New Coffee Shop

It's not actually new new for they started doing business for several months now.  It's just recently that I was able to check out their shop at IT Park.  Just like the CoffeeCat shop in Davao, it also has the yogurt shop.  Ambiance is ok but quite dark for me.  It must have been that they were saving on electricity bills bit they only turned on the lights inside the shop when it was starting to get dark outside. I was only able to try out a slice of their chocolate Kahlua walnut cake.  It's downright chocolatey and surely hits the spot for me.  I would go back just for another piece of this cake.

Chocolate Kahlua Walnut Cake

The shop has free wifi access. Just ask for the password from the barista at the counter.  They do allow plugging in of laptops for charging however I only saw 1 outlet.  They do have other pastries, sandwiches and pasta dishes available.  I will have to go back to try it out.

Coffee Cat
G/F JP Morgan & Chase Center
Asiatown IT Park

Trip up North

A backlog post of our trip up north of Cebu.  Unlike the roads down south, the ones going north needs a lot of improvement.  The stretch of road from San Remegio down to the towns on the western side of the island are in need of repairs.  We even passed by some parts that were flooded. Paging Gov. Gwen!  If you want to reclaim Cebu's status as the best island destination in the Philippines, please please please improve this part of the province and aside from the roads, please install street lights too so that people will not hesitate traveling at night.

View on the new bridge going to Consolacion

Shipwrecks

I forgot which town this was

an old house in the middle of sugar cane fields

San Remegio

 Not a lot of nice old houses and scenery can be seen in this western part of the island.  A lot of the areas is undeveloped.  There is a potential for ecotourism in this area so hopefully something will be done about it.  But then, the infrastructure must be fixed first in order to attract more people to go and visit this part of Cebu. 

Sunset over San Remegio

Not a lot of pictures for this trip.  Hopefully we will be able to go back there next time and spend some time enjoying the beach.

Trip down south

Some pictures of our road trip to see the southern part of Cebu.  Pictures were only taken by a phone camera hence the low quality.  Good thing I found out that my point and shoot camera is still in good condition despite the broken LCD display.  I will have better pictures on our next road trip.  The highway hugs the coastline of the province which provides for picturesque views and amazing scenery.  We were blessed that day as the weather was really nice so we were able to see clearly the shoreline and mountains of the neighboring province of Negros Oriental.

Going up the mountains via Carcar-Barili Highway

Old church

nice cloud formations 

Sumilond Island at the back

Viewpoint in Santander with Sumilon Island in the background

Sumilon Island

Next up, northern exposure....

Yummy Happy Food

These were the exact words the husband used to describe the food of this nondescript restaurant he was bringing me to.  He was always talking about it and promised to bring me there when the opportunity arises.  That day finally came so we headed out immediately as lunchtime was always a busy time for the restaurant and we might have finding a free table if we came in later.

The Facade

You will clearly see that this is a no-frills restaurant.  No airconditioning, mono-bloc chairs, no uniformed waiters serving you.  Its all self-service.

The Grill

This is what will greet you before you enter the restaurant.  You have to choose the food that you want to eat from what is available on the grill.  Their specialty is Tasik which is a white-flesh fish.  Almost like tuna but lighter and for the lack of a better term "malinamnam".  The price depends on the part of the fish as well as the size.  You can choose to have a huge chunk of the belly or a steak-cut size of the tail end.  Squid is also available.  For the meat-lovers, sorry but they only have seafood here.  You then go to the counter to get your rice and you may opt to order Tinola which is a clear fish soup flavored with lemongrass, onion leaves.  Kamias and tomatoes are used as souring agents.  

Grilled Fish

It looks small in the picture but it was a huge slab of fish about 2 inches thick. Perfectly grilled:  slightly charred on the outside but cooked through yet still moist and soft on the inside.  

Side Dishes

Each person gets a small saucer with sliced tomatoes.  You can add soy sauce, vinegar, calamansi and chili depending on your favorite combination for your dipping sauce.  For me, grilled food has always have to have a dipping sauce.  There is also a small serving of papaya atchara or shredded pickled papaya which was a nice addition to the meal.

Free soup

If you do not order the Tinola, you can actually ask for a bowl of the soup.  Its free of charge! Clear fish broth slightly sour but not overpowering.  

lunch crowd

Total cost for all that? PhP 200. Not bad at all!  the husband and I did not even order another serving of rice so that we could finish the fish yet we were so full after finishing off everything including the atchara and the soup.  And to think we were planning of having halo-halo for dessert!  There was no room left after eating that fish. 

We will definitely go back there again although not with the kids though.  It would be hard to chase them around in a crowded restaurant.  But if you are thinking of experiencing an honest to goodness sutukil restaurant here in Cebu, this place is definitely worth the try.

Parttebelle Tinola

Cebu North Reclamation Area

Across SM City Cebu 

Near Razon's Halo Halo

 

So Tired.....

The whole family plus the BIL went on a road trip south of the city.  We really did not have any particular destination to visit.  Basically the initial plan was to visit a particular city to see the old houses and possibly buy some Chicharon or pork cracklings.  But the husband decided to drive down further.  We saw a sign pointing to a Marian pilgrimage site so we decided to do a detour.

The place was about 5 kilometers from the highway.  Good thing the road going there was paved all the way except for a few spots where the asphalt has melted away and created huge potholes. But it was nothing that the car could not get through.  The BIL did not know anything about the place too despite living here longer than us. From the looks of it, it was a popular site because of the many people and cars going in and coming out of the compound.  We were only able to take pictures from the view deck in the parking area as I was not allowed to go in because the guard at the entrance thought that my skirt was too short!  GRRR!!!!  I did not want to create a scene by questioning the guard so I just turned my back and went back to the car.  Their "rules" are so pre-Vatican 2.  Is the length of my skirt co-related to my faith??? So for them, the shorter the skirt, the more immoral you are or less faith that you have?  There, I just had to release that.  The place looks nice and impressive from the outside.  Although it is still not yet done for you can still see the construction work going on.

I really was not able to get any pictures aside from the pilgrimage site.  I am only using a phone camera so pardon the quality of the pictures.

I love going on road trips.  However with 2 toddlers with you, it can sometimes get to be tiring.  However, the fun and new things that the kids see and learn about makes the whole effort worthwhile.  I am looking forward to the next road trip that we will be taking.