When in Bacolod: Pendy's

I grew up in Manila and never had the chance to experience the provincial life. I always thought that it would be nice to live somewhere where everyone knows (and usually related too) each other. The only downside of this is that when something happens to you, the word spreads out faster than light. And when Bacolod's favorite spot, Pendy's, experienced a nasty split with its staff, everyone knew about it. It was a matter of where you'd be loyal to, the original owners or the staff who decided to open Mimi's Cafe which offers an identical list of offerings. Mimi's already made me fall in love with its spectacular service and scrumptious bang for the buck food. So this time around, R and I tried the original Pendy's.

Hello, Pendy's.

When in Bacolod: Mimi's Café & Restaurant

I heard that Pendy's in Bacolod is another must visit restaurant in the City of Smiles. With a few dishes in mind, R and I headed to Pendy's for lunch. But Waze brought us to Mimi's by accident. Apparently, Pendy's used to be where Mimi's is now located. Locals say that the owner of Mimi's used to work for Pendy's and things got sour between the two parties hence the split. Mimi's for some reason got the original spot and Pendy's had to move to the lot across the street. And since we were already at Mimi's and got mesmerized by its various delectable pasalubong items, we decided to stay and give it a try. After all, the staff highlighted that Pendy's original chefs now work for Mimi's. 

Hello, Mimi's Café & Restaurant. 

When in Bataan: Stregato Gelateria

It’s quite frustrating to be in a lovely city yet not know where to eat. I checked a bunch of sites but most of the establishments in the area have zero reviews. I remember though that a close friend of mine recently went to Bataan and took a photo of herself with a charming swing. I quickly checked if it has reviews in looloo; and it has an overall rating of four stars. Since it is just beside our hotel, we decided to drop by. 

Hello, Stregato Gelateria! 

The quaint dessert shop is located at the ground floor of Galeria Victoria Mall and it was a good thing that I asked The Plaza Hotel’s doorman for directions as we would have missed it and walked 15 minutes away as directed by Google Maps based on the pin in looloo. 

Entering the restaurant could be a bit unpleasant as kids selling garlands would tap and force you to buy. One kid even asked me to treat her a scoop of gelato. Though it is sad to see kids trying to earn money to survive, it could also be annoying to some customers who just want a nice meal, poke-free.

The showcase freezer of gelato is the first thing you’ll see once you set foot inside the charming restaurant. But since R and I were famished, we didn’t bother to check it and looked for the menu instead. After spotting some savory dishes, we headed to the second floor and took the table with a swing couch. After a while, we moved as the table is too small for dinner. 

We decided to go with Mushroom Soup (PHP97), Loaded Potato Skins (PHP145, add PHP10 for additional sour cream dip), Grilled Salmon (PHP185) and Eight-Hour Roast Beef (PHP220). For drinks, we went with Gelato Shake (PHP130) and Frozen Iced Tea (PHP85). I went down again as they have this pay as you order policy.

After placing our orders, I was informed that they were out of roast beef. I then changed it to pork belly but they were out of pork as well. I could sense that R was frustrated as he wanted to eat either beef or pork. Eventually, he settled with Pan Fried Herbed Chicken with Gravy (PHP178). 

Service was fast and our drinks were served after 5 minutes. 

Love at First Bite: The Coffee Shop

It has been a while since my last road trip with R. We’ve been busy with work and other activities that we were not able to keep up with our monthly short getaways. But since our Deal Grocer voucher for The Plaza Hotel will expire soon, we decided to head up North and spend the weekend there. But before heading to Bataan, we decided to spend one day in Subic to enjoy the beach. But Mother Nature refused to cooperate and we ended up pigging out instead. And there is no better place to feast but the famous taco shop, The Coffee Shop, Home of Jumbo Tacos. 

Hello, The Coffee Shop!

This restaurant doubles as a hotel with its rooftop room accommodations at friendly prices. But let me focus on the food, especially its jumbo tacos. 

Since this place has been raved by so many foodies and some even claim that this place offers the best tacos in the country, I just have to try it! I went with Taco with Sour Cream (PHP130) while R went with Hard Shell Taco (PHP95). We also got Double Cheeseburger with Fries (PHP185) simply because R wanted fries. For drinks, we ordered Frozen Iced Tea (PHP85) and Chocolate Shake (PHP130).

While waiting, I took a few snapshots and noticed that they charge PHP30 for using their electrical outlets and that they also do not provide straws for non-frozen beverages. 

Service was quick and our drinks were served in less than 5 minutes. 

My frozen iced tea was refreshing. It had the right amount of sweetness and had a delightful lemon flavor. (It was so good that we ordered another glass right after finishing one.) R’s drink tasted like chocolate ice candy. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t that good as well. And for PHP130, I don’t think it was value for money. 

Our tacos were served next and we were overwhelmed by the size. They were not kidding when they said jumbo. It was really huge! It would be at least 9 inches long.