When in Bohol: Isola di Francesco

One of the perks of having a local contact in Bohol is that they'd know the best places to visit in the area. And if they have their own boat, you don't even have to worry about transportation. And that was pretty much what happened when R and I visited Panglao. It is still one of my favorite vacations to date as everything was well prepared by R's dealer, I. And for our second and last stop for island hopping, we went to Isola di Francesco. 

Hello, Isola di Francesco. 

Isola di Francesco is located at Pontod Island and owned by St. Pio devotee, Mr. Ramon Rodriguez. Designed to be a place suitable for retreat and reflection, the place is adorned with several religious sculptures. It also holds regular mass in the island's chapel. 

When in Bohol: Virgin Island, Panglao

I always look forward to island hopping whenever I'm in Visayas. I enjoy bringing out the Ariel of The Little Mermaid in me with snorkling gear and life vest in tow. And one of my favorite spots to date is the Virgin Island in Panglao, Bohol. 

Hello, Virgin Island, Panglao. 

This small island is far from the Virgin Island of Bantayan Island. It doesn't have the hipster vibe of the latter. There are no hammocks, cottages, washroom, benches or tables in sight. It is indeed what a virgin island should be... pure. 

Several visitors will drop by to be immersed in a place untainted by civilization. 

Aside from the Virgin Island signage, there are only two vendors selling seafood and fresh buco and a handful of vendors selling pearls. Since I'm not fond of jewelry, I zeroed in on seafood. 

Only a handful are available--sea urchin, sea cucumber and a bunch of shelled fish-- which they could cook adobo style for you.

And one of the things I love about the province is that sea urchin's super affordable. We got five sea urchins for just PHP100 or PHP20 each! Not bad at all. 

We also got abalones for PHP50 a piece and had it cooked adobo style. But we realized that it would have been better raw and just drizzled with calamansi. 

We also got one fresh buco for PHP50.

Since we came in a small boat, we decided to eat our roasted chicken and steamed prawns there. And the seafood vendor was nice enough to let us use a portion of his prep table.

Though this is often visited or included in island hopping, I was impressed with how the locals keep the place as clean as possible. And the vendors sure know how to speak Chinese! This is enough to prove that several Chinese tourists visit Panglao. (I have to admit, I was a bit envious because I could only say three phrases in Chinese.)

True, there's nothing much to see in this island and all you can do here are to eat and buy pearls. But there are times when I just want to spend time in places like this... away from the chaos of Manila. My short stay here definitely recharged me and I'd love to drop by again for more sea urchin and abalone. 

Till next time!

First Bite: New Kamameshi House

Japanese restaurants never fail to charm me like light to fly. I’d go to one for lunch or dinner if I have the chance to do so. And when I spotted New Kamameshi House during one of our Pokemon Go runs, R already knew where we were going to have dinner. 

Hello, New Kamameshi House.

I heard that this Japanese restaurant is one of the pioneers in Quezon Memorial Circle. With it having several years of being in business, my expectation from this place went up a bit. 

There were not a lot of people when we dropped by around 7:30 pm on a Sunday night. In fact, there were only 2 other tables occupied then. 

When In Hong Kong: Go Crazy Over Salmon!

If I were to choose only one thing to eat the rest of my life, I would choose salmon. I just love it. I love the texture, the color… everything! (Well, except maybe the smell when it is still raw and extremely fishy.) And I saw a gold mine of salmon during our recent Hong Kong trip.

While exploring our hotel’s surrounding area, we noticed that there’s a line of stores near our hotel (located in Causeway Bay, near Canal Road) that sell salmon and hairy crabs. We decided to go to the one that sells ready to eat salmon and got Salmon, Salmon Roe and Sea Urchin with rice (HK$90) and Fried Soft Shell Crab Cutlet with rice (HK$38).

Despite the long queue, service was quick and we got our orders in less than 10 minutes. 

We enjoyed our rice bowls while standing as there were no dining tables or chairs available. They only had those bar tables on the opposite side of the showcases.

I first had a bite of the salmon bowl and it was so good. Though slightly expensive, you’d see that the store was generous with fresh salmon bits. The serving of sea urchin was a tad stingy but it was still okay given the price. The uni was soft and the taste made me reminisce the sea. The veggies added texture and crunch to the dish making it even more scrumptious.

The Fried Soft Shell Crab Cutlet was also delectable but it was quite dry without any sauce. I just wish that it had some salmon or something fresh and not deep fried. Then again… that price tag for one bowl is very attractive.

I wish we have this in Manila. 

Fancy First Bite: Senju

I noticed that I hardly blogged last month and it wasn’t exactly because I was busy with work (though I did get busier). I started to eat out less. Yes, I have been eating out less and less these days. *cries* I usually find myself stuck in a home-office-home (with lots of chores in between) routine. But R wants to change it by inviting me to…

Senju.

Okay, I wasn’t able to take much photos as I wanted to act less touristy given I was at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel. I wanted to act… classy. (*insert canned laughter here*)

R and his parents took charge of ordering the food and they chose a lot. They ordered Aburi Shake, Shake Sashimi (PHP575), Uni (PHP325), Ebi Tempura (PHP505), Saba Shioyaki (PHP515), Unagi Maki Tamago (PHP325), Agedashi Tofu (PHP395), Crazy Maki (PHP715), and Kuro Buta Sirloin (PHP850).

Dinner started with a mouthwatering appetizer… Gindara Teriyaki. The soft and sweet dish sure made me crave for more.

First served was the aburi shake and it was lovely though I think Tsumura has better aburi shake.

The shake sashimi was delightful as well. The slices were just right and it had a soft and smooth texture.

The unagi maki tamago had a slightly sweet taste which complemented the salty freshwater eel.