Bacolod Trip

Officially, Bacolod is now my favorite project site. I still love you Dumaguete, but you have to come second from now on :)

After 6 years of working in my company, I was finally able to visit our Northern Negros project.  Just a little warning, I won't mention what we did for work in this post. But that doesn't mean that we didn't work hard while on site :)

Day 1 began with an 8:40 AM flight to Bacolod. We immediately proceeded to our site in Murcia upon arrival and the first day of work began. We had Guimaras mangoes as dessert after lunch and boy, were they delicious. Just divine! Dinner was at Aboy's. We had mostly seafood. Oysters, grilled tuna belly, garlic scallops, squid and fish sinigang (I cannot exactly say what kind of fish but it was great. They used this bean to make sinigang sour. I just forgot the exact name of the bean). We stayed at L'Fisher Hotel, across the street from Bacolod's famous Calea. After dinner, Pam and I dropped by Calea for coffee and to sample their famous cakes. And we weren't disappointed. After the first bite, Pam and I were instantly thinking how we're gonna bring home cakes :)

Imported Chocolate Cake and Strawberry Cheesecake

Day 2. We were on our way to the site by 8:30 AM. The breakfast at the hotel was okay. It is your usual fried rice/fried egg/tocino or tapa or danggit kind of meal. But since it's free, no complaints there. We had lunch at the Pataan Resort. The water fall made our stay relaxing. I guess the sound of running water does that to you.

We had dinner at a Japanese Restaurant, Kaisei, near our hotel. The Japanese consultant enjoyed the food saying he was quite suprised that the restaurant is "almost" authentic. I enjoyed the food (tempura, sashimi, soba, etc.) and it was also cheap. Our bill was a little over 2k (5 pax). Not bad! After dinner, we again trooped to Calea for coffee and cake. This time we tried the Apple and Caramel Cheesecake, Chocolate Cake again and the Cathedral. We went back to the hotel with smiling faces :)

On our last day, we just stayed in Bacolod to finish our tasks. Lunch was at Sweet Greens. Food was okay but again, not something I'd go back for. After the meetings, our colleagues brought us to a place they call RUINS.

Ruins was a mansion built by Don Mariano Lacson for his first wife. It was a grand place considering it was built several decades ago. The materials they used (based from what the guide says) were all first class, which is probably why the structure stood the test of time and weather.

After Ruins, we again dropped by Calea for snacks and to buy cakes to bring home to Manila. I decided to buy in slices so we can try the other cake flavors.

The trip was tiring but fun :) I am also happy that we were able to accomplish all the tasks we set out to complete.

The next morning, I gingerly opened the cake box:

What's in the box? Imported Chocolate Cake, White Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce, Blueberry Cheesecake, Tiramusa Cheesecake, Apple and Caramel Cheesecake and Chocolate Cheesecake. The verdict? JJ loved the White Cheesecake and I am still a fan of the Imported Chocolate Cake. The other flavors were yummy too :) Will definitely bring home cakes again when I go back to Bacolod.