Where to EAT when in Bacolod City (my top 8)

I have been living in the City of Smiles for about 16 years now.  wow!  pamatyagan ko ngani hai iya eot ang nag-gueang. hahahahaha 

Sayod ko eon do ins and outs kumbaga iya sa ciudad.  Pero do akong utak makaron nagadaeagan sa kaean-an.  Mingko naging adik ako sa pag-adto sa mga kaean-an nga nababasa ko man sa ibang bloggers kaya ginasigurado ko gid nga hiadtunan ko man para masamitan. ;)  Abo ang mga bagay do pwedeng ubrahon sa Bacolod galing hai unahon ko anay do pagkaon dahil do Bacolod makaron nagiging sikat eot sa mga kaean-an.  Fud trip a do matabo kung sa Bacolod ka ;)  So, kung gausoy ka it kaean-an sa Bacolod hara ang mga highly recommended basta according to my taste and standard ha and not arranged according to who or what's best:

1.  Malaspina Inasal - dahil kilaea do Bacolod nga Inasal Country numero uno imaw kakon.  Owa gid maw nagpasar sa akong standard it ambience pero sa lasa ag presyo, perfecto! ;) Makit-an sa corner it Lopez Jaena-L.N. Agustin Drive (formerly Malaspina Street)  maeapit imaw sa Guiness World Record' nga nag-iisang sementeryo sa tunga it daean ;) ag sa Circle Inn
2. Rau Ram Cafe - authentic nga Vietnamese foods. Kung indi ka hiadto sa Vietnam for your entire life, at least have a taste of the their best foods made available here in Bacolod City. Barato eon, kanamiton pa.
3. L'Sea Dimsum and Noodle House - mahilig ako sa noodles ag bisan indi kami magkita it humay basta may noodles ok eot ang ;)  Namian pa gid ako sa mga mahaeang nga pagkaon.  Sa L'Sea euwas nga accessible imaw dahil una sa Lacson Street ag madali maw usuyon dahil kaiping it first class nga L'Fisher Hotel, according sa akong taste buds hai sanda do may pinakanami nga pancit canton ag may chili sauce sanda kaya nami gid.
4. Mai Pao - they have the best congee in the city. Medyo mahae do presyo pero kung sharing, okay gid. Hot and sour soup nanda namian gid ako. Crispy fried canton is also one of my best. Trivia: kung kilaea n'yo si chef JP Anglo, anang ginikanan ro tag-ana.
5. Bob's Restaurant - sambilog sa mga orig nga restawran iya. Manami gid man do mga pagkaon ang do breads and desserts nanda hai puwede gid balik-balikan. Ro akong indi ma-missed orderon hai andang tofu. Fruit punch pa gid kanamiton. Kung main meal ing gusto, indi ka gid mapirdi sa andang baby back ribs.
6. Maria Kucina Familia - ko late last year eang da napansin ko nga nagbukas. Pang formal dining. Manami do mga pagkaon pero bukon it masyadong manami sa buesa it nagatipid. For so many years, Bob's brick-oven pizza gid a ang paborito kung feel ko mag-pizza pero makaron hai napirdi eon imaw ni Kucina.
7. Natural Garden Cafe of Welcome Home Foundation - i love this place kay "Barato na, Healthy Pa." Manned mostly by deaf persons so when you eat here, you actually help the deaf community too. They grow their own herbs and other veggies and they have their own bread house as well. I just love their food there. Closed though on weekends so you must come during weekdays.
8. Kimstaurant - this is the best Korean restaurant for me. I can eat here daily. I especially love their kimchi jigae. Ahhhh nothing beats so far. Jajangmyun (black bean noodles) is also good and an all-time favorite along with samgyupsal. Their side dishes especially if they have the camote delight is heavenly.ü And of course, don't forget the melona ice cream. Ang sarap! ;)

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Ano'ng bag-o sa Bacolod?

it's been awhile since my last visit to New Government Center.  i only go there if i have guests to show around the city.  So when friends returned from UAE we checked out the city and what they missed for 2 years being away.

What used to be fruits stalls nearby NGC turned out into Eastwalk.

going there is this nice pathway beautifully landscaped with palms.  And what did we see?  Food stalls!  Anywhere in Bacolod you won't get starved.  Said they just opened last March and what caught our attention is the buko cocktails stall.

 

So we ordered 3 kinds of buko-halo just so we can have a taste of each kind.

buko halo-halo

buko mais con yielo

buko pandan

My friends from UAE almost finished the liquid sugar and i was just laughing the whole time until we cleaned out the last buko flesh.

So disappointing that all 3 buko-halo just tasted so plain and without sugar but i actually liked it because i can live without sweets. ;)  I also noticed there were quite a few who would come and order 'to go'.  

Next stop is to look for a place to have a decent dinner.  i thought of San Juanokan because they usually have a live singer to entertain you while chewing and having a beer, unfortunately we realized it was a Sunday night and no entertainment.  i noted of the days that they do have.  i especially like it there for one food is affordable, and i love their 'nangka' as dessert and it's country music usually. ;)

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2-way street to Cebu

Are you planning to visit Cebu anytime soon?  I was there just last weekend and decided to try both ways via RORO (Roll-On-Roll-Off): that is via Toledo City and Dumaguete City to find out which way is better.  I will list down the fares and time difference for comparison:

ready to go. waiting for bus going to San Carlos City

via Toledo City, Cebu

• Ceres bus (aircon) from Bacolod City to San Carlos City via Don Salvador Benedicto (i was told by a friend this is the faster route than via Escalante City) = P140 [2hours and 10minutes)
• tricycle from San Carlos City bus terminal to RORO port = P50 (we were 3pax) [5minutes]
• fast craft vessel (chose this over RORO as the fare difference i was told is only P25 and this is faster for only an hour) = P200 [1hour]
• terminal fee = P20
• tricycle from Toledo City pier to bus terminal going to Cebu City = P50 (if you don't have any heavy luggage just walk to the terminal it's quite near i discovered late) [10minutes]
• bus from Toledo to Cebu City (non-aircon) P70 [2hours and 30minutes]
• upon arrival to bus terminal we took a taxi to our destination: barangay Banilad, Cebu City = P130 [30minutes]
• TOTAL = P660 [5hours and 55minutes]

Toledo City pier

via Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental

going back to Bacolod City via Dumaguete City

taxi from Banilad to bus terminal = P120 [30minutes]

Ceres bus from Cebu to Liloan Port, Santander onward to Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental (aircon) = P200 [3hours and 30minutes up to Liloan port] [30minutes to bus terminal in Duymaguete City]

RORO from Liloan port, Santander to Tampi port, San Jose, Negros Oriental = P70 [30minutes]

Ceres bus from Dumaguete City to Bacolod City (aircon) - P300 [6hours]

TOTAL : P690 [11hours]

Ceres bus coming from Liloan port to Tampi port

Dumaguete City view from Liloan port

So i therefore conclude that there is a price difference of P30 and 5 hours and 10minutes.  Going via San Carlos was such an easy way and i always love the scenery especially in Don Salvador Benedicto.  it's mostly mountains and sugarcane plantation and pine trees and i get to feel the Baguio like roads.  even mother earth liked it! ;)  the weather was even much cooler.  Kalorky lang ang RORO ride from San Carlos to Toledo.  Aside from smaller boat super init ang economy nila.  i will try their aircon room next time.  Another thing is walang Ceres bus sa Toledo only local bus and it was Cañoneo.  you choose between bus and a v-hire.  siguro next time try ko rin ang v-hire nila how fast it will be.  Hindi ko rin masyadong gusto ang view from Toledo to Cebu.;(

Via Dumaguete naman i liked it because they have Ceres bus which is aircon and marami ring local buses aircon and non-aircon.  i super loved the view kasi it was coastal and mountains on the other side so feeling ko nasa Antique lang ako where the mountains meet the sea ;).  May roads din sila na it felt like traveling to Boracay from Kalibo.ü  super ganda ng beaches all the way to Santander and super clean.  Ang saya din kasi dumaan ako uli ng Argao, Cebu after 12 years!  Namiss ko ang aking AMA volunteer year kasi doon kami nag overnight sa dagat nung magstaff outing kami.  We passed this Sumilon Blue Waters island near Santander and it was so enticing.  May reason for me to come back ;) 

Sumilon Blue Waters

The reason why i opted to pass by Dumaguete City is to show iloy around the city and discover the Bayawan, Negros Oriental way but sad to say when we arrive in the terminal i was told that there is no Bacolod City via Bayawan but only via Mabinay.  Ok na rin kasi di pa nakikita ni iloy ang way but then i have passed it many times already and it's really a long way home plus it's near evening already so iloy won't appreciate the beauty but we were there so just enjoyed it.  Napakahabang biyahe lang talaga.  All in all it took us 12 hours to reached home. But it was a great weekend getaway.  thanks to my sis Jingjing who accommodated us and showed us around.  Next post would be food trip and where we went around Cebu.ü

lamierda sa Bohol 3

the chocolate hills ;-)

the beautiful sunset in Dumaluan Resort, Panglao island

sa likod ng aking ninuno na ngayon ay isa ng rebulto. sa blood compact site in Bohol

the Loboc River

the group of performers who rendered us Filipino songs and danced the Philippine dances like Tinikling, etc.

lamierda sa Bohol 2

cruising the Loboc river. it was good with nice singer and a short show of Philippines dances

ang pipit nga nakit an namon sa sulod sang Hinagdanan Cave

Dinner provided by RC Tagbilaran when we joined their club meeting. with Helen and Olive

hay.....na flat tire amon salakyan from Chocolate Hills going to Baclayon church while we were in man-made forest so may stretching kami for a few minutes. ;-)

sa chocolate hills with olive

francis, mavis, bert, olive, and i

on the way up to chocolate hills viewing area with Paul Rogers and Olive

with Francis in Hinagdanan Cave

a little break after searching for tarsiers in their sanctuary

with olive in Bohol Deaf Academy

lamierda sa Bohol

i was in Bohol October 11-20, 2008 to join the team of Rotary Club of Canterbury, Australia for eye and ear screening in pre-selected towns of Bohol. This yummy lechon was served to us by the mayor of Anda when we were invited for dinner before heading back to Tagbilaran. and this is not the sole lonely lechon ever served, they were twins! hay........super sarap! but i can only eat much especially when my all time favorite crabs, shrimps, and sea shells are also present. ;-)

we visited the project of cbm partner, IDEA Philippines, called Deaf Academy of Bohol and i found myself cremated in this thingy. ;-)

of course after the 5day series of screenings we deserve a bit of rest and recreation so one sunless Saturday off we went for a day tour of Bohol. this one taken in the tarsier sanctuary.

and this is one of the cute little tarsiers we saw. so small creature with very big funny eyes and it can turn its head 180 degrees. wow! wish i can do the same as well. hehe

for our rest and recreation we stayed in dumaluan beach resort in panglao island. i don't like it there at all. the front beach is not even nice. we walked 2-3 meters and the water is still knee high. hay.......didn't enjoy swimming in the beach but instead swam in their pool. ;-(

staying in my dream hotel of long ago

dati tinitingala ko lang ang Heritage Hotel sa kanyang kagandahan lalo na pag pasko sa nagsasayawang mga christmas lights at palamuti and i was asking myself ano ba meron sa hotel na ito at palaging puno ng tao? mahal kaya tumira dito? ano kaya itsura ng mga kwarto? makakacheck-in kaya ako one day dito?

So can you just imagine my excitement when i was invited to the AYAD programmatic workshop and knew i will be staying in Heritage Hotel? you bet i was so looking forward to it. and so the first thing i did entering the room is to look at the window and this is the sight of Roxas Boulevard that greeted me. surprised gid ko kay indi maayo katraffic unlike before. i love what Bayani has done to the streets of Manila.

dining in Heritage restaurant. masarap ang food nila which was buffet style, love the varities as well but i would still prefer the buffet table of Richmonde Hotel in Ortigas.

with my boss, Mavis, and Meagan, current AYAD volunteer assigned in Ateneo.

the killer activity of the program. presenting our output and what the Foundation is doing 19 times because there were 20 organizations in all so it was like a critiquing presentation where afterwards the audience will give you feedback and throw some questions.

group picture before we all head back home

with Joy of Christian Foundation for the Deaf and Blind

finally! it's over and done. ;-)

biking from dumangas to iloilo city

wow! i just came back from an amazing weekend. RORO boats used to 'row' to Lapuz, Iloilo City because a certain bridge fell off in Dumangas so with that thought, i decided to attend the AMA (associate missionaries of the assumption www.ama.org.ph) send off party to batch 24 volunteers. when we arrived in the pier, i was told all the RORO boats are back to Dumangas. so, all prepared i decided to push for the trip. it was drizzling when we arrived in Naluoyan port. i told myself if the drizzles turns into a heavy rain i would have to go back to bacolod and cancel the ama gathering. but after having our late lunch of instant noodles, the sun came out and off we biked......bike, bike, bike and away. took the coastal road without knowing where it will lead us. hahaha talk about adventure and plunging to the greatest unknown....through the kindness of pipol i asked which road we should take....before the clock hits 8pm found my way in Bo. Obrero. hay.........salamat.

i had fun reconnecting to ama pipol. it's been awhile that i haven't attended such. i remember it was 12 years ago when i went through the same ritual....when i chose to volunteer right after graduation and the experience brought me to the beauty of bukidnon.

anyway....just the thought of biking back to dumangas the next day is excruciating! so what we did....we took the other route which is via Dumangas proper but biked only up to Jaro and took the jeepney and from Dumangas proper under the scorching heat of the sunny day, off we biked to the pier. thought i'll just passed out from the heat and from the growing pain on my thighs (i have not been biking since ages for such a long distance) but here i am........alive and able to kick still although painful.

was all worth it. loved the sceneries especially along the coastal road. had some really fresh clean air and reunited to the nature i love the most.

'til next biking trip. hahaha

butanding watch in donsol, sorsogon

we were luckily invited to donsol, sorsogon for butanding watch in my 2nd day in albay. of course would you say no to such? so early morning pa lang bumiyahe na kami. it was just perfect time for butandings to show off. mahal ang boat rental so we shared the rent with other guests. if you choose to interact with butandings you must rent a set of diving gears. we opted to just watch them from the boat. butanding came from a word 'buta' meaning bulag. they are huge animals but have very small eyes, thus the name. we didn't wait for so long before we spotted one. it was sooo amazing! i regretted that i didn't rent diving gears. it would have been fun to swim along with them or just be close. we saw a total of 7 butandings for a 2hour sail. not bad enough.

donsol's shoreline was really clean and the weather then was perfect. masaya sana if we could stay back for more time but we were attending a meeting right after lunch so off we went back to daraga after. ogod river boasts of its firefly watch which was just nearby and that's something i must go back to when i get the chance to be in bicol again.

bicol sojourn

wow! it has been my long time wish to travel to bicol. it finally came last March 14. we visited a project partner in legazpi city, albay. i was soooo mesmerized by mayon volcano. iba talaga ang feeling when you actually see it for real instead of pictures only. from day 1 'til we left i couldn't get my eyes off it especially it follows me wherever i go. hehehe.

wala galing maayo nga accommodation. kasulumpaan man to ang isa ka place nga ginkadtuan namon fronting gaisano mall. so we ended up staying in tita med's bahay kubo. we had a grand time there with prepared food every morning. i can even see the majestic mayon from outside of bahay kubo, how lovely.

i got to eat the real laing but not the famous bicol express. sayang. but if there's one thing that would make me go back there, it is the halo-halo of DJC. yummy! best ever halo-halo i tasted in my whole life. i even went back there before flying back to manila to have one more serving. as in namit!

dumangas sojourn (january 18, 2008) value trip

hay....sa kagustuhan na makatipid at makauwi ng ati-atihan in a budgeted way, rinor, my bro, and i took the roro from bacolod going to dumangas. wow! it was really that cheap. P50 and we had a night to remember for life. the moon was damn beautiful and i found the boat clean in fairness. rested just outside the boat so we can enjoy the starry and moony night.

thing was when we reached dumangas port, no tricycle to bring us to ceres terminal in tagbak, iloilo. choices: be a hitcher or ride in the van that purposely waits for some passengers taking a chance since people don't have a choice if they can't hitch. and so we ended up sitting there for it seemed like eternity waiting for the next boat to arrive to fill up the van. they won't even tell us how much would it cost. so anyway, when they dropped us off to ceres terminal, that's when i knew it was a whooping P75 per head! Wow! as in i really asked 'what?!"

something to remember: never take a ride without asking for the price

so next time if you are on a budget and wants to get on to iloilo, and you don't have your own car to drive, take the not so unholy hour trip so there will be a queue of tricycles that can bring you to your destination cheaper. tricycle would only costs you P12 to bring you to jeepney terminal in dumangas proper and the jeepney going to iloilo city would costs only about P20. So with only a hundred bucks, you are in a different island.