Eating My Way Around Bacolod

Our trip to Bacolod was not only a crazy tiring commute adventure but was a very cheap gastronomic feast as well. Here is a quick summary of what we ate, at least those that I was able to get photos of.

Maruya
These are fried banana fritters rolled in while granulated sugar. We bought some in the bus stop while waiting for an hour for an airconditioned bus to pass by so we could get a ride back to Bacolod city. The maruya was still steaming hot.

Our first dinner in Bacolod city was a seafood feast at Bacolod 18th st. Palapala. The restaurant is not airconditioned and it looked like the more familiar Dampa in Manila. There are already cooked dishes in traditional aluminum pots but you can also order from their ala carte menu.

We had Linabog Php70.00 from their cooked selections which was sort of like a cross between curry and kare-kare. This is made of huge slices of catfish cooked in coconut cream. It tasted much better than it looks here in the photo. I've never eaten anything similar to it since.

Lison sinigang (Php234.50)
This is your typical fish sinigang, though I'm not familiar with the type of fish that they used.

Gingaw sizzling (Php234.85) 
This is made of a large white meat fish topped with lots of garlic. The fish meat was very tender and flaky.

Finally, my favorite Grilled scallop (Php160.00)
The scallops were very fresh and cooked perfectly!

For dessert we visited the infamous Calea Pastries and Coffee. The shop and its interiors were beautifully decorated. Entering the shop is a dessert lover's haven with lots of cakes on display to choose from at very very cheap prices! Because we had very little room for dessert after our seafood feast, we only ordered their eclairs, cream puffs and turtle pie. All of them were amazing and we wanted to come back to try more but we knew our packed schedule will not allow us to do so.

 

We had lunch at The Suites at Calle Nueva before the second leg of our trip. The dishes were made to order and the serving portions were quite big for the price.

We had Walnut Rocca Insalata (Php165.00)
This is made of mixed lettuce, candied walnuts, roasted bell peppers, mushrooms, topped with parmesan cheese and dressed with spiced balsamic.

Cream of wild mushroom soup (Php85.00)
This is made of shiitake mushrooms.

Seared Tuna Sashimi (Php165.00)
This much tuna for only Php165.00! It is served with a side of carrots and cucumber strips and wasabi mayonnaise. I loved how the cracked peppercorn added spice to the tuna.

We bought some egg and pineapple pie slices in the bus station for the long ride ahead. 

When there is no phone and internet signal, there's nothing else to do but swim, relax and eat!

 Some of the dishes that we tried were...

Hungarian sausage with cheese (Php180.00)

Pizza Mirene (Php280.00)
This is made of their homemade thin crust with pesto, anchovies and cheese.

Chicken Binacol (Php180.00)
This is an Ilonggo classic with chicken pieces, green onions, lemon grass, young coconut meat and juice. This is my favorite among all the dishes that I've tried in the resort. It's much like chicken tinola with a sweeter and more aromatic soup because of the coconut juice and the lemon grass. I liked it so much that I've cooked it many times at home.

Tired, dizzy and hungry from being in transit for 8 hours

For breakfast I had danggit and Russ had daing na bangus. It is usually served with rice but we were not too hungry that morning so we had the rice replaced by an additional egg instead.

We had lunch at Danjugan island although I regret not taking pictures because we might not be able to go back in the near future, or ever, because it is just so hard to reach.

By 3:00pm we were already back in the resort from Danjugan Island. To kill time, we did a little shopping in their souvenir shop (something we rarely do), had fresh coconut juice with some fries and played Jenga and Scrabble. Until now, it is not resolved who won (me) and who cheated (Russ). This is why I never want to play against him in any game!

For dinner we had...

Chicken curry (Php180.00)
Chicken cubes and vegetables in coconut milk and curry sauce. Russ chose salad on the side.

 Adobong kangkong (Php80.00)
Water spinach sauteed in garlic and oyster sauce.

Sate pork barbecue (Php180.00)
Charcoal grilled pork with peanut butter sauce served with pickled papaya on the side. I chose a mashed potato side instead of rice.

After Punta Bulata, we headed to the other side of Bacolod to check out Mambukal resort where we had fish kinilaw, chicken barbecue and halo-halo.

Their halo-halo version with crushed barquillos

Back in Bacolod city and before going to the airport, we had lunch at Aboy's Restaurant where we had laing, grilled oyster and a version of the catfish that we had in Palapala. I'm not sure if my taste buds were off that time but everything tasted a bit too sweet. It must be one of the locals and tourists' favorite spots because it was an extremely busy weekday lunch.
 

Since our flight was delayed for several hours, at the airport we had coffee, chicken sandwich and Napoleones. I'm not fond of sweet treats and I don't usually buy nor eat pasalubongs so I've never tried napoleones until then. To my horror, I discovered they're so good I could eat more than a box in one sitting!

Here are some of the pasalubongs that we shopped in a hurry and brought home.

It is always a pleasure to go on a gastronomic adventure. Looking back at my Bacolod trip reminds me of a mixture of fun and pain because I came home with my aching body all over. I will share our adventure in detail the coming posts. Despite the difficulty of visiting some of the hardest places to reach and the uncertainty of where to go next and how to go there, the journey was worthwhile because of our ability to brush off inconveniences and laugh at the silliest things.

I can never me grateful enough for these shared adventures!

A Different Labor Day Experience - Baler, Aurora

Labor day usually means a few days in Boracay with my girlfriends. I don't remember why but in May 2013, we opted not to go and stay in the Metro. R has been planning to go to Baler for quite sometime but we haven't found the time to do it. So in Labor day, despite the possibility of getting stuck in traffic because of the holiday, we decided to give it a go.

It was a really hot day. We left home at 5 o'clock in the morning. There was no traffic at all, not in the metro and not in the highway. We stopped in a Shell station to fuel up and check the tires. Everything was looking good. But as we exited the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), another driver signaled that we have a flat tire. What? But we just had our tired checked at the station. We had to pull over at the side of the road and change the tire (30-minute setback).

Since we haven't had breakfast yet, went to a Burger King drive through for some food-to-go. By this time, Chopstick was already becoming uneasy. He was at the back seat and kept trying to jump in front. I think the heat plus his nonstop movements made him ill. Just before the Conception exit, he vomited so we had to pull over again. Russ cleaned up the car seat while I gave Chopstick iced water to drink and took him for a short walk so he could get some fresh air...yes, we went walking in NLEX at midday! (30-minute setback)

By the time we got back to the car, he was exhausted so he slept most of the time until late afternoon.

At around 3:00pm as we reached a town, Chosptick looked uneasy again so Russ took him out for a stroll so he could "do his business" and we could stretch our legs (30-minute setback). 

The drive to Baler was long, with winding roads and rough road with a picturesque view of lakes and the mountainside. Because we were worried about having no more spare tire, he had to drive slow. It must have taken us 2 hours longer than usual to reach our destination. As we continued on our road trip, it had started to get dark and cooler so we opened the windows. Chop poked his head out and enjoyed the ride.

After all that shenanigans, we finally reached our resort at 7:00pm. By that time it was already packed. We unloaded the car, checked into our room, took a bath and a quick nap. Even Chosptick had his nap. Afterwards, we headed down for dinner. I wanted to try other restaurants in the area but since it was late, we just decided on having our meal in the resort. We had stir fried broccoli, lechon kawali and sweet and sour fish fillet. The lechon kawali was a bit dry but tasted fine when eaten with the sauce. For hungry and tired people, everything would taste great.

The next day I woke up early.  I had my Filipino breakfast of tapsilog and coffee while enjoying the cool breeze and the sound of the waves before heading out for our morning walk. The sand in Sabang beach was grey and the water was still calm that morning. Chopstick enjoyed his walk as he played with other dogs. The sea water was cool and inviting. As the day went by, the waves became higher and the surfers started playing. I'd say Baler is a good place to start learning to surf because the waves are not overwhelming in some areas.

The beach is also perfect for families with kids because of the wide shoreline where they can play, with close adult supervision ofcourse.

For lunch we had...

Paco salad with tomato, onion and salted egg
This is something I always order whenever I see it on the menu because I rarely see it in Manila.

Grilled pork liempo
It was served with a side of paco salad. I thought the pork liempo was cooked too dry.

Fish fillet cooked with paco and in coconut cream
The dish had a generous serving of grilled fish underneath the fern. The sauce was a bit sour which cut the richness of the coconut cream.

Fried chicken wings

After lunch we went to the vulcanizing shop to have the tire checked. We then went on an easy trek to the Ditumabo falls.  There is already a pool a few steps from the parking area for those who do not want to walk far but the trek was worth it.

It was a relaxing trek involving some shallow river crossing which can be slippery during rainy days but is perfect for sunny days.

 

Chopstick was spooked when he saw a black carabao because he did not know what it was so Russ had to carry him

Stopping for a drink

We had a refreshing swim on the pool with cool water from the falls. Chopstick was not too happy about it though.

It was almost sunset when we drove back to our resort. Tired from his adventure, Chopstick slept by my side and snored the moment we entered the car.The view along the highway, with local kids swimming and adults going about their day was spectacular.

At sunset we stopped by Ermita hill. This is a high-point where the six families of baler took refuge to survive the tsunami that hit in 1735. These families were the Angara (now a known political clan in the Philippines), Bijasa, Bitong, Carrasco, Lumasac, and Poblete families. 

It offers a view of the neighboring towns and the calm seas with boats passing by.

A trip at a surf beach would not be complete without enjoying bottles of beer with my favorite travel partner.

Chopstick was so exhausted that he did not even mind us playing wit him as he slept

Aside from Museo de Baler, there are many sights to see for those who want a taste of the town's history such as the Baler Catholic Church, the Aurora Quezon Marker, Quezon Memorial Park and many others. But our limited time did not allow us to visit any of them. Maybe next time.

My driver and my bodyguard

The best part of the trip for me was buying gorgeous bright-colored orchids by the roadside at only Php80.00 each!