Kagay-anon Restaurant, CDO

Mr. DQ and I met our local friend to fill up our tummies with local goodness. We met at Gaisano mall and were supposed to have seafood nearby, but we've heard so much about the local cuisine at Kagay-anon that we decided to visit the place.

The winding staircase to the second floor, which led to the second entrance of restaurant. I could have been a showstopper and asked everyone to take pictures with me along the charming backdrop, but I was more enticed to see what lies on the other end of the staircase.

We were quickly greeted by local waitress and waitresses. "Kuya" (local term for older brother or a casual gesture for respect for someone's seniority). We ordered fruit shakes, Melon for me and Mr. DQ, which I easily gulped down into half a glass - reminded myself to save some for dinner.

First up was the Kinilaw na Tuna (Raw tuna in vinegar). Despite touches of sourness and a hint of chili, each bite-size piece easily swam its way to my tummy.

Likes: Serving presentation, Fish was fresh, Lemony and Chili taste, Smooth finish

Dislikes: It might be spicy for someone's liking

Another Our other appetizer was Guso Salad. The bits of bell pepper, ginger and onion were pretty. I found myself digging in for the seaweeds. My verdict: Umami! It was like experiencing the sea in my palette. If I didn't know any better, I might have mistaken the sauce as the sea water itself.

Likes: Umaminess

Dislikes: Raw taste of bell pepper and ginger

 We came for an adventure that includes having a taste of the well-known ostrich meat. Pardon my amateur attempt to capture Kagay-anon's Ostrich Salpicao. I was already drooling with hunger and still mouthful of Guso, but I'm pretty sure that we all paused a bit to acknowledge its arrival to our table. I could remember the wafting steam of banana leaf and garlic. I was surprised that the meat tasted like beef and it went very well with steamed rice, the garlic chips gave it an extra ooomph.

Likes: Meat was tender, garlic chips

Dislikes: I want a larger serving 

We ordered Grilled Tuna just in case we couldn't have enough seafood. It flakes off when the meat is forked apart.

Likes: Flakes off the bone

A touch of pork to cap off our evening; the Pork sisig was hot, a bit spicy and saucy. This dish made us go for another round of rice servings. Sizzling pork on a hotplate, this completed our evening.

Likes: Sauce that goes well with steamed rice, a hint of chili

Dislikes: I was looking for that extra crunch from chicharon

We could not retrieve the official receipt issued to us. We were able to experience Kagay-anon for Php 1.6 k. We only noticed the old pictures of Xavier College and its church behind us when we were about to leave. Among locals and tourists, I specifically enjoyed the Filipino themed- restaurant that is somewhat similar to Manila's local Barrio Fiesta and Kamayan. If I ever get to visit again, I will try out some vegetable dishes and local delicacies.

Bigby's at Centrio Mall, CDO

After our morning park stroll in Gaston Park and early Metro Hotel check in, Mr. DQ and I thought about where to have our first official meal in Cagayan De Oro since our McDo breakfast. Upon crossing A. Luna street from Metro Hotel's block, a line of motorella was calling our attention for a ride - this was funny since Centrio mall is already a few steps away. I guess we looked like tourists and might be going somewhere else. It is located along Recto Avenue, across Gaisano Mall and besides Robinsons Mall. 

We were running in circles on deciding where to lunch out. We decided for Bigby's since we haven't tried this anywhere else. Look what I saw in the menu: CDO Sinuglaw, this was immediately my first pick. I am fond of sashimi, ceviche, and the like. I was drooling already upon seeing "kilawin". Kilaw is a Filipino way of serving meat that was not cooked under heat, but was dipped in an acid agent like vinegar and spices. Sinugba is a Filipino term for grill or broil. Sadly, this was unavailable. 

I took a 30 min. nap at the Metro hotel before meal hunting, which is why I was not that sleepy from our early flight when I ordered Rack-A-Bye-Baby Go-Easy. The ribs was so flavorful from inside out that it did not really need helpings of sauce. I used the sauce for the mash so that it won't be a waste, but the mash tasted perfectly on its own as well.

Likes: Sweet BBQ flavor, fall-off-the bone meat, nicely grilled corn, creamy mash potato

Dislikes: Too much butter on the veggie sides and salt in the mash potato.

Price: Php 259.00

Like a hungry pirate, Mr. DQ ordered Captain Joe's Rib-eye steak. See the smoke from the picture? It was as aromatic as the picture looks like. The meat was tender, but Mr. DQ would have preferred it to be more tender per bite. I tasted some, but I was too busy with biting off the last meat pieces from the ribs. Again, I would it it without the need of the gravy.

Likes: The sizzling smoke effect, meat was tender, grill marks.

Dislikes: Too much salt for my liking in the steak.

Price: 650.00

We love cheese! We tried this sort of chicken pizza. Can you help me identify it? This came out first, but we ate it in between our ordered entrees. It reminded me of chicken carbonara and it successfully filled in our tummies and hearts with cheese and crunchy crust.

Likes: Cheese chunks, the sauce and crunchiness of the crust

Dislikes: Maybe some gooey cheese like the common mozarella would pump the it up

I am still not over my fascination for Missy Bon Bon breadshop. My sweet tooth still squirm for the chocolate brownie that we randomly bought to taste. It may be too sweet for some, I loved the gooey texture. This branch was inside Bigby's location and our table leads to the door to the breadshop. If we weren't so full with our meal, we could have tried their ranges of gelatos.

Strawberry and Mango Shake. Oh why not? I am on a vacation. The shakes are about 30% cheaper than in other resturants in Manila, I could have easily gulped down 2 of this if I were not going elsewhere after.

Likes: I could taste the strawberry bits, not too sweet, real strawberry garnish

Dislikes: I want a refillable version

Price: Php 89.00

From BPI's promo, we were able to have a take out of Tijuana Quesadillas Plain. They did not skimp on the packaging, this was handy for our afternoon trip in CDO. It was not gooey anymore since it was already cold, but it was tasty and still cheesy when we grabbed some bites on the road.

Cagayan De Oro Day 4

Here we come White Island! We were previously advised by the concierge that the resort has a boat ride service to White Island during mornings. Despite the temptation of sleeping all morning, we got up about 9 in the morning for a 15 min boat ride to a floating piece of island amidst the Bohol sea. If you're asking why, this is because the island will be submerged under water when the tide is high in the afternoon.

I felt like a dolphin, teeming with excitement as the waves of water gradually changed from dark blue to bright aqua blue. I've been living my whole life in Manila, and ironically had only been to 3 of the country's beaches (Malapascua Beach, Tayabas Bay and somwehere in Cebu Strait). Our ferry rower even offered to take our own pictures, I was thankful for this since I could not get an angle that could include all of in the frame. Manong helped us manage getting out to the marshy beaches of the island, where other boats and tourists were already enjoying the sunny Sunday morning. He told us that he will come back for us at noon.

While crossing the narrow and sunken strip of the island to the other side, I could not take away the thought of being left in this island while it goes under water - hahaha. I continued on, and occasionally adjusting my grip to our bags of towel and personal stuff as the water level rose upto above my knee. Thank God, we made it safely to other side, let's think about going back later.

Finally, the sand and the sea in between my toes. Good thing that we brought our goggles with us; we were able to see the sea creatures around us. Since it is submerged at most times, sea creatures dwell on this 2 mounds of island were corals, urchins and sea plants. We did not have life jackets and snorkels, a pair of goggles would suffice if you're a swimmer or a floater. We didn't wander far because there is not a need to. We didn't dare to go deeper than about 7 feet since we didn't have life jacket. There is this one school of corals full of life in it, I took a swim around it and was charged with adrenalin and delight. I did not know what kinds of fishes they were, I could only remember the school of black and white angel fish, and one lonely clown fish. We were careful not to step on the sharp sea urchins and not to damage the corals as well. The first creature that I saw as a shrimp, swimming on the shores when we got off the boat earlier - it was the cutest thing. Our friend and I attempted to build a sand castle our of the white sand but only managed to build a fort with a water hole facing the shore. The sand is not as fine as powder, a bit yellowish and grainy, mostly consisted of corals and shell. you may opt for a pair of beach shoes since some parts of the shore have thorny shell bits, but the natural feel of stepping on to marshy sand and water is priceless.

Manong came around 11 in the morning, we were already dead hungry by then and were looking forward to a brunch meal. We weren't sure where to eat except inside the resort. Our friends tried the carinderia food outside but our lady friend had LBM after awhile. Mr. DQ and I did not attempt to eat what they did anymore. Instead, we shopped for dried squid and dried fish. For 3 packages of dried squid (about 24 pieces of chicharon) and 2 packages of dried fish (about 16 pieces). We were in a hurry back to Benoni port, we reserved a multicab ride before our trip. It's a small town and everybody knows everyone's business. Although we would've wanted our original driver to send us off, we opted to take the reserved multicab since he already cleared out his schedule just for us.

The weather was getting sour when we traveled back to Benoni port, good thing that our multicab has plastic windows to shield of the mist. Our friends and I planned to stop by the "pasalubong" souveneir market at Benoni port. Unfortunately and fortunately, the ro-ro boat back to Balingoan port was already boarding. We hurried onto the boat and had outside seats. If it was a sunny day then I would have enjoyed this, but because it was rainy, let's just say that we had our adventure after all. My paranoid yet outwardly calm self was already thinking of escape routes if we needed to jump out of a ro-ro hahaha. Passengers on the last rows were naughtily shouting as if they were in a real thrill ride, one individual seated inside was tearing up. Home Alone 2 movie was on and we moved our attention to the TV for some comfort. Our friend has been sea sick when riding the boat, poor thing, he had to stand over the edge of the ro-ro and hold on to the rails despite being splashed by sea waves. The boat drivers tried to ride with the wave as we crossed Bohol sea to minimize the waves on deep water, and adjusted as we reached the port. I was relieved when we got off and my hair was frizzy and dry - and this was despite covering it with a shawl.

It was about 4 in the afternoon when we got to Balingoan port. We could have taken the bus back to CDO, but it was rainy and we were tired and hungry. We took a private van ride for Php 2500. Our flight was moved to 4 AM in the morning instead of the original 11 PM, we crashed to Miami Inn for a quick rest because Metro hotel was full. For Php 980, we were originally designated to a room that coincidentally smelled of cigarette. We noticed that there were no elevators in this hotel and went 2 floors up via stairs after we asked to be transferred to another room. Miami inn was more roomy but older. I could not sleep immediately due to slightly eerie feeling. We did not have hot shower and did not bother to complain anymore since we were tired and hungry. 

At about 6 in the evening, we ran to the 24-hour Jollibee fastfood chain, which was about 2 blocks away. We had our meal of the day! I'm sure that I wasn't delirious when I noticed that the local serving of spaghetti was 1/3 more in terms of the spaghetti quantity and the sauce - I had 6 hotdog pcs as compared to 2-3 back in Manila. I was a kid again and I was happy. I was so hungry that I even ate an extra hotdog meal. Locals were not skimpy when it comes to their meals, spaghetti and the chicken meal were still the predominant orders, up-sized juice drinks and upgraded drinks were evident. Since we know about the early closing of establishments, we passed by the bakery for some goodies for the next day's breakfast and flight. We stopped by a local grocery store for our pasalubong items consisting of flavored nuts and cornic (cirspy corn bits). Sighs, so long to missy bon bon and vjandep pastels *drools*. 

At 3 in the morning, we met our pre-negotiated taxi driver from yesterday. Miami hotel staff helped us in calling a taxi. This time, we headed to Laguindingan airport because Lumbia airport was already closed. The airport was about an hour away. Some parts of pathways did not have street lights, I would not want to walk around alone in the dark in this part of CDO. The airport was new, but comfort room was starting to take the toll. It was small but evidently more modern than the old airport; it had air-condition and second floor. After showing our board passes, a temporarily set-up pasalubong area greeted us. I got a box of 6 Vjandep pastels for Php 85. Pastels are sweer bread bun with yema or custard filling inside. The gooey cream melts in your mouth like heaven -mine did. Not bad since it costs more than a hundred back in Manila. Upon boarding the plane, I saw a teenage group of friends who had stacks of Missy Bon Bon pastels for pasalubong, I badly wanted to buy them off. Ugghhhhhh 'till next time Missy Bon Bon pastels.