Maasin at the Port Area

It was a good feeling to be back in Maasin. The last time I went to this Southern tip of Eastern Visayas was two years ago.  Now, it has progressed but still remained the southern charm that it have. 

Its been a long time since last visited and it has always fascinated me to roam around in this lovely city. My favorite part, the port area.

View from Kinamot sa Abgao

In Maasin, there is this great restaurant that is known for its great food and warm accommodation.  The first time that I went there was around 2006.  The name is Kinamot sa Abgao.  It has improved.  Now, they have a hotel beside the restaurant.

Kinamot sa Abgao

Going inside Kinamot

Kinamot is a word in Visayas to “eat using your bare hands”.  We Filipinos are familiar with this way of eating and there is a proper etiquette in doing so.  You may either use your left or right but you have to make sure that your other hand is not used.  There are exemptions like eating shrimps, crabs and shells but as much as possible, it is avoided.  In eating using your hands, you have to make sure that the food that you take is just enough to enter your mouth and must be very clean afterwards. 

Going back to the restaurant, it is situated just beside the breakwaters. You will experience a cool breeze of the sea.  We even saw fishermen catching fish while we were dinning.

Inside Kinamot sa Abgao

Here are the foods that are must have:

Kinilaw

One of the best tasting kinilaw that I ever had.  The combination of sweetness and the tang our sourness plus the freshness of the fish has made this a fantastic dish.  This is highly recommended.

Inihaw Platter

Inihaw platter is a combination of grilled fish, squid, pork bacon, beef and chicken.  At first we thought at this is just a small dish good for two.  But then it came, we were three and still we had a hard time finishing it.  This complimented the kinilaw.  The grilled squid was cooked just right leaving it very soft.

San Miguel Pale Pilsen

The kinilaw and the inihaw platter were great with with a bottle of San Miguel Pale Pilsen.  The combination of grill and kinilaw is the perfect match here in Kinamot.  They also have a hotel beside the resto named Villa Romana Hotel.  When you go to Maasin Southern Leyte, never miss this opportunity to eat beside the bay with one of the best kinilaw and gilled that I tasted.  Bare in mind, Kinamot sa Abgao.

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After our training in Quezon City, my boss said that there is a nice place to eat along Panay avenue that is affordable with a very good ambiance.  At first I was thinking, is there such a thing as that? When you say good ambiance for a restaurant, it is usually associated with a good price.  He informed me that this place is owned by Boy Abunda and his business partner Boy So. That drew my curiosity aside from a celebrity owned resto, I really want to taste their food.

Going inside Sir Boy's Food Republique

My first observation was, they have a very accommodating guard who guided us to be parked. Then I headed towards the entrance and I was received by two beautiful ladies who are truly blessed with a lovely smile. The place was huge and definitely it can accommodate a lot of people. The price, superb!!! You can have unlimited buffet dinner for 100 pesos plus additional 25 for the drinks.

Lining up for the food

The food was a six course menu with soup rice and dessert.  You can go back as many as you can as long as you finish what you get.  No wasting of food.  Just get enough what you can chew.

Six Dish Menu

I started with my first batch on the buffet. It was spaghetti, beef tenderloin tips some vegetables and some sweet and sour pork.  It was pretty good but I like the beef tips better. It was soft and very flavorsome.

My First Food Plate

Since I can’t get enough of their food, I again got my second place. This time, no spaghetti.  I added fried tilapia and of course, my favorite beef tenderloin tips.

My Second Food Plate

It was so delicious and the ambiance was really great. However, I still cannot satisfy my taste buds. I went back again and I got additional spaghetti.

More Spaghetti

After which, i suddenly knew that I was not yet finish eating.  It is because I saw their dessert that happened to be one of my favorite.

Buko Pandan

IT was really a very good food adventure and what I like about this place is that, you don’t have to spend so much to keep yourself full plus a very beautify interior coupled with the great customer servicing.  For the budget conscious, that is one of the place to be in Manila. Sir Boy’s Food Republic is along Panay Ave. Quezon City.  Congrats to Tito Boy Abunda and his business partner Boy So.  I will surely go back and I will tell my friends about this wonderful dining experience at Sir Boy’s Food Republique.

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I have always been a fan of fish soups and I am always looking for new and exciting dish. In my travel to Bicol, I experienced a very fantastic and mouth-watering dish called Cucido. Cucido is Bicolano soup dish made of fish. kamote tops, tomatoes, calamansi, onions radish and large chilis.  It is like sinigang but the soup is clearer. This wonderful dish is available at some turo-turo or native restaurants. For this food trip experience, I tasted this in our friend’s house in Legaspi, Albay. They served Cucido with Blue Marlin.

Bicol has always been my delight when it comes to eating and food tripping. They have plenty of delectable dishes to choose from. Good company to be with you and a Cucido that will truly satisfy your craving for a fish soup. Very healthy and very delicious.

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Buffet at Windjammers

 I was facinated by their fruit carvings that welcomed me to their buffet for salads.

Welcome Aboard!!!

I started with the salad and the choices was fantastic. Too plenty to choose from. You have to pick the right choice that will fit your taste palette.

Salad Bar

Veggie Salad Bar

Next, I went to the bread and sandwich bar.  They have hot and cold sandwiches and wide choices of breads. Jams, butters and syrups were also overflowing.

Breads and Salad

Breads for Everyone

More Breads

Here were the sandwiches. I like the green one. It is a wrap with cold cuts and was better with a hot soup.

Sandwich Bar

Here is the green wrap that I was talking about. It was a good sandwich.

Pesto Wraps

Sandwiches

More Sandwiches

 Of course, sandwich is not complete with cheese. 

Cheese and Bisquits

More Cheese

 After, that I went for the main course. Actually, there were plenty of dishes but I can only identify a few. So to make it easier, I identified it as fish, beef and pork. hehe. Here were some of the pictures that I took at the buffet.

Meat and Veggies

Breaded Porkchops

Fish

Delicious Veggies

After the main dish, it will never be complete with desserts. This sinful sweet things were bountiful that I have to control myself just to make sure I can digest what I can eat. Aside from that, too much of everything is not good. So I got a small portion of everything  and made sure that I tasted every dessert without the guilt.

Desserts and Cakes

Strawberry Cheesecake

More Cheesecakes

Baklava

Cookies are good with tea or coffee. Their coffee onboard is Seattles Best.

Cookies and Jellies

More Cookies

Sweet Rolls

It was a full lunch and I took a rest again with cookies and tea before we went to explore the ship.  Windjammers will always be my favorite part of this ship and you know the reason why.   

Windjammers at the 9th Deck

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There is this special place that I never miss whenever I go to Tacloban. The name is Rafael farms and it is situated in the town of Babatngon. It is already outside of Tacloban city but is still near. You will pass by the way to Samar which is connected by the famous San Juancio Bridge. You will reach Rafael Farms without going to Babatngon proper. It is situated to the left. I suggest you must be vigilant in looking since there is no familiar landmark that will indicate you are at the place. However, the entrance is very visible and you may ask the people around and almost all are familiar with it.

Pathwat going to the Resto

Here is the entrance going to the farm. The vines created a tunnel with a path way. From there, you will feel that it is more of a nature adventure than a casual dining experience. Never the less, the walk is just fine since what you will see, is the beauty of the place.

Going to the Restaurant

It is a huge place with a tropical setting. The nipa roof combined with wood and beautiful plants setting made it a place to relax and enjoy. But before we dine, we went to the manmade lagoon. It was designed in such a way that visitors can also do boat ridding.

Lagoon at Rafael Farms

Way to the Lagoon

at the side of the restaurant

When you are in the garden, you will see that they have an outdoor accent that will catch your attention. They have combined it well with the vegetation and it came out to things that are pleasant to ones eye. It gave a feeling of relaxation.

Outdoor Accent

Full of Green Plants

The position of the banga or clay jar caught my attention. It is situated at the pond surrounding the restaurant with live tilapia swimming around. It was neatly placed and it created a cool ambiance around the restaurant.

Another Outdoor Accent

Here is a pathway going the comfort room. It is made of hard wood combined with stones.

Floor Accent

Now, if you want to refresh yourself, you will be welcomed by their bright, clean and refreshing ambiance of the comfort room.

Rafael's Comfort Room

Now, let go to the main entrance. There you will find, 2 jars that is big enough for an adult to go inside and hide. Unfortunately, that is not allowed. It just serves as an accent. What really caught my attention were the beautiful carvings on the wooden wall upon entering. It is really a piece of art.

Front of the Resto

Once you enter, you will see the great combination of wood and antiques combined very well with the modern amenities without sacrificing the space.

Inside the Resto

The ceiling is high and that gives some space of overhead fans and nostalgic chandeliers.

Ceiling Accent

When we were inside, the tables were prepared but the food we still not served. I guess they did that in purpose, just to make sure that the food we were about to eat are steamingly hot and fresh from the kitchen.

table setting

Here is their beautiful table setting with old lamps.

at the dining area

Just to kill time waiting for the food, some of us went drinking juices, some read some books, some had a short chat, others went back to the garden to have their photos taken, while I was busy reviewing my photo shots. It took us just a while around 15 minutes when the entourage of the food arrived.

Tinolang Native na Manok

First to arrive was the soup. It was tinolang native na manok or native Chicken broth. It was delicious. They added lemon grass that enhanced the taste. The meat was just tender. I ate this from my previous travel but I always experience hard meat of the chicken. I understand that is because native chicken roam around thus it creates strong muscles in compare with the domesticated caged chicken.

Green Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Next was the vegetable salad with vinaigrette. The crush peanuts and the crunchy vegetable was the thing that made me say “ wow”. The vinaigrette’s sourness made it more delicious.

After which, all of the remaining food came and we had the feast. Here are the foods that we ate.

Baked Scallops

I made these baked scallops as my side dish. It was indeed delicious but I prefer eating it without rice.

Kinilaw

This kilawin or raw fish salad was different from what I tasted. They used slices of mangoes to sweeten it and its combination with the vinegar blended very well.

Now came the other main dishes

Grilled Blue Marlin

Grilled Pork Chops

Here is my shot when all of the foods were in place.

The Feast

After eating the main course, next is the dessert. They serve a modified turon or banana roll with chocolate and peanuts bits. They served it right after we finished eating. It was served still hot. For us Filipinos, eating turon is best if it is freshly cooked and that’s what they did.

Hot Turon with Chocolate Syrup

After the sumptuous feast, it was again for relaxation. Rafael Farms is really a great place to relax and eat delicious food. No wonder even if it is far from down town Tacloban, many still go there because it gives a rustic ambiance with a modern amenities and good food. This is also coupled with an excellent customer service. I will surely go back to this wonderful place when my itinerary says “ Leyte”.

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Morning at the city of smiles has always been great with a hefty breakfast. This was my experience when I checked-in at LFisher Hotel, Bacolod. It always excites me every time I go back to this place.  There is a charm that differ Bacolod city from any other cities.  Starting the day right with a good breakfast at this very nice place will truly complete your day.    

Yummy Breakfast at LFisher

LFisher serves buffet breakfast. At first, I started up with coffee, juice, omelet, toast.  For the omelet, I asked cook to add all of the vegetables (onion, tomatoes, pepper, mushrooms) and put some extra cheese. No meat. It was a tasty omelet that neutralized your taste after eating the toast with jam.

Buffet Breakfast at LFisher

Since I am a Filipino, starting the day right with no rice is not right. So, I again went to the buffet and had my viand and rice. This time it sausage, fish, corned beef and scrambled eggs. Not to mention my refill of coffee. Two plates in one sitting was a heavy breakfast. It was enough to fuel my day for my city trip.

Roofedeck of LFisher's Chalet

Anotehr View of the Roofdeck at LFisher's Chalet

LFisher hotel is a very nice and elegant hotel in Bacolod. It is located along Locsin street. It occupies one street block at the area. Check out my shot at the rooftop of their Chalet. It’s a new part of the hotel. They have a restaurant that serves cocktails. In the morning before breakfast, I go there for a 1 hour treadmill. They also have a spa and a saloon. It is also the venue of some of the prestigious events such as Miss Earth.

LFisher's Lobby

Lobby of LFisher

When in Bacolod, Check in at LFisher hotel for a very good accommodation and good breakfast buffet.

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Pala Pala Fish and Seafood Market at Bacolod

In Bacolod, there is this special place that we went that is similar to Dampa along Roxas Boulevard.  In fact, this has been there for a long period of time and I guess even earlier than Dampa. It is called Pala-Pala. Like any other seafood market and restaurant, you will go first to the market to get your fresh pick and bring it to a nearby restaurant and cook it the way you like it.

Fishes at Pala-Pala

 That style of cooking has made us more and more attracted to this and it always gives us the feeling of hunger during the waiting time.

Seafoods at Pala-Pala

During our visit to Bacolod, we decided to take the opportunity to eat at Pala-Pala. Pala is a word for shovel.  It is because during the earlier days, fish were literally shoveled to containers when they buy. That is how abundant Bacolod is.   Now, it is still the same, you just have to buy it per kilo and without the pala.

My Friend Alan and Andy: Fishing around

There you will find the fresh catch of the day. From clams, seaweeds, scallops, fishes, crabs, tiger shrimps, lobsters, name it, you will be surprise that they have it.  

Hyksos Tulahan

Inside Hyksos Tulahan

 After the buy, we went to this restaurant named “Hyksos Tulahan” and we handed over our purchases from Pala-pala.  To be fair with the other restaurant, they are also great but this one was recommended to us.  We waited there not quite long and the entourage of our orders came in.

Tiger Prawns in Sweet Chili Sauce

First was the sweet chili tiger prawns. It was a smack down to the mouth. The prawns were cooked perfectly that every bite gave a tick sound.  The sauce, sweet and steamingly hot.

Sizzling Adobong Pusit

Next was the sizzling adobong pusit. It as a squid on a sizzling place and cooked with their own style. It was another mouth watering dish.  It went very well with the fresh steam rice.

Fish Head soup and Grilled Blue Marlin

Plus the grilled blue marlin and fish head soup.  It was indeed a feast that we had.  Good food with superb taste and quality.

Where to find

You may find Hyksos tulahan just beside Pala-Pala. You may also call they for reservation. Just another information, there is the old and new Pala-pala. What I am writing now is based on the old Pala-Pala. If you happen to go to Bacolod City, you may ask any of the tricycle drivers and they will bring you there at no time.  

the Feast at Pala-Pala

Its another Rapsa experience that I will never forget. It made me realize that Bacolod City has a lot of gastronomical surprises.  I also want to thank my good friend Alan Granada for bringing us to this wonderful restaurant. It was something I will go back to when I get back to Bacolod City.

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There is this place that I always pay a visit every time I go back to Tacloban,. That is Calle Z. Why?  It is like going back to the memory lane where bars has the classic atmosphere and where you can talk to your friend comfortably without being overwhelmed by the music.  Not to mention that the variety of music they piped-in are well picked. That is enough reason to go back and relax. Another thing is that they never fail to serve good food.  Last week, I tasted their Sisig na Bangus as recommended by my friend.  It did not fail my expectation. No fishy after taste and it carried the softness and flavorsome of the bagus (milk fish).  It went very well with sizzling plate and plenty of hot sauce. It was a smack down with ice cold beer, blended with the cool ambiance and stirred by the good music.  Total Chill mga pre!!!

Calle Z Cafe or Calle Zaragozza is located at along Independencia st., Poblacion, Tacloban City, Leyte. Even though there are new establishments in Tacloban, CalleZ has made its landmark as culinary and place to be at night with friends.  Never leave Tacloban without experiencing Calle Z.

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