CDO Brownout Nightlife

So I thought the brownout thingy was a bummer? Good I did not oh so quickly hie off to anywhere else. It’s also good to go out on a ‘powerless’ night in CDO as long as you know it is not so where you are staying. Just for the experience! Besides, where else would have I gone when its the same case all over Mindanao anyway, right? I think, this brownout thing even added more to my excitement! Here goes my story:

As mentioned in the previous article, thanks to the many things I binged-at at Tsada!, I had to force myself to find dinner at past 9PM for I was not yet hungry.

Out of Demiren, my first target was this open restaurant just beside, that I saw earlier in the afternoon. The place is called “Inilog Grill”. No lights! Crews told me tonight was part of their 5-hour brownout schedule, but tomorrow it will be another 5-hour time slot away from dinnertime. See? I even learned something out of this brownout things. The daily schedule is spread throughout the 24-hour clock!

Candle-lit dinner at 10:21PM! Oh ha?!

And from the look and feel of this place, I guess(ed) this must be a regular haunt of many folks in the city. How did I know? I just know the indicators. If you really want to discuss that at length with me, I will call it ‘work’ and you’ll have to pay me my usual consultation fees hehehe. Trust me, this is a place frequented by many.

Ridiculously funny things to see all around this otherwise simple restaurant. You’d be a real scrooge if you don’t see something to make you smile – even during a brownout dinner! Example? See their menu!
If you know Tagalog and Bisaya, you’ll get the feel of that kalokohan!


This whole page clings to the menu! That’s why it becomes two pages!


I waited for my “Chicken BBQ” already downing a bottle of SanMigLight. My waiter passed by then whispered “sir, me magandang papunta sa table mo, nang makatikim ka naman ng iba”… I was just about to turn my head and voila, a promo girl in a silk blue & white skimpy getup was already beside me offering me Lonestar Light (Beer). I initially said no, but she persisted with some sweet talk, so I got one.
Waiter immediately delivered the Lonestar Beer and I think I kinda forced myself to finish the bottle of SanMigLight hehe. Promo girl was gone to another table and the waiter said “o di ba maganda sir?” to which I replied “asuus, oo na”! And he still whispered, “mamaya sir pag nagka-ilaw na makikita mo”. I was already laughing and said “na ano?”. And he replied “na lalo syang gaganda, pero mas maganda pa rin ako”! I almost choked laughing.

When my Chicken BBQ came, I attempted at it with just that candle on an ashtray. Waiter asked “madilim ba sir?” Of course I said “yes”! He went away not saying anything. Then came a waitress bringing two glassfuls of candles hehe. I mean these two drinking glasses with lighted candles inside (beer picture above). And the waiter came back saying “sabihin mo lang sir kung dagdagan pa natin”. I joked back dismissing him with “syaddaap”!

About 11PM, power was back, lights came on, and customers and crew cheered! Then I had my first clear view of Inilog Grill’s totality. It’s actually even nicer than I thought. Purple and yellow lights! Just see them in this picture.
This time I also noticed they have a uniquely nice way of identifying their tables. Those are the little white squares with numbers on the table posts (legs). See them?


After I took this pic, a band went onstage. I asked the waiter if they have bands every night. He said yes starting at 8PM “kung hindi brownout”! But their preparations, those testing testing whatever whatever was taking so long I got impatient. Hey, I was to go Kaamulan early in the morning, right? So I left without hearing even one real music from that band. The waiter asked if I won’t anymore listen to them which I countered with “ugma ra”!

But I was not wrong about this place. It’s interesting. A good find!

As I walked the few steps to Demiren, I saw another place just a little bit onwards that was already thumping with band music. Yep, the japayuki-style showband kind of singing and dancing onstage. Got curious, so I went for it. I think the place is called Lexies or Lexus or something like that. Ah, good and crazy fun, even if the singers were mostly off tune or off timing! Their dancing and ‘confidence’ rocked the whole place though. But when they went into the ballads… you’ll probably want to flee hahaha! Mga lasheng na yata! After a bottle of SanMigLight, I left the place!

I should have crossed back to Demiren and slept. But a tricycle driver by the sidewalk who was listening to those girls croak, noticed me and asked where I was going! Probably tipsy (3SanMigLight + 1LoneStar at Inilog, 1SanMigLight at this bar) I groped for an answer and asked where else are the good singers in CDO. He pointed to me a nearby place that he said has good singers but qualifying it with “pero dili modern”. Hmm, I thought it was some kind of folk and country joint, so I went for it.

Ahhehe, the place is no folk & country, it’s like a ballroom thing! But yes, the singers are better than those sexy ladies over at Lexies.

The drag queen (left-most arrow) does not sing falsetto a la Metro Manila. He sings in his manly voice and sounds good. Funny and entertaining.

I stayed on for another bottle before I finally called it a night. Yep, final – it was already 1:51AM when I took this picture as I went back walking to Demiren.

Got video clips of these last two joints (just to remember how they sounded hehe)!






And I was going to see the Kaamulan Festival in Malaybalay early in the morning! Ayayay! Did I make it? Let's tackle that next hehe!


To read the chronology of stories on this trip, click the following article numbers:
01 02 03 04 05
06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

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