October 20-23, 2011
This was actually my second time in Bacolod. The first time was last 2007 where I spent overnight for a job interview. The moment I stepped in the place, I wished that Tacloban was like the City of Smiles - urban yet the probinsiya feel is there, surrounded by friendly people with amusing accent (hehe..), and clean even though there are a lot of establishments around. I told myself that the place is so livable! I haven't been able to tour much that time but I was hoping that I could go back.
Fast forward 2011. My Ilonggo boyfriend, Ian, who hails from Bacolod (yey!!! lucky me!!! pancit canton, harhar!) brought me there. You know, to meet his family (aherm...) and to tour the city. What we usually did was eat, eat, eat!!! :) Why? The foods are delicious and priced reasonably! No day passed by that my tummy was not full and happy :)) Even Ian's father cooks good especially his bakereta... Now when can I taste it again? Hmmmm... :)
Below are the must-see places (at least to me) in Bacolod to visit and eat (food again!!!):
21st Lacson Street, Bacolod City
The place is actually intimidating at first because the interiors look sosyal and most customers, well, look sosyal too! Hehe.. so I was quite surprised to find out that their foods are really affordable. We ate Batchoy since it's merienda that time and I won't leave Bacolod without eating it!! Haha...
According to their
website, Batchoy is
a native noodle soup garnished with strips of pork & beef, crushed pork cracklings, spring onions, fried garlic, liver and bone marrow.
Aboy's Restaurant
Golden Field, Bacolod City
This is where we celebrated the birthday of Ian's mother. The food were ok :) But the place is so big that I think it is customized for big groups. I would guess that this is where families or tourists usually eat. Their menu is very
Pinoy. One memorable thing in this resto was they served a tea after the meal (so you won't be guilty after eating a lot! Haha!!) The tea came from their own garden and it really tasted good.
 |
| This is not in Aboy's but is actually situated in Golden Field as well. |
Aida's Chicken
Manokan Country, Bacolod City
The best dining experience during my trip!!!!!!! (convinced? ang daming exclamation point kaya! haha!!) I ate with my bare hands because that's how it's supposed to be right??? :)
Before actually going to Bacolod, I checked the internet on where are the best places to eat. Almost every site recommended Aida's for the chicken inasal. Hello, your trip is not complete without trying the authentic chicken inasal right??? :) So there we went even though my tummy is about to burst..haha!!! Of all the stalls in the manokan country, Aida's was full packed. The place was neat and colorful. And the food??? Omg, I was in heaven when I tasted their inasal paired with garlic rice (haha...I so wanna go back there right now!!!) Next time I'm gonna try their
talaba!!! :)
Bob's Restaurant
This restaurant has actually a lot of outlets in the city. But we ate at their Robinson's outlet. This is the place to go if you're craving for pasta, burger, or nachos and you're with friends. Or if you just want to hang out you can actually go to their Cafe Bob's which has a nicer, relaxing ambience.
Anyway, the foods are quite pricey BUT it's really worth it! I especially recommend the fruit punch and burger.
Calea
Lacson St., Bacolod City
I first heard of Calea from my boardmate who raves about their cakes. So I told Ian if we could go there for dessert after 21 and Aida's (my tummy still has this little room for sweets, haha) I find the place so cute and adorable! The place was packed when we got there and I got dizzy with all the cakes and pastries I was seeing, hahaha!!! Mind you, they were all affordable unlike the ones you eat at a coffee shop.
Since we couldn't decide which cake to eat.. we bought six slices of different cakes as take out (Oreo cheesecake, sans rival, etc..gosh, next time I should take pictures of everything I will eat during a travel so I won't forget, haha!!!). Lucklily for us, we were able to grab a seat so we decided to have a bite and drink. YUM, YUM, YUM! Good thing for us too since we spotted some PBA players. Picture agad!
Lopue's San Sebastian
Being a Coke collector, he showed me this mini museum of different memorabilia.
New Government Center
Bacolod boasts of its new and beautiful government center (city hall). Since it was Masskara Festival, there were floating objects (sorry, I forgot the exact term, lol!) in their huge fountain. Ian told me that every year they would have a different concept. Such a nice idea talaga to utilize their fountain into a parade of creativity :)
Provincial Capital Lagoon
How I wished that the lagoon is cleaner :( 'coz it's already a landmark in Bacolod. It was actually the first time I saw a public lagoon with koi..maraming kois!!! Basta mga fish!!! :) Amazing talaga!
Negros Museum
This museum was not only full of dolls from different countries but has a rich history as well. :)
Organic Farm
Yes, they sell foods made of organic ingredients only. Sadly, I wasn't able to taste their foods (other than this halo-halo) since it was way past lunch time when we got there and they have nothing to offer anymore...hahaha... Ganun sila ka sikat dun! Ubos agad ang food! Employees from nearby restaurants would usually eat there. Healthy na, namit pa!
Pope John Paul II Tower
Reclamation Area near SM City
This is a 9-storey building dedicated to the loved Pope John Paul II. Each floor showcases stories and photos of the pope. Climbing the stairs may have been tiring but it was all worth it 'coz the view from the roof deck is priceless. Aside from that, going there has proved me how spiritual and religious we Filipinos are. :)
Caribbean Water Park and Resort
Golden Field, Bacolod City
Bacolod may be more known for its foods but they also offer a number of resorts within and outside the city. One of the most popular is the Caribbean. It is a pirate-themed water park with shallow pools complete with water slides, pirate ship, treasure chests, and mushroom showers. For more info, click this
link.
There are so many things I like about this water park. It's affordable. Food is allowed. The slides are exhilarating! And it's such a cool place. Period. :) I may be bias here but I like it more compared to Splash Island (although Splash offers more slides and is bigger...but Caribbean is cooler and better maintained).
The Ruins
Talisay City
Though The Ruins is not located in Bacolod, still your Bacolod trip is incomplete without going there. Do I still need to explain??? :)
It was actually late in the afternoon when we got there thus the "dark" pictures. On a more positive note, we were able to witness the sunset :)
The place was scary at first. But it became majestic and romantic after. The place has a charm I can't explain. It's a perfect setting for a pre-nup pictorial, hehe!
Touristy pictures at the Silay airport and mall.
All in all, I HAD A BLAST! Ian's family were very welcoming.They were all nice :)) It was also my first time to watch in a 3D cinema. I was also amazed with the packaging of Bongbong's (the popular pasalubong center in Bacolod). The roads are wide (although they are not that strict with jaywalking, hehe!) Truly Bacolod is very livable and lovable! :)
There are still a lot of places I wanna visit the next time I get there. There's the Pala-pala, Mambukal, Balay Negrense, among others. Gosh, I can't wait to breathe the sweet air of Negros again. :))
