The road to Balinsasayaw used to be quite uneventful, if you don't count the gorgeous view of the Tanon Strait and the neighboring island of Cebu, not to mention the blue skies and the unobstructed 360 degree view of the plains and the mountains looming in front of you. Now, visitors have one place before Balinsasayaw that is worth a stop. Azalea opened its doors a few years ago and has been serving curious mountain trekkers ever since. The restaurant is located less than 5 km from the highway and offers a spectacular view of the mountains, the gorge below, and views of the neighboring islands.
There's a sign by the road that tells you where to stop, and a clearing across the street from the restaurant serves as the parking lot. You go down a few steps lined with potted and hanging plants to the restaurant. Glass walls offer a full view of the surroundings. The verandah stretches the length of one side of the restaurant, and from here you can savor of the view-- bright blue skies, the green of the mountains, and everything in between. The sound of the flowing river from below reaches up to the restaurant and gives the much needed white noise for city dwellers who are not used to complete quiet.
Welcome to Azalea
entrance to the restaurant
Azalea offers a variety of dishes, from sandwiches to pasta and salads. One thing I like about the restaurant is that the tables and chairs are spacious, and you can easily move the tables around to make room for large groups. During our visit we ordered light snacks. My parents, die-hard halo-halo fans, choose their halo-halo while I tried the house burger called Foccaburger, which they make using their own bread.
the tasty Foccaburger
It's easy to spot Azalea once you get off the highway and make your way up.
Map:
Azalea serves up a host of delicious dishes for breakfast and lunch. A bar is also in the process of construction and located one floor down, but still with access to the same great view.
Contrary to my previous post about Moon Cafe ( way back in the later part of 2009), this post will take on a more favorable view. I have come to love Moon Cafe, particularly the chimichanga. Chalk it up morphed taste buds or whatever, but the grainy beef fillings, the sour cream, and the greens have now become a personal favorite. I visit the Mexican-inspired restaurant over at Robinson's Dumaguete whenever I can, but usually when with good company.
chimichanga...or what's left of it
Another favorite is the calorie-ladden chicken skin. They serve it crispy and hot, with a saucer of soy sauce with calamansi, chopped onions, and other spices. I've made it a habit to order chimichanga and chicken skin together, along with a cold can of Cali or, if Cali won't cut it, a colder bottle of San Mig Light. Thinking about all the fat these dishes contain makes me think that I'm probably laying down the foundations for an early death caused by a stroke or some other cardiovascular disease, but I'm trying to offset these potentially mortal effects of gluttonous eating by browsing through Google images of mountain bikes, one of which I vow to buy ( and ride, regularly, I hope) when I have the money.
For now, a quick glance at a chicken skin photo I took before I devoured the plate.
oozing with so much fat that it should be considered illegal
I've wanted to make a post about Chantilly for the longest time since it's one of the places I go to for dinner when I have a class or during the weekends when I meet the high school gang. Chantilly's serves really good pasta, although the servings are too small for my liking. I like their Salisbury steak just fine, though.
Salisbury steak is minced beef shaped to look like a steak. It reminds me of the beef patties you see in Jolibee, but Chantilly's is softer and juicer. It comes served with vegetables and drenched in gravy. I personally like to order my steak with fries, just to add something a bit salty to my meal.
Oscar is the older brother of a friend and classmate when I was in nursing school, and when she asked me if we were willing to do a prenup shot, Kat and I jumped at the chance. We did the shoot in early 2011. They were pretty excited about getting hitched, so it was a joy for us to shoot their last days before the big day. Oscar was a bit shy at first, but prodded by Karen, who looked so pretty in her white dress, he began to warm up and began enjoying the shoot. It poured halfway into the shoot, and I had to make a quick detour for home before the second location to change. Despite the rain, and a sudden scare when I realized by battery ran out, we got the shots we needed.
It's been a couple of years since I last ate at Achong's, one of the best places to eat in Dumaguete if you are strapped for cash AND if you happen to love street food. Achong's is a small eatery across the street from
ACSAT, a local computer school, that sells street food, from isaw (grilled chicken innards) to Adidas( chicken feet), as well as the more common pork BBQ sticks and hotdogs.
JP and I went there for the first time together last week, after both of us had sudden cravings for anything that did not resemble mall food. Achong's was crawling with people when we got there, and the place was thick with smoke and the smell of grilled chicken.
choosing dinner
rice wrapped in coconut leaves
Rice wrapped in leaves are often paired with local streetfood. The rice is poured into the woven leaves before it is cooked. To eat, the packs are sliced open in the middle, and the leafy wrapping is peeled off.
Isaw
Each stick if isaw goes for 4 pesos, very affordable, since you only want to consume five or six of these if you know what's good for you. A person can spend roughly 100 pesos for a complete meal of isaw and rice, paired with a cold glass of Coke.
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