognition and a celebration. Mr. Alim said the plan will also be put forward to the City Tourism Office and the Dinagyang Foundation, which handles the annual Dinagyang, the city’s biggest and most popular festival held every January. For the Batchoy Festival, “I propose that it is only fitting that the festival be celebrated during rainy season,” Mr. Alim said. Batchoy is a noodle soup that originated in a market in the city’s La Paz district. It is made of egg noodles, pork meat and innards, beef loin, and crushed chicharon (fried pork rinds), among others. Some of the most famous batchoy restaurants are Netong’s, Ted’s, Deco’s, and Inggo’s. — Louine Hope U. Conserva

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