Happy Steps travel blog

South Sea Resort Hotel in Bantayan, Dumaguete City

A recommendation from a friend took us to South Sea Resort Hotel, located in Bantayan, Dumaguete City. We had a hard time looking for the place, and got lost along the way. One has to go through a maze of residential houses to finally get there. There are road signs as you go nearer the resort but they were not that conspicuous and are too small to be read by motorists. Finally, we found the place and I noticed that it was a bit quiet with only us as visitors, maybe because it was a Monday afternoon when most of the folks are busy at work.
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Top 10 Canadian restaurants

What’s a holiday trip without experiencing a taste of the local cuisine and delicacies? For a tourist who’s just landed in a new destination, the excitement of seeing all the sights and visiting the top local attractions may all be gone when one is exhausted and starving.

For a popular destination such as Canada, it’s good to do a bit of research about good dining destinations especially if you’re completely new to a certain province. Browsing through restaurant guides such as enRoute and online directories such as Canada 411 can surely help. Continue reading… »

Will the recently concluded 1st Chicken Inasal Festival make it to Guinness?

Mmmmm…!!! Something’s cooking at the parking lot!

We were inside the North Wing of SM City-Bacolod last Tuesday and the smoke wafting in as people came through the doors was enough to awaken our curiosity (and appetite) to see what the buzz was all about. It was the highlight of the 1st Chicken Inasal Festival in Bacolod City as almost 4-kilometers length of barbecue grill was set up at the parking lot area. The event was an organized effort by the local government and some private entities to break the current Guinness world record for the longest grill at 3.8 kilometers held by Sto. Tomas in Pangasinan.
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Aboy’s Restaurant in Goldenfields, Bacolod

We were at Aboy’s Restaurant recently. Considered as one of Bacolod City’s top native restaurants because of its fastfood-style service and tasty cooking, they’re located in GoldenFields Commercial Complex near the old domestic airport.

Aboy’s interiors have a unique homey appeal. Unlike most fastfood restaurants, the furnishings are wooden and not of PVC/steel material, the ceilings provide interesting lighting and the columns are accented with stone finish.

To order for food, you have two options. If you’re really starving, they have about ten or more already cooked dishes lined up at the counter, you just tell the staff your choices and they will scoop it on a plate and deliver to your table. Fast, huh? Native dishes such as kaldereta, laing, chicken liver and gizzard adobo, crab omelet and other fish and noodle dishes are displayed. Having the cooked dishes lining up in front of me surely looked more tempting than seeing them on the menu. There’s the tendency to want to order all of them. LOL.

If you’re not that hungry yet, the other option for ordering is by choosing from their glass counter, where you can see marinated yummy goodies – pork belly, pork cuts, chicken, whole fish (such as Lapu-lapu), or fish slices (e.g. Blue Marlin) and other seafood (e.g. squid) being displayed. You just tell the staff your choices and they’ll have it grilled for you. Actually, this option is still fast when compared to other restaurants serving grilled food. We were surprised to have our grilled Blue Marlin and squid delivered to our table in just few minutes.

Grilled Blue Marlin… yummy!
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Medovnik from Prague and Piaya from Bacolod

Here’s how two famous sweets from the east and west would look like side by side…

Prague’s Medovnik and Bacolod’s Piaya!

Medovnik is a layered honey cake with chopped walnut toppings and is one of Prague’s best-loved and known desserts, while Piaya is Bacolod’s famous delicacy. The above photo shows a slice of Medovnik bought from a mall in Prague, while the two pieces of Piaya were leftovers from a bunch baked by sis during my vacation.

I am not a big fan of the Piaya, but I can eat lots of ‘em only if it’s cooked by sis! *wink* Yup, her version of our native delicacy is the yummiest, since she makes it not too sweet and the crust is crispy and tasty especially when fresh from the oven or heated in the microwave. You can get my sister’s very own piaya recipe here.

I miss yummy seafood

I’m still here in Prague and enjoying my vacation a lot. But that doesn’t mean I am not missing the Philippines, especially the native dishes we have at home such as yummy fresh seafood!

Recently, I cooked Tom Yum which is a Thai spicy sour soup with shrimp (or any seafood), mushrooms, lemongrass and lime. Too bad the fish was not fresh (it was fish fillet bought straight from the frozen food section) and not as tasty as the fresh catch we usually buy from the wet market back home.

Seafood is quite pricey here in Europe so I’ll just content myself with the photos of some of the food we ordered during cutie sis’ birthday celebration at Enteng’s of Sagay in Lacson Street, Bacolod City few months ago:

Crispy Shrimps

Kinilaw (raw Tanguigue or Spanish mackerel in vinegar with chopped onions, ginger, tomato, and red chilies)

Grilled Squid

Trying out new cuisines

One thing that makes travel fun is sampling out new cuisines and flavors whether they be exotic food (like fried silkworms, perhaps?) or some French gourmet dish.

As my Mom would always tell me, the more you can accommodate new food for your taste buds, the more adaptable you are as a person. So, am I that adventurous when it comes to trying out new food? Well, not that much I guess! Anyway, I do am open to trying out new dishes especially if they look yummy.
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Viennese coffee house culture

Meeting in cafés have become part of the Viennese culture, where prominent writers used to be seen together exchanging ideas with contemporaries and some even find it a comfortable place to write their thoughts, thus the terms ‘coffee house literature’ and ‘coffee house poets’. Coffee is one beverage most people consume to stimulate their minds.
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What’s cold, yummy, sweet and refreshing this summer?

None other than one of my favorite summer refreshments – halo-halo! This Filipino native delicacy literally means ‘mix-mix’ in English (halo means mix) and is a concoction of fruits (macapuno, jackfruit or nangka, ube, etc.), sweets (leche flan, kaong, nata de coco, beans and sago), pinipig with crushed ice and milk. It is best topped with ice cream. So cool and yummy!

Note: Photo above shows a bunch of Chowking halo-halos before they ended up in our tummies!

Dining with wine

Perhaps you are one of those wine lovers? You just love the taste of wine and can’t eat a dish without sipping a glass or two. When I traveled to Europe, I noticed how they love to accompany their meals with wine. Well, I’m not very particular when it comes to wine and taste. But if you ask me I can settle for a red wine for anything.

At any rate, let me check your preference when it comes to wine. What wine do you think goes with a fish dish? Will it be a white wine or a red wine? What about for spicy food, what should be the best pair? Will your choice be a white wine or chardonnay? I think it really depends on your taste buds. Usually white wine is good for fish or some might prefer it with spicy food. Continue reading… »

Enteng’s of Sagay, now in Bacolod

We’ve seen it as just one of the new restaurants along Lacson street. We pass it by everytime we head to Bacolod and back. But Uncle F has nothing but praises for Enteng’s native restaurant (originally from the city of Sagay, about 84 kms from Bacolod) so, one time we stopped by for lunch and decided to give it a try. Food was really yummy as what uncle told us, and the prices are affordable. We ordered grilled scallops, buttered vegetables, lechon baka (beef), baby back ribs and sizzling squid. Aside from their native lechon (roasted pork), Enteng’s is famous for kinilaw which we haven’t tried yet so we vowed to be back again.

When Uncle F and Auntie V celebrated their wedding anniversary recently we decided to treat them to Enteng’s. We still ordered grilled scallops (my fave!) again, including grilled squid, grilled tanguigue (Spanish mackerel), fish sinigang (sour fish soup) and mixed seafood platter.

We still haven’t tried their kinilaw since it was evening and it’s not advisable to have raw fish for our tummies. I brought my own baked moist chocolate cake for our dessert and the staff was accommodating enough to provide us with the extra plates and forks. The owner Enteng (whose kinilaw expertise has been featured in magazines and news articles) and his wife were present that time, sitting behind the cashier unassumingly. Mom handed them some cake slices too. It was an evening of good food and family togetherness. Until next time again!

Of strawberries, guitars and piayas

In the Philippines, each province prides itself with its own local delicacies and handicrafts which are perfect ideas for pasalubongs. For instance, you have those handcrafted wooden sculptures, hand-woven sweaters and shawls, fresh strawberries and peanut brittle from Baguio. How about Cebu? Well, you can’t get enough of their yummy danggit, otap, dried mangoes and crispy chicharon from Carcar. The nearby island of Mactan is famous for its guitars and ukuleles and you can see these carried by tourists in the airport who usually buy more than one.

My big bro’s family in Mactan would always remind us to bring them piaya, being one of Bacolod’s famous native delicacies. They were a bit disappointed when we failed to bring them some packs during one of our recent trips to Cebu. Another pasalubong that always bring a smile to our faces are the packs of yummy puto from Manapla given by Tita D every time they drop by our home.

Spicy is yummy!

When I was still a newbie on Thai food, I try to be cautious with my choices especially if I see lots of chilies on the dish. I appreciate spicy food but not as spicy as what the Thais usually serve. They would tell you “Mai phet, mai arroy” which means if it’s not spicy, it’s not tasty or delicious. So, if you’ll be dropping by this land famous for its hot and spicy cuisine, just be sure to tell the waiter “Mai phet” (not spicy) or “Mai sai prik” (don’t put chili) if you can’t stand eating a spicy dish. And don’t forget to say “Arroy maak!” (tastes very good) if you find the dish yummy.

Want to try exotic Thai food?

It was a chilly December night at the Chiang Mai night market in Thailand when my techie bro handed over something in a plastic packet. He urged me to try and taste it. There was a tone of persistence in his voice that made me suspicious about it. I peeked and realized they were fried worms! Yikes! I tried to be brave and adventurous, so I ate one. It was another one of those fun Thai food tripping experiences.

It tasted like fried shrimps but juicier and not so meaty. My little niece exclaimed, “Potatoes!” after tasting some.

Here are more of those exotic Thai delicacies on display that night.

Hmmm…wanna try?

Dinner at Bar 21 on a rainy evening

We had our dinner yesterday at 21 Bar and Restaurant, popularly known to Bacoleños as Bar 21, located at 21st Lacson street in Bacolod City.

If you’re looking for some fine dining with a quiet, homey ambiance – a relaxing family dinner or sweet romantic date – then this is the place. Service is great with very attentive staff and food didn’t take too long to prepare.

Prime Rib (standing roast)

Calamares with marinara sauce

Steamed fish (Lapu-Lapu)

We will definitely be going there again for snacks next time to try their famous special Batchoy.

Food tripping in Thailand

It’s not just a land of amazing sights, but of varied tastes and blends as well although Thailand is more famous for its spicy cuisine. Indulging in Thai food is one of my fave things to do whenever I’m on a visit in this country, and the best thing is that these yummy treats usually don’t cost that much.

Strolling along the sides of the streets could really make you hungry and stir your appetite as you’d see all sorts of food on display – from sweet corn, fried fish and squid balls, to yummy pork barbecues, grilled fish, fresh fruits, cool juice drinks and even exotic food. Of course, Thailand boasts of numerous food joints, restaurants and bars to satisfy whatever kind of food and ambiance you’re looking for, from fast food to fine dining.

The first Thai dish I tasted was their noodles topped with pork sausage, few veggie leaves and a slice of manaw (lime). This later became my usual snack when studying on late evenings. One my favorites is Khao Phad (fried rice) which is the easiest to order and offers various toppings such as pork, beef, shrimp, crab meat or chicken.

Other favorites are Tom Yum (spicy and sour soup usually with seafood, pork or chicken with lemongrass and mushrooms), Paad Thai (stir-fried noodles with shrimps, monggo sprouts and tofu), chicken with cashew nuts, Som Tam (spicy papaya salad) and Moo Nam Tok (spicy grilled pork or beef salad).

Photos courtesy of Essential Tidbits.