Pitstop: Guimaras Foodies

It’s a good thing we stayed in Raymen Beach Resort because they served good food in their cafeteria. On our first day, we tried their grilled boneless bangus, chopseuy and molo soup for lunch. You can taste the freshness of their bangus together with the chopseuy and the authenticity of their very own molo soup. The molo soup was notable because they add egg to balance the taste of molo wrapper as this has tendency to make the soup a bit salty.

lobster (pic c/o marj)

For dinner on our first night, we ordered grilled squid stuffed with tomatoes and onions, sinigang na baboy and ensaladang talong. I’m a squid lover so I liked their grilled posit but I noticed it was a bit small for its price. The sinigang na baboy was okay for me but the fat was a bit thick and the soup was oily. I’m not a fan of eggplant but their ensaladang talong was fresh as it was combined with tomatoes and onions and soaked in their native vinegar which was too strong for me. But it’s generally good.

molo soup

For breakfast, we had the usual Filipino food like tapa, tocino, egg and their local tuyo, uga tabagak which is the cheapest in their menu. Their tocino was fried with onions that made its sweet blend was very good as it combined sugar and sweetness of onions. So good! There beef tapa was not that tender though also taste good. Their local tuyo was deep fried perfectly as you can eat it as it is. Their uga tabagak is considered as our staple food as we order it even for dinner.

grilled boneless bangus


After our island hopping trip, a fisherman approached us and sold his three samaral fishes and three lobsters for on Php 500 plus. Without hesitations, we bought all his seafoods and asked the cook at the cafeteria to grill the fish and make some sinigang and cook the lobster for us. It was a feast for it was so cheap. You can’t buy a lobster in Manila for that price. Samaral fish was so good as it tasted like maya-maya fish.

ensaladang talong

For our second night dinner, we ordered pinakbet, beef steak, grilled liempo and pancit lomi. Their pinakbet was similar to native Ilocano pinakbet which has a strong taste of bagoong. The beef steak had a strong kalamansi kick that I liked so much while their lomi used other noodle instead of miki. Sarap! Their liempo taste good so the fat was so thick.

sinigang na baboy

uga tabagak (tuyo)

tocino

egg

fresh catch


When you’re in Guimaras, don’t miss out on Raymen’s mango shake and mango and other fruits. Yum!

banana

grapes

mangoes

Pitstop: Iloilo Foodies

Right after we went back to Iloilo and checked-in in One Lourdes Dormitel, we headed straight to Tatoy’s which is considered as one of the most popular restaurant in Iloilo. We took a cab since it’s a bit far from the city proper as it is located along the sea side in a place called Villa. Tatoy’s interior is simple as it is made of wood and uses bamboo as dining tables. I thought we just have to sit and the waiter will take our order but we had to approach the counter to make our order.

too much seafoods

meat foodies also available

more food

We ordered their famous litson manok which is grilled using native chicken. Their one whole chicken was relatively smaller compared to whole chicken you can buy from supermarket but the taste was good especially when dipped in their special sauce.

sinigang na tanigue

We also ordered lechon which was so tasty coz you may eat it on its own with or without the sauce. I think this is the distinction of lechon made in Visayas region; they put spices right inside the lechon so you may eat it on its own.

native litson manok

The healthiest among the food we tasted was sinigang na tanigue. I personally liked how they prepared it because it was not too sour and the fish was so fresh which are complemented by vegetables.

After a sumptuous meal, buko juice flushed all the toxins as the coconut meat was also served on its own coconut shell. We paid around Php 800 and it’s all worth it.

special lechon sauce

lechon doble

chicken

When it comes to pasalubong, one can find delicious delicacies at Bicocho Haus. Aside from their special bischoco, you can also buy other foodies such as crunchy mamon, mango bar, barquillos, barquiroll, etc.

bischoco haus

perfect pasalubong

On that same night, we were treated by family friends of Marj at Alfrique’s, an Italian restaurant situated in an ancestral house transformed into a resto. They had pizza and pasta for us which are at par with some Italian-inspired restaurant in Manila. We had a bottle of beer in MO2 located in Small Ville afterwards. Smallville is considered as the gimmick place in Iloilo since it is where high-end bars, hotels and restaurants are located.

PITSTOP: Arya Persian Restaurant

I was on leave and decided to meet a friend for so many years, Liz to catch up with so many things. After her gym and my shopping, we head to an Asian inspired restaurant for we were craving for Asian food. At first, we thought of dining at a Thai Resto but they were closed that time and only served Vietnamese food. But since the ambiance was a bit casual, we found a resto nearby that serves Persian food. It's Arya Persian Restaurant in Robinson's Place Midtown. 

I only know kebab for a Persian food so I didn't miss it but we had to ask the waiter to explain the differences in the menu for there were terms we didn't undertstand. The taste of their beef and chicken kebabs was excellent and the pita bread with garlic and chili sauce provided that Persian kick.

It's reasonably priced for P 300+ per meal but the experience trying something new and see a good friend made the experience complete.

Arya Persian Resturant is located at the 2nd Level of the Robinson's Midtown. 

PITSTOP: Harbor View, San Miguel by the Bay

After the coolest party (ahaha..), we decided to eat because the food was not enough for us. As we walked along the San Miguel by the Bay, we end up eating Harbor View Resturant. It's right in front of the Imax Theater in SM Mall of Asia. 

We ordered Binagoongang Baboy which is a bit spicy but has crunchy pork, breaded oysters with veggies which taste like tempura with that usual oyster taste, and spaghetti with beef meat balls (I love it). 

They have a promo of six beers for P 350 with a choice of pulutan. 

PITSTOP: Going Chinese

We're number one and that called for a celebration. Living a philosophy of 3M: Mura, Madami, Masarap; we've found this place that has been in existence since the 1980's. It has beem a favorite venue for weddings and events for the past 30 years with function rooms that can accomodate from 10 to 850 persons. This time, we satisfied our hunger Chinese style. 

The place? Aberdeen

PITSTOP: Dad's Merienda Buffet

It's 2 pm and that gastronomic need is upon us. What better way to satisfy hunger is to indulge in good food with affordable price. Since it's way past lunch time, our usual resto of choice is Dad's in Megamall for they offer merienda buffet for only P 139 pesos. 

They serve different Filipino merienda from kakanin, pancit, dinuguan, spag, banana / camote cue, palabok, lugaw, tokwa't baboy, lumpiang ubod. They also have siomai, siopao, and desserts like cream puff, cake, puto, etc.

yum! yum! oh, it also includes kamayan and saisaki for an additional price...

PITSTOP: How I Eat My Bacolod Chicken Inasal

When you go to Manokan Country in Bacolod, you get to see several restaurants that offer authentic Bacolod chicken inasal but the best among them (at least for us) is Nena’s Beth Manokan. Their chicken is tastier compared to others (I have tried other inasal before). When you pass by Manokan, just ignore those people who call your attention to dine in their place and go directly to Nena’s. It is located somewhere in the middle of that strip.

Authentic Bacolod Chicken Inasal

You may order inasal from pecho-pak (chicken breast with wings), pecho (chicken breast), thigh, pak-pak (wings), article (chicken intestine), chicken heart, chicken liver, tinae (chicken ass), etc. The price ranges from P 10 (for chicken organs and other parts) to P 55 (for chicken inasal). You may also want to try talaba. They do not provide spoon and fork so make sure you wash your hands in their hand washing area.

Inasal in every corner of Bacolod

As you get your order, there’s chicken oil in every table (orange-like sauce) that you may put in your rice. I call it panampal sa kanin. Don’t forget to make your own soy sauce with kalamansi that would compliment with your inasal. Also ask the waiter for their special garlic, just make sure you request for that right before you order because it runs out easily.

Kalamansi plus soy sauce, their own vinegar mix, and panampal sa kanin (chicken oil)

Eating chicken inasal is always a feast and there’s no time to chew because it is so delicious. That extra rice will surely destroy your diet. During our stay in Bacolod for the last two Masskara Festivals, I think we ate at Manokan almost, if not every day. I even ordered a piece of chicken that I brought home to Manila as my dinner. Worth it!

There's also talaba!

FOOT NOTEs:

1. Preferred restaurant is Nena's Beth (no more, no less)

2. Order ahead of time if you're planning to bring home some inasal. They would be glad to pack your order so you have check-in your inasal in your luggage.

3. Manokan Country is not a fine dining strip of restaurant so they don't give you spoon and fork unless you ask for it (i haven't tried asking though coz I don't see the need)

4. Order all the food you want at once for it takes time to prepare, especially during peak hours.