Iloilo Church and Food Trip


It wasn't my first time in this Visayan province. Last year, Iloilo was my entry point to Guimaras province. But take note of this, the only thing I saw was their port. See, from Manila I went to Bacolod and then straight to the port and rode a ferry to Iloilo then hopped on an outrigger boat to the island-province of Guimaras. That's it. And that made me guilty and promised myself to explore Iloilo more - and only Iloilo.

It was Chyng who invited me to watch the annual Dinagyang Festival. It will be my first time to cover and document such event. I've been to Panagbenga in Baguio and Paynauen/Mango festival in Zambales when I was younger and I never liked too much crowd then. But now is a different story.

ONG BUN PENSION HOUSE




We stayed in Ong Bun Pension House. I read so much negative reviews about this hotel so I wasn't expecting much. But when we got inside, it was so different from what I heard. It was clean, smelled fresh (newly renovated) and spacious for two persons. For 1,100 pesos per night, the room can fit in 3 persons. The A/C room has its own bathroom with hot and cold shower, a T.V. set, DVD player, a single and twin beds, complimentary hot and cold water (which tasted like weird) and to top it all they have free wi-fi. No free breakfast though but it isn't  bad as well right?


TATOY'S RESTAURANT






Part of the group were fhel, mec and nhel. They arrived earlier and also stayed in Ong Bun. We went to Villa Baybay to have dinner. Specifically at Tatoy's - which is very famous in Iloilo. It was like Dampa here in Manila where you choose your meat or seafood and they will cook it for you. We ordered their house specialty - the grilled native chicken - with sinigang na ulo ng maya-maya, grilled tuna belly, arosep (seaweeds) and mangoes. We paid 200 each for this meal and we didn't finish everything. Nothing was remarkable for this meal.


SMALLVILLE




We then went to Iloilo's most happening place in town - Smallville. This upscale area is where people go to and to party all night. And with the town's celebration of the festival, locals and tourists were everywhere to get a taste of Iloilo's night life. After that, we went to downtown and scouted the best station for the next day's event which will be featured on a separate post :)


BREAKTHROUGH RESTAURANT





The next day right after the Dinagyang festival, we had a late lunch at Villa Baybay (again) but this time on a different restaurant - the Breakthrough restaurant. It shares Tatoy's style of serving, you choose your meat or seafood and it will be cooked on how you want it to be. We had baked scallops (yummy!), Iloilo's version of lechon na baboy and ensaladang mangga. The food and the location was great. Everyone yawned after eating - maybe because of the afternoon sea breeze.


MIAG-AO CHURCH









After that, we went straight to Miag-ao church which took us more or less two hours jeepney ride from Breakthrough restaurant. It was so noticeable how many tourists were flocking the said church due to the Dinagyang festival. It was a Sunday so mass was held when we arrived.

The next day (the day after the festival) we woke up at around 8 a.m. to taste Iloilo's famous Batchoy. We went out with our pj's and noticed how clean the streets were in spite of last night's street party. The city officials were that vigilant to maintain the city's cleanliness. The locals were also taking their part in the city's effort to clean the streets right after the festival. Claps to everyone.


DECO'S BATCHOY


pj's and payong. go chyng!



We went to Deco's Batchoy and ordered their special batchoy with pandesal and Manapla puto. Batchoy in the morning with pj's is divine. It was yummy and we finished everything in a snap. You can also have a free soup if you happen to need more - self service.


JD BAKESHOP




need I say more?
We went to JD Bakeshop for snacks. We got excited on their wide selection of breads and pastries which were very affordable. It ranges from 5 pesos to 9 pesos for a piece. We had palabok, grilled chicken and some pastries. Remarkable for me was the popcorn butterscotch for only 8 pesos and the fresh lumpia without the sauce for 12.50 pesos - I bought 4 pieces. Chyng's favorite was the revel bar. Arrgh! How I miss the fresh lumpia. Don't miss JD Bakeshop in Iloilo. They have several branches there.


U.P. VISAYAS - ILOILO CAMPUS



After our food trip, we went to University of the Philippines - Visayas (Iloilo campus). I've been to 6 oblations to date. The plan was to show the guard my ID and ask if we could have a tour around the campus. The plan didn't push through because the guard went somewhere and we went inside without no one bothering about us entering the campus. It was Chinese New Year that day so there were no classes but we saw some students around doing something, maybe school stuff - I dunno! :)


JARO CHURCH





chyng: dapat ibagay ang kilos sa damit 
carla: ah ok, so 'pag naka dress 'di pwedeng lumuhod? :)
We then went to Jaro church which was a 7.50-peso jeepney ride from Iloilo city. It is the famous church wherein the original bell tower is located on the other side of the road. 


AFRIQUE'S






After that, food trip again. We went back to Smallville and went to Afrique's. We tried their carbonara and their famous pizza. Nothing remerkable as well. Or maybe because we're not that hungry or in the mood to eat. 

We bought pasalubongs from the Original Biscocho Haus and rushed to SM for the van ride to the airport. The fare was 70 pesos and the van service is available to and fro the Iloilo's airport - SM. The terminal fee at the airport was 200 pesos (ouch). 

It was truly a gastronomic adventure and fun-filled weekend. Dieting will never be successful in Iloilo. Believe me. 

Check Iloilo accommodations here

43 comments :

  1. Tama ba yung nabasa ko, 12.50 lang ang fresh lumpia? OMGEEEE!

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    1. oh yes nina! at nasa loob na ang sauce, nakahalo na! yummy

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  2. Nagutom ako bigla. I want to go back to Iloilo, too then Antique... libutin ang Panay Island. hehehe!

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    1. gusto ko rin yan tapos capiz at roxas! tara foodtrip sa panay :)

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  3. just came back from iloilo pero hindi ko nakapag food trip, breakthrough lang ang may check sa list ko. i paid P500 (fixed rate) for taxi to iloilo airport. may van pala. hehe!

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  4. wahaha! naaliw ako sa post na to at namiss ng bongga ang deco's at JD's. and opcors ang scallops!

    eto pala, nung nasa bohol ako. the search for the baked scallops is on! ending, next day 18hours akong merong LBM. hahaha ayoko na nyan!

    i love my pajamas! ♥

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    1. oh my! talaga? haha.. the search for the best scallops is over... hihi

      i love your pj's too! inisip ko tuloy kung anong suot ko nun :)

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  5. Napatayo ako sa kinaupuan ko pag kabasa ko sa post mo mam. Nag snacks agad ako. Ginutom ako sa biyahe niyo. :-).

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    1. haha.. natuwa naman ako dun sa napatayo ka at nag-snack :)

      ang sarap talaga mag - food trip sa probinsiya... mura na, masarap pa! (parang commercial lang :)

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    2. Totoo talaga mam na napatayo ako. favorite ko kasi ang La Paz Batchoy. hehehe.:-).

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    3. i was told na may deco's sa may alphaland magallanes... try natin para mai-compare sa deco's iloilo :)

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  6. Nakakagutom.O.o Noted lahat ng kinainan ninyong masarap! ;)

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    1. oh yes nicole... ako nga nalalasap ko pa ang batchoy ng deco's eh... yummy! :)

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  7. I should try your Iloilo itinerary next time! 2 times na ko nag Iloilo and ang konti lang ng napuntahan ko :(

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    1. tine-take for granted kasi minsan ang iloilo at ginagawang jump-off to guimaras eh, pero ang bongga lang talaga ng food trip sa iloilo!

      pag ako mag visayan food trip, go ako sa bacolod tas derecho iloilo!

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  8. Aba talagang gumogora kayo ng gala ni chyng, sarap naman!

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  9. great post!
    i've been to western visyas yet di ko pa nttry puntahan ang ilo-ilo yet it seems it should be on the list too. thanks for sharing this!

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    1. thanks estranghero. it should be on the list and food trip is really the best! :)

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  10. nakakagutom! The baked scallops look so delish! Ang kinis ng puto nila mukhang super lambot! masarap nga yan with batchoy!

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    1. hi anney! ang cute nung "ang kinis" comment mo. ang sarap talaga nung scallops at batchoy. yum!

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  11. Is the pension house daily rate of Php 1,100 per person or per room (regardless of the number of occupants)? It's clean and roomy.

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    1. hi bertN. it's 1,100 per room. you can fit in 3 persons. i'll try to look for their flyer and edit this post with a photo of the flyer:)

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  12. Huwaw! Ang dami nyong napuntahan (at nakain) sa Iloilo. Umuwi din ako ng Iloilo at that time para umatend ng Dinagyang.

    All-time favorite ko talaga ang JD. Mura at madaming choices. Favorite ko sa lahat ang palabok. :D

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    1. ang sarap nga talaga at mura pa! ako talaga popcorn butterscotch ang favorite ko sa JD :)

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  13. Wow, I'm so surprised to see how Ongbun has improved, it looks nice now. It was totally different when I stayed there. I would never complain on how helpful their staff though. Thanks for following Blissfulguro. More power to your blog! :)

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    1. no worries pang! nice na talaga ang ong bun. ang daming renovations na nagaganap kaya super improved na. pero yun na ata ang bonggang room nila eh. pero swak talaga sa budget di ba?

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    2. Oo naman, parang sila ata ang pinakamura sa Iloilo. Ngayon mas may reason na ko to go back and stay with them pagbalik ko ng Iloilo. :)Sarap ng scallops, ganggang ngayon nagugutom ako sa picture. :D

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  14. gusto ko ulit mag food trip sa iloilo at bacolod. naguusap nga kami ni marx tungkol sa weekend in bacolod e. kakain ng batchoy, cakes sa felicia at bibili ng calea at uuwi. hahaha! I should go back there!

    buti maganda ang naging experience nyo sa Ong bun iloilo branch. Siguro nadala na yung may ari sa mga negative feedback. Dami rin pala talagang pwede makita sa iloilo. nice one girl

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  15. korek! improved na talaga sila based sa mga nakita ko sa ibang blogs.

    wow foodtrip! gusto ko yan tas bet ko mag l'fisher chalet.

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  16. I miss paluto restos like in Dampa! Ang bongga ng foodtrip (talagang pagkain ang napansin ko eh, LOL), I miss Pinoy food so bad :(

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    1. hi gay! what's going on there (kung san man yan:) when you go back here bonggang foodtrip ka naman malamang. kailangan i-plot mo na yan :)

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  17. pag kasama si chyng talagang kainan na walang katapusan. ive tasted the best scallops in iloilo and bacolod.

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    1. oh yes, kasama talaga ang foodtrip na bongga pag kasama si chyng...saan sa bacolod yung na try mo dong?

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  18. ang SARAP!!! speechless ako. :)

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  19. ang ganda ng Dinagyang! kelan ko kaya toh ma experience. ang kyot ng outfit ni Chyng! hehe

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    1. next year na gael! pero maghanda ka na ng 1000 bucks kung gusto mo sa judging area mismo. at sino pa kaya ang naka pj's habang naglalakad sa kalye para bumatchoy? hmmm... kami lang siguro :)

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  20. Suggestion lang po, try nyo kumain sa PERITODS masarap ang burger nila, at yung TODS POTATO PERITODS near JARO church., or sa RAMBOYS malapit sa SMALLVILLE. i miss ILOILO ang sasarap ng pagkain.

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    1. wow! thanks jerome. noted na to pagbalik ko ng iloilo :)

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    2. maraming masasarap na kainan sa Iloilo, Green Mango meron sa SM Delgado or Beside University of San Agustin, Love And Kisses is near Univeristy of San Agustin, Love and Kisses Pizza pero masarap.

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    3. shoot. sayang. i just went there last january :(

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