Chicken Barbecue at its Best

Jo's Chicken Inato
Silliman Avenue
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental
+63 (35) 225-4412
25 February 2009

Author's Note:
I was browsing through my old files and realized I wasn't able to post some travel stories in this blog, so for a few days, please allow me to wind of time a bit and share these stories.

My ex boyfriend and I (we remained friends even after the breakup) were supposed to meet around 4PM, but rains poured, so I just extended my time at the Internet Cafe. He told me we'd cruise around the city in his motorcycle, so we decided to just postpone it until dinnertime.

I met him at the hotel's lobby around 6:30PM, and we decided to eat dinner so we'd have more time cruising around. Since he was from Dumaguete, I let him choose where we will eat, and he took me to Jo's Chicken Inato along Silliman Avenue.


Jo's Chicken Inato traces its roots back in the 1980s. It was named after it's owner, Josephine Ng. This branch in Dumaguete was the first restaurant, and soon after they branched out to Iloilo, Bacolod (Negros Occidental), Mandaue and Cebu City, Tagbilaran (Bohol), Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Butuan, Ormoc (Leyte), Tacloban, Roxas, Quezon City, Dipolog, Palawan, Osamis, and Davao.




Dining Area. This restaurant has about two floors, the ground floor was already full, so we went up. There were about two divisions, the one by the terrace (also known as the smoking area), and this room where we ate. I actually wanted to eat by the terrace, but he told me the smoke from the grill might cling on our clothes, so we settled here. It's air conditioned anyway, so it's great.


The Shell Sink. The grilled foods in this restaurant was meant to be eaten using hands, hence the sinks on both corners of the room. I really loved that they used a big real shell as the sink and concealed the faucet in a bamboo, it was really like eating at the countryside, and it felt as if I have transported back in time! :)

It was the just the two of us eating, and he was on a diet so we didn't get much. We just had:


Macao Canton (P68). It was just like any other pancit canton, although I could really say this was very saucy, it had lots of veggies and meat, and it was just so good! I had fun eating this saucy noodles with my hand!


Jo's Chicken Inato (P85). The one food that represents the whole restaurant. Prior to us eating here, I really thought this would be Chicken Inasal, a grilled chicken dish known in this part of the country. However, when I tasted this chicken, it wasn't really inasal. It was actually better. It seemed as if the marinade has been equally distributed into the meat, and I loved that this chicken barbecue didn't have any sauce basting. It was just grilled chicken, tender, juicy chicken that was one of the best grilled chicken I have ever tasted.

They also serve pork barbecue, and soupy dishes. Like I have said, some of their foods were made to be eaten using hands, but of course, if you're not into it, they would be happy to give you a set of spoon, fork, and knife.

For those in Metro Manila wanting to have a taste of Jo's Chicken Inato, their branch is located at 27 Visayas corner Congressional Avenues in Quezon City.

*** Jenn ***

Sweet Cream!

Chatilly Cake Haus
Dionaldo Building - Silliman Avenue
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental
+63 (35)422-0286 / +63(35)225-8356
25 February 2009

Author's Note:
I was browsing through my old files and realized I wasn't able to post some travel stories in this blog, so for a few days, please allow me to wind of time a bit and share these stories.

Most of our companions left in the morning of 25 February, and because it was just the three of us left (Malou, brother, and I), tito Bingbong thought it would be a good idea for us to stay in one of the hotels in Dumaguete City, so we could also roam around and enjoy the city. Tanjay City (where we stayed at for the last two nights) was approximately 35 kilometers away, and since they, too, have lives to live (so to speak), we all figured out it was best for us to stay in Dumaguete City. We were very humbled that even the hotel room was shouldered by tito Bingbong, and we really couldn't thank them enough for their generosity and hospitality.

Anyway, the soonest time we arrived in Obdulia's Business Inn, brother and I quickly unpacked our bags and chose the ones we still have to wear. We weren't able to wash any of our clothes, and we were running out of fresh clothes. It was time for us to find a laundry shop or else we would be flying back to Manila in danggit smelling clothes. :)


We were able to find a laundry shop, and since we were already out, we figured we should roam around as well. Along Silliman Avenue (where we found the laundry shop) was the Chantilly Cake Haus, and I asked brother if we could stop for a while to have a peek inside. Basically, it was just satisfying the curiosity of going inside, because when I first visited Dumaguete City in 2008, I just saw the building. I have learned that this pastry shop has been one of the well known shops in Dumaguete, so I just wanted to come inside.

Taken from the Chantilly's website, Chantilly is a French word that meant "sweet cream." Established in 1997, this food shop has been known for its cakes and pastries, but they also serve sandwiches and pasta. Aside from this shop in Dumaguete City, they also have another branch in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.


The look inside. It was very homey, the lighting was good (most are natural light), and it was really a nice place to have some cake and coffee.


Cakes. What's good about this bakeshop was that they had the big cake for a group of people to share, and they also had the mini cake for those who are solo. Prices weren't expensive, too!


Baked Goodies. For those who don't fancy the cake, they have the brownies, and other pastry bars.


Glazed Carnabal. There was this one particular food item from this bakeshop that people say one should eat, but it was already sold out. I decided to get these two remaining bags of Glazed Carnabal (sweetened taro chips), because it was something new for me. I decided to take it home.


Mini Cakes. With the mini cake prices below 100 pesos each, I seriously cannot understand why I didn't give one a taste.

Oh yes, we still had to go to an internet cafe and update our sites and read emails, and brother still has to come back to the hotel by 6pm so he could prepare for the mass (it was Ash Wednesday), and I had to prepare for my date with the ex boyfriend (who lives in Dumaguete City).

Writing this one saddened me that I wasn't able to taste their cakes, but then again, I always tell myself that things that didn't happen gives one a chance to do it the next time. I sure hope to travel back to Dumaguete so I can have a taste of not just this, but foods from other restaurants, too!

*** Jenn ***

A Festive Lunch

Chicken Ati-Atihan
Gomez cor. Burgos Streets
Tanjay City, Negros Oriental
+63 (35)415-8392
24 February 2009

Author's Note:
I was browsing through my old files and realized I wasn't able to post some travel stories in this blog, so for a few days, please allow me to wind of time a bit and share these stories.

After visiting the Gawad Kalinga Mapahiusa Village in Tanjay City, tito Bingbong told us we would just eat out because there was no available food in their house. We didn't see any problem with that - truth be told, tito Bingbong and his family have been really great to us, that we were kinda guilty for the hospitality they have been showering us. They really treated us like royalty, and for that, we will be forever grateful.


Anyway, he took us to this food place - the Chicken Ati-Atihan. Hmmm... as the name suggested, I felt kinda excited about how their chicken would taste like. Ati-Atihan is a festival known for its life and graciousness, I am already imagining a festive flavors in my mouth upon eating the chicken.


The place looked like a typical karinderia, with gravel floors. I didn't see any problem with that - it was really nice to eat at a place that was very homey.

Unfortunately, they've already ran out of the chicken ati-atihan, as well as the other grilled pork dishes. They were still preparing the next batch of meat to be grilled, so we decided to just choose other dishes on the menu. We had:




Pancit Guisado (P70). Typical pancit, but I loved that they used pancit canton... I rarely eat this kind of pancit.


Calamares (P75). Too much breading, but the squid was tender inside. I prefer to dip my calamares in vinegar, but the mayo/ketchup dip was okay, too.


Chopseuy Guisado (P75). The sauce was a little runny, but it was really delicious. The veggies are still crispy, and I really ate a lot of this. :)


Sizzling Sisig with Egg (P80). They mixed in the raw egg while the plate was still sizzling, so I wasn't able to get some. I did taste this, and it was good... however I am prefer my sisig without the egg, so I just had a spoonful. Brother and Gerard really loved this.


Fresh Buko (P25 each). Most of us had the fresh buko, which really gave the feeling that we were eating at the countryside. The best part about this one was scooping out the coconut meat after we have sipped all the juice!

There were eight of us who shared all these foods, and it was a great feast. We didn't get to taste their signature dish, but we still enjoyed lunch. As always, tito Bingbong shouldered this one, and we were all just thankful.

I had no plans yet of coming back to Tanjay City, but seeing that they had a branch in Iloilo made me happy a bit - I hope to see that branch in Iloilo come November, so I could really get to taste their Chicken Ati-Atihan.

*** Jenn ***

Eating, the Blue Monkey Way

Blue Monkey Grill
Rizal Boulevard cor. Silliman Avenue
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental
23 February 2009

Author's Note:
I was browsing through my old files and realized I wasn't able to post some travel stories in this blog, so for a few days, please allow me to wind of time a bit and share these stories.

My brother and I left Cebu City port 3pm that day, and because we weren't able to eat lunch and that we didn't buy any snacks, I had to make myself satisfied with the bag of Tostillas chips I bought inside the fast craft. It was a fortunate thing for brother and I that our friend Malou and her friends boarded the craft when we reached Tagbilaran (Bohol) port, because brother and I surely didn't know the set up would be if ever we didn't see them that night.

Anyway, we arrived at the Dumaguete port a little past 6PM, and after tito Bingbong and his wife greeted us, we immediately went to the nearest food place - the Blue Monkey Grill.


Located at the corner of Rizal Boulevard and Silliman Avenue, it was the newest food place in Dumaguete City at that time. I wasn't able to ask around about the place, we were just aiming to satisfy our hungry tummies.


I am not sure if they have dining area inside, but we opted to eat outside - where we could see parts of the boulevard and the Aguinaldo Hall of the Silliman University. Dining under the stars was actually a good feeling... I cannot recall the last time I experienced that.


There were 10 (or more) of us that night - but there were basically two food items on the menu that was eaten. This one, the grilled chicken - ordered by my brother and some of our companions...


... and this one, the grilled pork belly, which I (and some of us) had. I love grilled chicken, but on our first day in Cebu City, I also had grilled chicken, so I opted for something different this time around. I really loved this one - marinated just fine, it was tender, and I was happy it was already sliced up and ready to be eaten!

For the dip, it's the typical kalamansi juice plus soy sauce and vinegar. Some of us asked for some patis (fish sauce), but there was a slight confusion. Well, lesson learned: if you're in any of the provinces in the Visayas region and you wanted to have some fish sauce, don't ask for patis, because patis there meant "soy sauce." If you want fish sauce, ask for "Rufina." Rufina is a well known brand of fish sauce.

Since tito Bingbong shouldered the payment for the foods, I cannot recall anymore how much each of the plated food cost. But, I am sure each plate was under 100 pesos, which was actually good.

*** Jenn ***

Close to Home

Lola Eats Foodhouse
Leyson Street, Brgy. Talamban
Cebu City, Cebu
+63 (32) 334-0387
19 February 2009

Author's Note:
I was browsing through my old files and realized I wasn't able to post some travel stories in this blog, so for a few days, please allow me to wind of time a bit and share these stories.

Since most of us in the chapter arrived in Cebu City two days before the actual conference, we decided to go to the Gawad Kalinga site in Cebu City in the morning of Day 2. Although there wasn't any build activities, we still stayed there 'til lunchtime. The beneficiaries of the GK houses were eager to invite us to eat lunch in their homes, but we do know that they needed the food more than us, so we just declined the offer and told them we already made plans for lunch.

Actually, we didn't have any plans where to eat lunch, but because some of us were already hungry, and that we planned to travel to Mactan for some afternoon dip in the water, we decided to just eat at the first food place we saw: Lola Eats Foodhouse.


It was like a typical carinderia. We didn't have any qualms about it - after all, all of us were used to eating at carinderias in Metro Manila. Seeing they had quite a lot of foods to offer, we decided to just eat here while we talk about our plans for the rest of the day.


Varieties of food include: veggies, chicken, fish, pork, and beef dishes. Most of them went for nilagang buto ng baka (beef short ribs in broth), a classic carinderia food. I had a difficult time choosing what to eat because we've had meat from yesterday and had fast food for breakfast this day. Knowing that we will be eating the fast food way for this whole trip, I decided to change my food a bit.


I shared the table with my brother and our friend Malou. Malou has already started eating when I reached the table, and she had lechon kawali and tortang talong (eggplant omelet). She really missed eating pork and Filipino dishes.


My food. I decided to eat fish and the only fish dish they had was the eschabeche (sweet and sour). This dish was probably the most expensive in the food spread - 70 pesos - but it was okay. Eating fish took away the guilt feeling I had of eating too much meat during the trip. :)


Brother's Food. Being a fan of spicy foods, brother went for the beef caldereta. This one was really spicy!

Overall, the ambiance in eating at Lola Eats Foodhouse was really like eating at the comforts of your own home. I guess that is why they named it Lola Eats - which is in a way translated to "Grandmother's Cooking" of some sorts. We were (and we will) be eating way too much fast food, that eating something homestyle broke the monotony. It was really nice to eat something close to home.

*** Jenn ***