Posts Tagged ‘Bacolod City’
A proper bakery
As a child on visits to the Philippines, my cousin had a bakery where we would visit the kitchen early in the morning and grab some bread, hot and fresh out of the oven. Those memories still stick with me to this day because there really is nothing like fresh baked goods. Moving here as an adult, things have changed, my cousin no longer has the bakery and it is difficult (if not impossible) to find a place that sells fresh quality bread in the morning.
There are corner bakeshops that are usually stocked with bread in the morning but there always seems to be something missing in terms of quality. Many times, once it begins to cool down, the bread becomes excessively crumbly—with every bite, a piece of bread that is supposed to be thick and doughy, is just spilling heaps of crumbs with very little left in the actual piece of bread. Not sure what causes it but would guess the shops are forgoing some ingredients.
On one occasion, had some delicious pan de siosa, a type of pull-apart bread, from a nearby market. When visiting the stand one morning, they informed me the bread they had available was from yesterday and a fresh batch would be ready by that afternoon, around 4:00 p.m. While the honesty is appreciated and, yes, bakeshops should be putting out fresh goods all day long, a fresh morning supply should be a priority.
Are most local bakery owners unwilling to wake up early for their customers? It would explain why so many places serve “all-day breakfast” but aren’t even open until after traditional breakfast time.
Browsing the internet for nearby places to eat, stumbled across the page for a place called Firehook Boulangerie et Patisserie, which is located within the Mountainview Subdivision. Now, upon reading the name, was skeptical since a lot of places give themselves such monikers but sell the same typical baked goods. However, decided to stop by one day and, upon entering, already knew it was different—in a good way.
It’s a small place. On one side, there’s an area where customers can place orders for various items. As for the ready-made stuff, there’s a display with the day’s goods.
Firehook opens in the morning and, despite popping in mid-afternoon, they still had a number of fresh goods available.
One of the items that got me really excited were the cinnamon rolls. First off, they were huge. I can’t recall seeing fresh cinnamon rolls anywhere in the city (although there are certainly pre-packaged ones). The rolls were delicious, flaky, and sweet.
Above the main display, there was an elevated tray under a glass cloche with some yummy-looking brownies. Ordered two. These were chewy and dense with a strong chocolate flavor. The nuts added a much-needed crunch to the richness of the brownie.
The chocolate croissant is very dear to me. A chocolate croissant was enjoyed at least once on each of my several visit to Barcelona. There was a vendor in the city’s famous La Boqueria market that sold fresh chocolate croissants; so fresh that the chocolate was still soft inside, resulting in an amazingly delicious and gooey breakfast.
In addition, have tried a variety of chocolate croissants from an array of locations while working in New York City.
Despite the history with the chocolate croissant, Firehook’s offering was delicious. The croissant was well-made with a generous helping of chocolate throughout the interior (better than some of the ones I’ve had overseas).
Dropped by on another occasion, where I was able to partake in more brownies and another chocolate croissant. Luckily, they had some other treats available this time as well.
The most eye-catching item in the display case was the tray of croissants.
The classic croissant. I have to say, Firehook’s is one of the best. The pasty was perfectly flaky and very buttery. It tasted exactly how it should and, after buying two, had the other one a day after and it was still soft. A really well-made croissant.
On this trip, they also had fresh-baked bread on display.
Decided on a loaf of sourdough. Bringing it home, had to give it a try and that first slice was fantastic. For me, the sign of a really good piece of fresh bread is if it palatable plain, and this fit the bill. The next day, cut a few slices and toasted it with butter, the crust was crispy and the interior had that signature tangy sourdough flavor.
Finished off the loaf by making a breakfast toastie. The toast provided enough support for the sandwich along with providing a welcome crunch.
I am immensely happy to finally find a shop in Bacolod City that provides quality baked goods beyond the standard fare, products with some depth of flavor, and a place that isn’t just following current trends but serving the classics.
My “first” haircut
If I recall correctly, my last haircut prior to the coronavirus pandemic may have been right before leaving for Taiwan—last November. Since then, with barber shops and salons shutting down around the world for a few months, along with the previous trauma of cutting my own hair and having the clippers break mid-haircut, was not expecting a haircut for a while.
In the meantime, with my hair extended down my neck, resorted to trimming the underside of my hair—a quasi-undercut—in order to keep the thickness under control. The look seemed doable for a while until encountering things such as hair getting in the way when looking down, unruly tangles when waking up, and lots of extra hair fall.
It went even further when the gym reopened.
Aside from extra sweat with the additional volume, had to deal with masks being required while exercising. However, after encountering difficulties with strenuous activity while wearing a mask, the owner said a bandana would suffice; and, at the time, as the first client in after disinfection, had nobody to social distance from and (unsuccessfully) tried pulling off a bandana the way BTS’ V does as a way of keeping the hair out of my eyes (eventually pulled it down as a face covering once somebody else entered the premises).
Not one to post selfies very often, took the opportunity to document the longer hair.
Coincidentally, the next day, the salon posted a notice on Facebook to announce they were reopening—made sure to make time to visit ASAP. Since I saw the notice at night, it was already too late to make an appointment and decided to get there right at opening; if they did require a reservation, I was hoping nobody else was gunning for a 10:00 a.m. appointment.
Arrived just after opening and it was empty. Even approaching the salon, the receptionist, who I suspect already knows my regular stylist, was about to walk out and quickly snuck back behind the counter. She let me know my stylist was available and I took a seat as they were still setting up for the day.
While waiting, the receptionist brought over a clipboard where I had to fill out my contact information in the event contact tracing was necessary. There was also a health information form that asked about travel history and any recent illness.
When my stylist was ready, I immediately asked if it was OK to remove my mask—wasn’t sure how it would work with cutting around my ears and all. She said it was fine and let her know I was going for a much shorter look. I usually show her a photo of Jackson Wang for inspiration but was ready to go shorter; having longer hair for a period of a few months was enough.
She had a face shield, which she bumped once with her arm, but, otherwise it was fairly routine. She pointed out how long my hair was and made several runs with the blow dryer as there was hair all over the immediate area.
It was then time for the shampoo. My stylist said, for a shampoo, a face shield would be required, which they conveniently had on sale for P60 (US$1.20). Proceeded to quickly decide if a shampoo was really necessary and went with it anyway—the extra P60 wasn’t too much to ask especially since they had been shuttered for the past how many months.
Got a shampoo, rinse, and style and was out of there.
Aside from forms to complete and extra precautions, things didn’t seem all that different. Just have to remember to bring my newly-purchased face shield for the next haircut.
Scrounging around the kitchen
The work schedule typically leaves little time to mess around in the kitchen to put together a dinner. Often times, dinner is comprised of leftovers from lunch; often reimagined to add some variety to the day. Other days, there is nothing and it comes to down digging around the kitchen to see what is available.
An important priority is to always having noodles on hand.
There are both flat varieties and the typical long and thin style that one can just throw in a pot of boiling water. Once cooked, it’s just mixing it in a bowl with whatever ingredients. Usually go for some kind of mix of soy sauce, oyster sauce, chili oil, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, green onions, chili flakes – unfortunately, have never actually written down the specific combinations and am unsure which mix makes for the tastiest noodles (but, really, any combination is tasty).
Living in a city that rarely has fresh vegetables on hand – the supermarket is usually stocked with shrink-wrapped produce that look like they’ve had the rotten parts sliced off – always have canned vegetables available. Throwing in some corn, asparagus, or mushrooms can make for a good meal.
Have also used them to put together side dishes, such as sautéing in a variety of sauces or folding them into an egg.
Playing around with sweet, spicy, and sour has sometimes resulted in a regrettable dish that must be consumed (can’t let anything go to waste); however, most of the time, even if it comes out bland, it’s still enjoyable.
Many times, it is a big surprise to find out what can come from scrounging around the kitchen. What would typically begin as a tired evening out of the newsroom and a listless hunt for dinner becomes a creative evening of experimenting with flavors and cooking purely through taste and smell – how some cooks believe it should be done. Have never been the best at following recipes, but can definitely put together something flavorful and filling on the fly.
Finding authentic coffee in a place where instant is king
Even before moving to the Philippines, I remembered always having to send ground coffee, along with a myriad of other items, when packing those ever-present balikbayan boxes for family members back in the “motherland.” Now, after living in Bacolod City for over five years, it has become very apparent why coffee was in such demand – it’s really hard to find genuine coffee here.
Most, if not all media, is obsessed with instant coffee. In the Philippines, there also tends to be an affinity for “white coffee,” a drink that lacks the look or genuine flavor of coffee; it tastes good, but it’s more like a sweet coffee-flavored beverage than coffee. There’s nothing wrong with instant coffee, it’s good when in a pinch, have also used it when the power was out and had no coffee maker available, but it is not a substitute for brewed coffee.
However, they want consumers to believe it is, with ads constantly showing celebrities with the choice of brewed or instant and picking the latter, then sitting back in a comfortable chair and claiming it’s the same (if not better) than freshly-brewed coffee – that’s just false advertising!
For a while, went with the so-called “native coffee.”
Was told of the days when native coffee stands were all over the place, serving up strong local coffee, brewed fresh in the morning. After stopping at a couple of the still-lingering shops, can only conclude the quality has dropped or they have all started cutting corners. It was hot water with a hint of coffee. One spot, however, at the Victorias City market, a few miles from Bacolod City, serves up really good native coffee for P11 (or around 20¢) for a cup of black, add extra for milk.
Began buying native coffee at the market a while back, but even that too started to wane as of late, the taste was more bitter than usual and wasn’t as tasty.
For the longest time, walked past a coffee stand in the mall called Little Farmers Coffee but never stopped to peruse the selection. One day, decided to inquire and saw, not only do they offer local beans but customers can get up close and give them a whiff. They sell coffee by the kilogram and by the cup, P55 a cup (or just over $1).
Their selection is local and comes from across the northern part of Luzon.
After picking up a half-kilogram of ground hazelnut coffee a while back, a good medium brew for the entire household and guests, have since tried different varieties on every visit. With a preference for a stronger brew, have tasted the Benguet Barako, Sagada Dark Roast, and, on the most recent visit, the Kalinga Dark – none have disappointed.
Only regret not stopping by sooner. At least I know there’s a place to fulfill that yearning for a rich cup of coffee and not having to settle for watered-down and sugary instant or questionably-blended ground coffee from the local market.
A cup of the Kalinga Dark from Little Farmers Coffee.
Just the essentials
Housesitting for the night and had everything else in mind except (ironically) dinner and snacks.
First and foremost, it was a work night, so the laptop and charger went in first. That was followed by the iPad and all the other chargers necessary to both get through the evening and begin the day – like making sure the Bluetooth headset was charged for a morning at the gym.
After packing clothes, then came the toiletries.
As somebody on a daily routine (and with the basics at the ready in the place I was housesitting), it was all about gathering the “beauty essentials.” Face wash, toner, moisturizer, face mist, hand cream, body lotion, and sunscreen were all thrown in the bag.
All packed and ready to go and I’m reminded, “What are you going to eat?” Perused the kitchen and packed more essentials.
Just happened to pick up terra chips at a local supermarket that morning, they were on sale ‘Buy 1, Get 1 free.’ They’re pretty dangerous though, especially during work, the bottom of the bag sneaks up on you. Also brought some mate tea bags, always works for a pick-me-up when staring at a computer screen and for a nice morning wake up call.
Then it was dinner itself. What else but ramen? A trusty bag of ramen, a bottle of soju, and also packed a container of kimchi – complete.
Needless to say, the evening and following morning flew by. On subsequent overnight stays, have found the same formula works every time.
A satisfying lunch in Manhattan’s Koreatown
Based on the last couple experiences with Korean food establishments operating in Bacolod City, can only say the situation is disappointing. Have tried stopping by different places to give them all a try; I’m not even trying to measure it up against Seoul or Busan, but to at least attain that same satisfaction of enjoying authentic Korea cuisine – the kind served all over the world. While there have been highlights in the past from some of the local restaurants, it would appear everybody has begun cutting corners and it’s leaving customers with subpar offerings.
One place that promotes an all-you-can-eat samgyeopsal (pork belly) special has been good in previous times; however, on the last visit, was told by the waiter they may not have enough inventory to supply an all-you-can-eat order – he, then, proceeded to offer higher-priced options. Having a hard time seeing how that is anything but deception and walked right out of the place. What kind of management offers a promotion they cannot support? Not sure how many others fell for their bait-and-switch scheme, but it didn’t work for me.
Another place offered banchan comprised of vienna sausages in a mystery sauce, along with kimbap that was made with canned corned beef and mini squares of cheese. Thinking between whether the kitchen was working with scraps that day or those were their choice ingredients, either way, the circumstances were unacceptable. Both street vendors and even convenience stores in Seoul have much better kimbap. During the last visit to Seoul, a samgak kimbap, the triangle kimbap offered at every convenience store, became a daily habit.
With two places checked off the list, went to a third, which was once believed to be a reliable spot. To my surprise, that same corned beef-cheese kimbap found its way to the table. Oddly enough, the menu options were beef or tuna, considering the “beef” was canned corned beef, can only assume the tuna is canned tuna.
That questionable kimbap is most definitely a deal-breaker.
Officially, there are no places in the city where one can really enjoy delicious Korean food, which leaves me longing for places that do serve quality dishes, like in New York City’s Koreatown.
When hitting the strip of Korean establishments, located a few blocks from New York City’s Penn Station, usually eat at Miss Korea BBQ or Kunjip – the former was one of the first restaurants visited in the area, while the latter was introduced by a good friend.
One of the primary differences was made apparent immediately, the banchan. This wasn’t just two of three plates offering kimchi, wilted bean sprouts, and (like the second mentioned restaurant in Bacolod City) a plate of chopped up vienna sausages. It was a full array of side dishes, maybe around 10 small plates, along with a whole fried fish – a pleasant surprise.
Have found bibimbap is a regular go-to and having ordered other dishes like tteokbokki in previous visits, needed something different on this particular visit, and spotted the nakji bokkeum. Spicy, stir-fried octopus served with udon noodles on a sizzling plate – amazing stuff. The meal was so satisfying, threw back two bottle of soju with lunch; left both full and happy.
Doubt I could ever have that same feeling walking out of any of the restaurants in Bacolod City purporting to serve Korea food.
Phở
It had been a while since visiting one of the local Vietnamese places in town, the Rau Ram Café, down a side street, a few meters from the Marapara Golf and Country Club in Bacolod City. Ever since the first visit, always ordered a big bowl of phở, a traditional beef noodle soup.
Arriving at the table, the steaming bowl comes with a plate full of fresh herbs, including basil, cilantro, and sawtooth coriander; along with hot sauce and hoisin sauce, in order to customize each individual bowl.
With ever bowl prepared, tore up various herbs and threw them in before adding in the soup. Once the hot broth makes contact with the leaves, the aromatics consume the table and before taking one bite of the soup, the impression the smells leave is already remarkable.
Even though this place does not serve it with the traditional thin slices of beef that cook quickly in the hot soup, instead its small cubes of beef, the dish is still delicious.
Sisig is always good
With origins as a method of getting rid of the rest of the pig that wasn’t used to make a variety of other dishes, the iconic sisig is something that can be found at most Filipino restaurants. A sizzling plate of chopped up pig face and ears, with some hot chilies thrown in to give it a spicy flavor, the meal is one of the best representations of “comfort food.”
The dish probably isn’t the healthiest one to pick from, but it is one that has to be tried when in the Philippines – one of those dishes to have people try first before telling them it’s a sizzling plate of pig face.
Everything from crispy to chewy to rich, it’s a tasty adventure and, somehow, it always tastes good no matter where you order it from.
A tall order
Wandering the mall on a random weekend and needed to find a spot for lunch. The same old chain restaurants that occupy entire wings of the mall, all serving the same overpriced meal options – it’s very much, slim pickings. Zark’s, which also happens to be a chain, usually offers up good burger and fries options, always a go-to when there isn’t much of a craving for anything in particular.
Having visited several times before, it has always been good – although, still taken aback by the number of patrons who eat their burger and fries with a fork and knife.
On this occasion, picked the stone-cold stunner, described as “a double bacon cheeseburger on a bed of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, and caramelized onion,” it sounded great.
The plate arrives at the table and, having experienced double cheeseburgers before, this one did not disappoint in height. It took a bit to figure out the mechanics of it, and it was an absolute mouthful.
Zark’s has always been a good fallback when there didn’t appear to be many other options. Plus, the massive “stone-cold stunner” was some good eats to carry through the rest of the day.
Dulce de Leche for breakfast
After years without a place that consistently sold bagels, Bacolod City finally has one, Bagels by ELG, located at the O Residence, next door to Robinsons Place. On the first visit, stopped in to stock the house with bagels and English muffins and they were great. Other bake shops in town either stopped selling bagels, probably due to unfamiliarity with the product, and another only sells stale bagels – literally, concrete.
Perusing the menu, found all the options, with a variety of bagels and the all-time favorite, smoked salmon.
Enjoyed the lox on the first visit and went through the different bagel options on the next, stopped at dulce de leche.
Spreading dulce de leche on a toasted plain bagel (to be honest, dulce de leche spread on anything in incredible) was an amazing way to start the day. The place is quickly becoming the regular Sunday breakfast spot.
Bagels by ELG, the first stop after Sunday mass.
DoesThatHelp 