Philippine Travel Notes

Another fairly new (to me) restaurant at the Tacloban Astrodome. Friday night, I arrived late in Tacloban from hinter-mountain-barangays of Burauen. I wanted a sea view dinner , to rest my eyes & soul from depressing scenes of the day. Driver said "challenge accepted" - as if I did not know, he was heading to Cafe Lucia hahaha! Alas di malas, it was full to every corner, me birthdayhan pang nagaganap! We ambled forward, rounding the Astrodome although we already knew every place would also be packed with diners - on a Friday night kaka-sweldo lang two days ago! Both driver and I prefer bars or restaurants facing Cancabato Bay for the views, and we usually park in front of the Samgyupsal place that we never visit - it's always full ! But, voila! A big group of young-and-old folks were just about leaving the restaurant beside Samgyeopsalicious. Driver even ran to grab one of their outside tables haha! I may be prone to forgetting this-and-that from-time-t...

An interesting place to talk about among friends, colleagues and family. Why? Ay, it has positive & negative extremes, yet many folks keep salivating about. Include me! Let this be a 'study' on eateries as businesses or enterprises. And yes, something to ponder-about for us travelers - as to what we want to eat where - when in Tacloban! Ronn's Grilled Tuna & Sashimi is rather new in Tacloban. I say that, since I frequently pass by that corner (Burgos & Sto. Nino St) since 2014, and I've only seen it in 2018. Where the car is (at right) is Sto Niño St. To my left and right as I took that shot was Burgos St. Yes I stood a bit in the middle of the street just for that pic. Buwis-buhay! As you can see, the very street-corner is their grilling area. Wafts of seafood on the grill scatter around the place. Katakamtakam! Those guys are their "grilling crews"! I dined here only twice before, and tonight I was back with 5 friends. So 6 of us! That...

Feast of the 3 Kings caught me in Tacloban, with nothing to do tomorrow, whatever the reason was! So, me, a friend and my driver went to Astrodome for dinner & beer! Found this "new" place (that we knew was named something else before). Ah these restaurants & bars around Astrodome keep coming and going - since after Yolanda! This one is now named burp! with an exclamation. And we said let's try it! First attraction: their menu is not an "album". It's just a single page, and we liked it! Oh yes, there are people who don't like the 'complication' of so many choices. Kami! That chicken thing tasted 'standard', but the sauce was fantastic. Plus, I had this! Ribs w/ a sauce fit for Pinoys ( not too sour ). Driver had that too and agrees with me. My friend had pork belly and said it tasted good. I tried it, oo nga, malambot din! Proof? They asked for an "extra rice" each! Ako? di na kinaya, malaki yung kanin! We...

I have lately been passing by this rather new restaurant, so I had to check it out. Nothing much to shout-to-the-whole-world-about , I guess. I didn't hear it being hyped-up nor did/do I hear it in the Taclobanons' daily buzz . But for you and me who do not cook, yet already (virtually) a resident, any new resto or eatery is worth a peep, right? So, in I went on a Friday night, primarily just curious, though also looking for dinner. Well hmmm, the son-of-a-beach in me got somehow titillated by those waverunners and speedboats parked by the entrance path. Conversely, my driver didn't like it as it meant that he had to park our vehicle on the busy streetside of Real St. (Sagkahan)! In fairness to my driver, Real St. (Sagkahan), is (was?) part of the National Highway, and parking is not even supposed to be allowed on either side. But, this is Pilipinas! You park outside that fence, by the roadside! Anyway... I see that this restaurant is a dainty little place ...

Dandering ? Aw, let me use that as a synonym of ' drifting ', ' gallivanting ', ' wandering '! Roaming without an itinerary - all left to 'chances', by breaking away from my group! For that is what happened here hehe! Yep, I didn't really come to this place to tour-around, as I usually do. I joined a group of friends for a benevolent Christmas Day Program - but, with an itch to look beyond ! Shhh, huwag na maingay. Silip-silip lang naman ang ginawa ko! Not a bad idea, right? Aw, I stuck with our scheduled activities 100%. But there were chances - like during lunch breaks, I'd sneak away to look around and/or shoot pics! That said, everything I will tell you, were most likely unplanned or unintended. As we say in Tagalog: kung ano lang ang nakita, natagpuan, naranasan. In short: whatever! This gave me a different kind of thrill. So let me tell you about some of them! First, a briefer on the not so obvious things (to many Pinoys) ...

This is the 2nd leg of Another Circle Trip . Let's Go! For a 0710H flight, I was not early at the airport at 0552H. Not that late to cause any mess though. I know it isn't that crowded yet. But, I should have come a little earlier. Arrive early, to look around, and take pictures here and there. This is CEB T2 , again ! Those windows look better with the 'giant parols' as Christmas Decorations. Nice! Oh come to think of it, I did not shoot anything similar to the above 2 photos, during the last time I was here before daybreak. The colors surely made me do it this time. Well, I already talked about this "ugly" make of the floor tiles before, right? But that scene at left was new to me! I initially thought I saw a cabin crew walking. I realized, it is a standee lang pala, riding on a trolley being pushed by a staff hahaha! Or is he, really? Why does he have a backpack and wearing a cap? Di kaya pasahero sya o taong labas , at naaktuhan ko lang na kinu...