My good friend Josh lives in Bacolod and he invited us over for a weekend of chill and food. So, if you want an insider view on what are must do and must eats when you head over to the City of Smiles, then read on!

Special thanks to Josh for providing me with the latest updated prices!

FOOD

Let’s start with the food first, because truly, what is a Bacolod trip without the food?

Main Course

Masskara Inasala Chicken

Location: 6th Street, Bacolod City

OMG! I have found my fave inasal place (to date!). So so good!! Their chicken is just the right amount of lean meat. The flavor really seeps into the meat, the skin was so delicious. Words. I don’t have enough of them to describe. Namit gid!!

The isol (chicken butt) also delicious!! I always order this whenever I eat at an inasal place, but Huhu I know it’s so unhealthy. Ugh this was so good!!

The grilled squid was pretty good too. I liked the sauce hehe. But it definitely wasn’t the star of the show

Cansi was ayt. Not a soup person but the beef was so tender!!! Mygosh!

Food of the day: Chicken Inasal (I get the pa-a, but the pecho is good too!), Isol Large (chicken butt, full of all that fatty goodness), Grilled Squid (so yummy the sauce), Cansi (the beef is SO TENDER)

Bacolod Chicken House

Location: Lacson St and 24^th St

A trip to Bacolod cannot be complete without tasting its famed chicken inasal. What better place to try this dish out than at the establishment that started it all?

Food of the day: Chicken inasal (parts to try: pecho, isol, paa), and spareribs (I actually found the spareribs as yummy as, or even yummier than, the inasal!)

21 Restaurant

Location: 4 21st St. Bacolod City

MY FAVORITE MEAL THIS BACOLOD TRIP 🤩 Batchoy – where have you been all my life? This was so so so good. Love the soup (although I didn’t finish it, parang marami msg? But so yummy still), the chicharon bits, the noodles. Haaaay happy camper here

The manapla puto (also my fave puto since forever, I just didn’t know it was from here, but my family used to buy this whenever we were at Greenhills), is also an excellent accompaniment to this soup

Food of the day: Batchoy (MUST TRY!), Manapla Puto

Roming’s Lechon

Contact number: (034) 433 6765

Wow, just wow. Best lechon I’ve had in the PH? And I’ve tried a lot – both from Manila and Cebu. But this Bacolod one honestly blew my mind. Their lechon daw is free range/organic etc so it’s extra yummy.

I dunno about that, all I know is the skin was so good. So crunchy, and with that nice thin layer of fat. Grabe talaga. And the meat from the belly? Wow. No need for liver sauce. Delicious all on its own

Food of the day: LECHON!!!

Pendy’s Snack Bar

**Now closed**

Location: 25th cor. Lacson St.

A well-known institution in Bacolod, Pendy’s is extremely well-known for its desserts (half-moon and napoleons), but their tried and true home-cooked meals from heirloom recipes are also a wonder to taste and behold. While here, don’t forget to peruse their “pasalubong” (souvenir) section, for lots of goodies to bring home with you!

Food for the day: Angus tapa, Beef pad Thai, Fish fillet in kaffir, Chicken sate, Cansi, Beef sate, Half-moon, Napoleones

Bob’s Restaurant

Location: B.S Aquino Drive

The restaurants in Bacolod don’t seem to have a common theme or cuisine. Instead, they just offer up whatever food they can cook well – yay us!

Bob’s certainly fits into this category – as they offer food selections that don’t seem to follow any rhyme or reason, except they all taste delicious! It’s a crazy crazy world, but they manage to make it work!

Food of the day:

• Ala carte: Sate babe (essentially BBQ); Baby back ribs; Steak Ala Pobre
• Mongolian Eat All You Can: if you do this though, don’t order other dishes anymore!
• Fruit Punch: super refreshing drink with watermelon cubes, coconut, pineapple and a special ingredient called “ubod,” also known as heart of the palm

Italia Restaurant

Location: G/F Paseo Verde Mandalagan, Lacson St

Drop by this restaurant to appreciate authentic Italian cooking and art! Not only are the dishes super delicious, but you also get a free Philippine arts lesson as you eat 😉

I’ll be honest, I am NOT an art connoisseur in any way, shape, or form; but I certainly enjoyed expanding my arts horizons (now I know folks like Amorsolo, Alegre, and the like!). For full disclosure, this restaurant is owned by my friend Josh, but I fully recommend it based on the merits of its dishes and ambiance alone!

Food of the day: Farfalle in truffle sauce, Baked oysters, Godfather’s pizza

Diotay’s Eatery OR Gina’s Seafood Restaurant

Craving for seafood dampa? Diotay’s OR Gina’s would be the place to go. Some juicy tea here – they’re actually owned by the ex-husband (Diotay) and ex-wife (Gina). They split up, and Gina went off to set up her own restaurant. Well, regardless, both restaurants cook their seafood very well

Food of the day: Butter and garlic crab (but request for bigger crab!), sizzling squid, manumbok fish

Kuppa Roastery & Cafe

Apparently this place and the must-order meal (Wimpy’s) are both an institution for Hua Ming (a local Chinese school) students. It’s been here for AT LEAST 3 generations, phew.

Wimpy’s initially looked quite unappetizing, but this open-faced burger worked surprisingly well with the gloppy looking gravy sauce and sweet cheese sauce. The milk bun was also a nice touch

Food of the day: Wimpy’s

Casa Gamboa

Location: 5 Rizal St., Silay

A cozy bnb place which you can rent out for private dining (minimum 6 pax), super cozy traditional Silay house. It’s like a mini museum all on its own. Owned by the Gamboa family, which claims Doreen G. Fernandez (acclaimed food writer) as one of their own.

Dishes served were as follows:
✨Soup – Minestrone: Yum! Especially with the cheese and bread croutons
✨Vegetable – Bean Salad:  Looks like gising gising, but the sauce didn’t seem to be made from coconut but from mayonnaise? Also had bacon bits!!
✨Main – Stuffed Chicken with Dried Mangoes: Omg the best dish! This was super yum!! Reminds me of 8 Treasures Chicken but sweeter since it had mangoes
✨Pasta – Gourmet Tuyo Pasta: Ok naman! I would have preferred more flavor hehehe
✨Dessert – Bread Pudding: Good! Different from the Kusinata version but still good

Overall a delightful experience as you take a step back in time, experience heartwarming home cooked food, and just enjoy each other’s company (saya ng private dining haha)

Kusinata

Location: Brgy. Kumaliskis, Don Salvador Benedicto

Located at DSB, this cozy restaurant has a beautiful view of the mountains and a waterfall. Prices are cheap and the serving size is pretty big!!

Food of the day:
✨ Bread Pudding: omg! Sarap? The bread pudding is made up literally of chunks of bread which lent that nice texture. Then the sauce is a souring agent which was sooo interesting because it cut through all that sweetness and carbs
✨Bicol Express: expertly fried!!
✨Laswa Lasagna: ok tbh, not a fave of my mine, but my friends like it and I will chalk up my meh review of it to the fact that it was made up of all veggies 😩
✨Taro Shake: Think Quickly but better! Yummyyy

Snacks

Victoria and William

Location: 20 13th Lacson St., Bacolod

Amazing ensaymadas!!! Super fluffy (no need to reheat!) and just a very generous amount of toppings, regardless of which flavor you choose.

Snack of the day: Truffle and Jamon Ensaymada, Quezo de Bola Ensaymada

Dessert

El Ideal

Location: 118 Rizal St., Silay

The dish to order here is their Guapple Pie. Made from Guapple (oversized variety of guava, lol I thought it was made from a combo of guava and apple hahaha). The Guapple itself is moist, with a slightly sour sweet taste (aided by that dash of cinnamon). Filled to the bring with layers of fruit, that crunchy topping, and the buttery crust – all these combined made this a pie to remember, and arguably one of my favorite dessert on the island

Dessert of the day: Guapple Pie

Johnwil’s Cake and Pastries

This is apparently where Bacolod people get their quintessential birthday cake ! I like this hehe. Very fluffy! Although I’d prefer the cake itself to be less crumbly (not sure if that’s the right term). The icing was made of pure sugar. So sinfully good!

Dessert of the day: Angel Cake

Calea

Location: Balay Quince, 15th Street cor. Lacson St.

Calea is often touted as the café that serves the BEST cakes in Bacolod. Now I don’t know if that’s true, simply because Bacolod seems to revel in serving up delectable sugary treats wherever we went! So, why don’t you go try for yourself?

Personally, I think their ice cream cakes are the ones to try

Dessert of the day: Mudpie, Ice cream cakes

Felicias

Location: 6^th Lacson St, DOLL Building

So, everyone mentions Calea for desserts; but tbh, I actually much preferred Felicias as the cakes here are simply divine

Dessert of the day: Sans Rival (the best!), Chocolate Cake, Rhum Cake, Yema Cake

J Jesena Pastries

Super deadly sansrival brazo de mercedes. All the good (and deadly) stuff in one cake. The buttercream I love at the top, the deadly brazo yolk in the middle was a bit too much though. But for those who love all that decadence, this cake is the one for you. Otherwise, please eat in moderation.

Dessert of the day: Sansrival Brazo de Mercedes

Pasalubong

After eating all those good food, I’m sure you’re keen to know what you can bring back to Manila (or wherever you’re from). Well, you’re in luck because I’ve compiled the definitive list of the BEST pasalubong to buy in Bacolod.

Check them out here: Best Pasalubong from Bacolod City

The Ruins

Because of the World War 2 and the country’s non-interest in preserving our history (looking at you Philippines government…), a lot of our historical sites have fallen into disrepair or have been torn down to make way for newer buildings. As such, Manila buildings have never been known to be particularly beautiful

To my surprise and pleasure though, this doesn’t seem to be the case in the provinces, where they’ve taken great pains to preserve centuries old buildings. Considered the Taj Mahal of Negros, The Ruins is one such site. As soon as you enter, you’ll be struck by the general serenity of the place, but also the grandiose feel of the building. It really hearkens back to the old days when grand mansions would be built to house the families of the elite!

While there, do take part in the regular tours that’re being held – just enter the “lobby” area and inquire as to the exact schedule. The tour is free, but I suggest you give the tour guide a tip afterwards (~PHP 50-100) and ask him to take IG-worthy photos of you and your group. The tip you pay is super worth it, because the guide has shot thousands of photos before, so he’ll know just where to position you guys for all the best shots!

Other beautiful areas to check out:

• The garden is often a location for weddings, so that should give you a sense of how beautiful it is
• Museum inside the Ruins, where you can buy souvenirs

Tip: Look for the tour guide (Roger), and ask him to take photos of you. He’s SUPER funny!

Negros Museum

Typically not a fan of museums in the Philippines because they’re often not very well-maintained (except for the National Museum of Fine Arts – that one is beautiful). So glad my friend got us to check out the Negros Museum though. Prior to this, I’d been to Bacolod several times already but I really got a much better appreciation of this province once I visited this museum.

As a start, our guide (love her enthusiasm!) talked us through the history of Bacolod – starting from Kan and Laon (their origin story), to how Bacolod became the first place to declare independence from the Spaniards and declare themselves a republic through some staged production (they pretended to have a huge army and a ton of weapons using bamboo shaped like guns and gunpowder).

Aside from that, we also got to check out art from local artists, as well as those who were local turned international artists (hello Larry Alcala!). We had some fun trying to spot where Larry Alcala hid himself in his slice of life comics.

Finally, the museum architecture is simply beautiful. It’s amazingly well-preserved as this building has always been in use – as a Japanese base during the world war, as a hospital after, then by SSS, and now finally, a museum

Lakawon Beach

As with most places in the Philippines, you’ll always be just a few minutes away from the beach (or in this case, an hour from the city center). Note that Lakawon Beach doesn’t have a lot of activities yet, as it’s relatively unspoiled. So, be prepared to just swim, and relax by the beach when you come here. Boating, snorkeling and jet skiing activities are also available. If you’re looking to unwind and forget all of your city troubles, this is the place to go!

Getting there is simple:

• Head to the Port at Brgy Cadiz Viejo (first take the bus from the Bacolod City North Bus terminal to Cadiz City, then a tricycle ride from there)
• Pumpboat to Lakawon Island (at PHP 250 per person)

Once there, just grab a cottage for free (or at least it was free while we were there), and chill away! Don’t forget to bring food, drinks (and alcohol if you so wish!)

At that time, we didn’t pay corkage although we supposedly should have… Maybe since it was off-peak (end November), they were less strict?

And… that’s it! I’ll add to this blog further when I go back to Bacolod next time!!