Starbucks Iloilo mug: Been There Series

This Iloilo mug from Starbucks' Been There Series writes ILOILO in yellow capitals above a feathered headdress, a domed gazebo, a bowl of soup, tall trees, a red flower and tents.
- Series
- Been There Series
- Place
- Iloilo, Philippines
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- Not confirmed
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The bowl of batchoy with three inventors
On 22 January 2009, a stainless steel bowl two meters across was filled with 3,500 liters of soup stock in Iloilo City [1]. It was a bid for the Guinness Book of World Records, and 300 school children and more than 1,000 adults were served [2]. The soup was La Paz batchoy, and nobody agrees on who invented it. SunStar's report on the bowl credits Federico Guilergan Sr., in 1938 [3]. According to a 2009 Entreprenews profile, Teodorico "Ted" Lepura opened his first shop in 1945 with savings of only ten pesos: a 5x5 stall of nipa and bamboo at the La Paz Public Market [4]. Bowls were priced at 20 centavos [5]. He had learned the basics working for a Chinese merchant [6]. A travel blogger who asked around in Iloilo was told a third version, in which Inggo's Batchoy came first [7]. The bowl of soup on the Iloilo mug (4) may be batchoy.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
ILOILO in yellow capitals with dotted fill across the upper front.
- 2Headdress
A pink feathered headdress with a silver helmet sits at the left.
- 3Red flower
A large red flower fills the lower left.
- 4Bowl of soup
A bowl of soup with green and yellow pieces sits above the gazebo.
- 5Domed gazebo
A white domed gazebo with columns stands in the middle.
- 6Tall trees
Tall thin trees in yellow and red line work stand at the right.
- 7Tents
Three small tents in white, red and yellow sit along the bottom.
The photo shows the front only. The back, the opposite side and the underside are out of view.
Collector notes
- The red and gold artwork sits on a white mug, with a large pink feathered headdress at the left and a red flower below it.
- The photo is taken on a cardboard base against a light wall, so the inside colour and the rest of the mug are not shown.
Before you buy
The photo shows the front only, so the back, the opposite side and the inside colour are not visible. This is the Been There Series Iloilo mug; Iloilo also appears in the Icon and You Are Here series, so check the series name before you order.
Other Iloilo mugs
Sources
- SunStar Iloilo: Batchoy bowl draws thousands of children, adults (archived 2009)
- SunStar Iloilo: Batchoy bowl draws thousands of children, adults (archived 2009)
- SunStar Iloilo: Batchoy bowl draws thousands of children, adults (archived 2009)
- EntrepreNEWS: The Ten Peso Wonder (archived 2009)
- EntrepreNEWS: The Ten Peso Wonder (archived 2009)
- EntrepreNEWS: The Ten Peso Wonder (archived 2009)
- The Lone Rider: Batchoy (travel blog, 2008)





