When I was still working on a project for agriculture development, we would, every now and then, hold workshops for project implementors, facilitators, trainers, and such. There was a time when we held our workshops almost consecutively at the same place—Day’s Hotel Tagaytay.
Now, it’s not that we are biased towards Day’s Hotel. Just so happened that of the three choices we can have, their offer was deemed more reasonable. And yes, not to mention the chance to have some R&R after the *ehem* tiring and draining *ehem* workshops!
Even if it’s as simple as staring at the Taal Volcano while sipping an ice-cold beer (and it’s cold in Tagaytay!) or messing with the DJ booth after a full glass of strawberry margarita, or enjoying the food that Day’s Hotel has to offer!
See, this post is not really about the workshops we did but the food that we had over several conferences we held at Day’s Hotel. Have you eaten yet? I hope you had coz I’m betting you’re going to be really hungry after scrolling through this post. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
Soups and Salads
Breakfast and Merienda
Lunch and Dinner
Dessert
I purposefully did not enlarge the images as I thought, it would be more merciful. Hahaha And yes, I have tried each and every dish. And, because I hate wasting food, together with Acee, we took on the role of “demolishing” the stuff that other people did not want on their plates. Good thing the Chef at Day’s Hotel cooked really well!
(Disclosure: This post is not sponsored. Meaning, Day’s Hotel Tagaytay did not ask me to write this. Para lang malinaw. Hehehe. But really, Day’s Hotel Tagaytay is a good place to stay for workshops—just haggle for the rates, really hard!)
I love eating and it’s my favorite part of work-related travel. You get to savor sumptuous and delicious dishes like fresh vegetables and oh-so-fresh-it’s-still-moving seafood! So, whenever we go on the field, we make sure to always sample the local specialties of the place and when we were in Capiz, it’s always seafood that we craved for!
Are you hungry?!
You can find almost any seafood in Capiz. For how else can Capiz own the bragging rights of being the seafood capital of the Philippines?! From fish to oysters, squids to clams, shrimps to seaweeds, crabs to lobsters.
Craaaaabs! (ginisa or boiled???) I once brought home an entire basket of these, alive, through the plane!
You name it, and you’d probably get the seafood of your choice. Unless of course it is of the “illegally for sale” kind. That’s another story.
Enjoy the sea breeze while indulging in seafood
Located in Western Visayas at the northeastern section of Panay Island (where you can also find Ilolo and Aklan), Capiz faces the Sibuyan Sea in the north and has numerous fish ponds in the locality.
Sugpo (big shrimps) (ginisa? buttered?)
A lot of seafood being enjoyed in Manila comes from Capiz, with the extra hundreds of pesos added per kilograms of course. Here are some of the great seafood dishes I’ve tasted in Capiz. I hope you enjoy the visual chow time! (Disclaimer: I like eating but I am not that good in describing. I’ll try my best but please use your imagination or previous foodie experiences!)
Coco Grove
This is perhaps the most famous and the “fanciest but still looks like casual dining” seafood restaurant in the Capiz bay seafood restaurant area. It’s a bit more pricey than the “dampa” choices down the coast. I can’t tell you how much exactly coz I didn’t really pay for the food. Another perk of field work travel! Anyway, Coco Grove is also the place where celebrities and personalities visiting Capiz usually go to for their quick seafood fix. Photos below are what they offer (or at least what we tried).
Sinigang na Isda (Fish in Sour Soup) with radish and some greens (I’m sorry, my fish taxonomy is limited)Inihaw na Pusit (Grilled stuffed squid) with tomato, onion and ginger fillingsInihaw na Isda (Grilled Fish), I think it’s blue marlin or tanigueCalamari (deep fried squid rings)Lato (Grape Seaweed) in tomato, onion and vinegar
There were probably other dishes we enjoyed that I forgot to take photos of coz I was already hungry. I think we also had nylon clam soup which is quite tasty! And perhaps some scallops too. Plus, you can order beer or coconut, which you’d drink from the shell itself!
Aling Bebing’s Seafood Plaza (Dampa style)
Since we were doing a series of farmers’ training at that time, we also had the chance to go for another round of seafood dinner by the Capiz bay area. This time, we went for the Dampa style at Bebing’s seafood plaza.
Choosing and haggling for seafoods. More fun in the Philippines!
If you are unfamiliar with Dampa style of eating, it’s where you choose the seafood that you want to be cooked, haggle for the price, and tell the kitchen how you want them to cook it. It’s quite fun. I didn’t do the haggling per se but it’s fun to watch, and request for the food you want!
My choice for the night, inihaw na daing na pusit (Grilled Dried Squid)I think these are nylon clams. They make for really good soup!Sinigang na Isda (Fish in Sour Soup), I think this one is lapu-lapu?Grilled Scallops with Butter (this one is REALLY good)Aphrodisiacs, I mean, oysters, anyone?!Time to savor the inihaw na daing na pusit. Best with spiced vinegar and a bit of soy sauce
Eating at Aling Bebing’s seafood plaza is more casual than at Coco Grove. Both places have a great view of the beach/shore and you can feel the wind gushing. Aling Bebing’s Plaza’s style of bamboo flooring a little above the sands and closer to the shore was more breezy though. Making the seafood dinner more authentic and enjoyable.
Happy diners, I mean, farmer trainers!
So, what are you waiting for?! Book your flights to Roxas, Capiz or fly to Iloilo and Aklan and take a road trip from there. Or, if you really have a lot of time but not much budget, maybe try the 2GO ship option (I should try this too) or take the Roll-on, Roll-off (RORO) buses. I know it seems like great effort but hey, if you really want the freshest and finest seafood, there’s no other place to be than Capiz, the Philippines’ seafood capital!
“The sun goes down, the stars come out. And all that counts, is here and now. The universe will never be the same, I’m glad you came.” – The Wanted, I’m Glad You Came
Actually, this photo of the setting sun in the island of Guimaras in western Visayas was taken way before this song was released and I just thought it’s a nice intro.
I am a big fan of sunsets (coz I can’t wake up early for sunrise) especially when the sea is close by. So when, in one of our official trips, me and my colleague had a chance to go for a four-hour side trip from Iloilo to Guimaras, we did not waste any time and boarded the passenger boat to the island.
Known mainly for the Guimaras mangoes (claimed to be the sweetest in the world), this small island province (actually several islands in the general bay area) also holds its own when it comes to its swimming beaches, caves and rock formations, and turtle conservation!
We barely noticed the time while sailing through its waters as Guimaras, for me, held such beauty, pure and untouched, radiating as the golden orange hues of the setting sun graces the sand, sea and sky. If ever you are in Iloilo or Guimaras or Western Visayas, a spectacular view of the setting sun is really an experience you must not dare to miss!
Before the Wider Role of Volunteers training ended, each of the participants were given several VSO- and Philippine-related stuff. One of which, is a Philippine map packaged as a tourist information brochure. The first page of that brochure showcased the famed cobbled-stone path of Calle Crisologo in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Entrance to Calle Crisologo at Daylight (this probably is how it looked like in old photographs)
I even heard one of my co-volunteers-to-be exclaim that Vigan, as portrayed in the photograph, seemed like such a beautiful place. True enough, Vigan really did look amazing in that picture. It presented an old world charm that no matter how similar, still looked different from Intramuros’ streets and Iloilo’s old houses. There’s just something about Vigan, especially Calle Crisologo, that commands people’s attention and captivates hearts. I know so because I too, despite thinking that it may be an overrated form of admiration, felt transported back in time as I walked through the cobbled-stone street. Continue reading Walking through Vigan’s Calle Crisologo→
Whenever people ask me what I do for a living, they always end up saying “I love your job!” after I give them the answer.
No, they don’t say those words because I make a pot of brewed coffee in mornings and afternoons. Nor do they say so because my job allows me to help about 22,000 farmers in the Philippines. Neither is it due to the fact that I am working with an internationally-known bilateral development organization. It’s simply because this job allows me to travel every now and then in different cities and provinces of the Philippines.
The Diarist Wanders 