Bacolod 2017| Ultimate Food Haven

happened on Sept. 18-29, 2017

I never thought that revisiting Bacolod will happen sooner than I expected.  I first visited this place last 2015 and vowed to come back for more.  When my work assignment in Cebu was cancelled, it was replaced by Bacolod.  So, I got two weeks to discover the "land of smiles" more.  It would be greater if I'm here during the Masskara festival but I'm sure no work will be done if I did that hehehehe.

the floating restaurants in balaring, silay city

Since it's a work related travel, I can only spare my office breaks and the weekend.  The only thing that I can enjoy much as I can is food tripping since this place is also being flocked by food lovers.   Bacolod is a food haven as it offers delectable meals at very affordable prices.  The quality of foods is at par with what they are offering in the high end dining areas here in the metro sans the hefty prices.  Unfortunately, I still didn't able to try all the highly recommended restaurants and eateries here as they are a plenty.  I have another reason to come back ^-^.

MO2 Westown stair

So let's begin with the food journey.  This is not according to rank of who is the best.  Most of the restaurants are located in Lacson St., where the Maskarra parade is being held.  Come third week of October, this will be no longer open to vehicles.  Apologies for not having the restaurants pictures.  Just enjoy the food porn though ^_^.

1. 21 Restaurant, along Lacson St. - it is one of my favorites; offering Filipino and fusion comfort food.  The ambiance is like fine dining but the prices of the food is super affordable.  We ate here for three times.  Yep, it is that good!

tasty ribs

2. Pendys, along Lacson St. - another fine dining type restaurant but smaller and has a "pasalubong" area.  The only food I tried is the Batchoy and it delivered more than expected.  I also tried their famous Napalones but found it too sweet for me.

3. Calea's Pastries, inside Robinson's Mall - this is no.1 on the list of highly recommended places to dine.  It only serves desserts though.  

lots of choices

most fave - pecan pie ala mode for only Php115

4. Chicken House - a lot of people are raving about this inasal house.  The chicken inasal they served is not too strongly marinated.  You can still taste the natural taste of the chicken.  I prefer the grilled ribs more compared to the chicken.  The serving is also big and really cheap.

pecho part for only Php90.00

huge ribs for only Php115.00

5. Manokan Country - you didn't visit Bacolod if you didn't visit this area.  It is just adjacent to SM.  Don't expect an airconditioned eatery as this is an area with different carinderia type eateries offering grilled meats and seafood and fresh oysters.  Highly recommended here is Aida's.  The food is really cheap but tasty.  I prefer the chicken inasal being served here compared to Chicken House.  I can't get over their sinamak, too.  I really love this vinegar dip.  I try to immitate it here in Manila but major fail.

cheap eats

6. Lord Byron's Ribs - this is one of the best surprises I had during my food tripping here.  The ribs costs only Php170.00 per serving but it is good for two persons.  It's really big that I almost didn't finish it.  But it's too good not to!

you can't go wrong with this slab, only Php115.00

7. Ruins Restaurant - it mostly serves Italian dishes at very affordable prices, too.  I was satisfied with the four cheese pizza and pasta.  Serving is good for two. Too bad, the sugarcane shake store is already closed when we reached this place.

four cheese pizza

8. El Idela Bakery, Silay - this is the oldest bakery in Silay and serves a variety of great comfort food.  I find the food prices quite high compared to other restaurants maybe because it is already famous.  A must try here is the guava pie which I had during my first visit.  This time, I tried the famous lumpiang sariwa roll.  It's funny because I was waiting for the sauce till my friend told me that they don't serve sauce anywhere in Bacolod because it is already inside the roll.  In fairness, the lumpia is good!

sauceless lumpiang sariwa

9. MO2 Westown Hotel, Magdalangan - I had all my breakfasts in my residence hotel and they are all unexpectedly good.  I love the American breakfast more.  The waffle, pancakes and bacon are really worth a try.

10. Felicita's - this is famous for ensaymadas and chocolate cakes.  We only tried the chocolate cake, pecan cheesecake and blueberry cheesecake.  I still prefer Calea's cakes.

the famous ensaymada and cheese rolls

colorful macarons

11. Diotays Seafood - obviously business is going great for this resto.  In a span of two years, it has improved a lot.  The former home has been renovated to a bigger restaurant.  Their waiters are now dressed in uniform.  The seafood is still fresh and prices super affordable.  It's a must when in Bacolod.

fresh seafood

tinolang isda

12. Kuppa Coffee - I have been passing by this coffee shop whenever I go to the office but didn't have to interest to check it until I was waiting for my flight back to Manila in the airport lounge.  Since the flight was delayed; I have no choice but to eat dinner in the airport.  Fortunately, I chose this cafe.  I love the ham and cheese croissant sandwich and pastry that I had.  It's so good that I forgot to take any picture.  Until now, I can't forget how soft the croissant is.  I'm sure the coffee is good, too.

13. Mikaela's Seafood in Balaring, Silay - this is located adjacent to the floating restaurants.  We avoided the floating restaurants located on the shore since they are too crowded.  The serving time will be longer for sure.  This eatery didn't disappoint us with the food.  We love all the foods we ordered even it's my first time to see a sinigang with cabbage and carrots ^-^.

love their kinilaw version

shrimp sinigang con chopseuy ^_^

14. Eron's Cansi - I've been reading about this famous soup based dish in every review and finally I had the chance to taste it.  It is like Bulalo but sour.  They used the local fruit - batwan to make it sour.  It tastes different from sinigang.  I'm not a fan of beef but this soup is good even under the heat of the sun.

The fruits are also abundant here at affordable prices, too.  I always look for marang and durian whenever I'm in the Visayas and Mindanao areas.

Being a Kapampangan, it's natural for me to be a food critic.  But I have to bow down to what Bacolod and neighboring cities can offer.  Everything I tried is two thumbs up.  It's hard to be on a healthy diet once you tried their food.  They are really gifted and talented when it comes to cooking.  Is it because they are fun loving people that it somehow translate to how they prepare their food?

There are still a lot of places to discover not just in Bacolod but in Silay and other neighboring towns as well.  I guess a week is again not enough when I return.