At time of writing (mid April 2012) I have been hanging around Dumaguete City for about two and a half months and thought I knew the place pretty well. I am always banging on here about taking advice from locals and the advice in this case came from an expat of long-standing if not actually a Filipino. Whilst discussing restaurant options in town, he seemed genuinely surprised when I said I had not eaten in Kri restaurant or indeed even heard of it. Armed with good directions, I set out last night to remedy the deficiency in my gastronomic repertoire and was hugely pleased with the results. I suppose this vindicates my theory about local knowledge even as it blows my belief in finding the best places clean out of the water.I was greeted immediately and courteously at the door by a young waitress who was later to serve me and thought the place looked a bit empty. It was only later whilst...
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Mifune restaurant: Excellent Japanese food.
by planxty
I do love to eat food from all corners of the globe but I must confess that my knowledge of Japanese cuisine is effectively limited to a little sushi here and there. I was not therefore terribly well equipped to tackle a Japanese restaurant in the Philippines but I need not have worried. The friendliness of service in the Philippines is excellent if the actual service itself is sometimes a little lacking but I was greeted by possibly the most charming servers I have yet encountered, they were superb.I should say in the interest of fair reporting that the owner of the premises, somewhat spookily, has just walked into the place where I am writing this although he cannot see what I am writing and I shall attempt to be objective as always.Unsure of what to order, I decided that tuna would be a safe bet as I love it, and I ordered the tuna teppanyaki. I had a vague idea of what teppanyaki was...
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Caldo Pizza.: A very pleasant surprise.
by planxty
I have to say that VT is very much to blame, or more correctly take the credit for, this tip. At tme of writing, I have been staying n Dumaguete for quite a while and whilst I have several favourite restaurants, I do tend to try new places, in the main just to provide me with more VT tips. Sad I know, but there you are.I had seen this place a few times, hidden away at the back of a filling (gas) station and though it might be worth a try although really wasn't expecting a whole lot from it. This gives the clue to the title of this tip. OK, it is not the most illustrious surroundings I have ever eaten in, situated in a small row of fast food outlets, but I sat down and was attended to promptly by a friendly young man who spoke decent English and presented me with a menu in the same language. I opted for a regular sized Filipiniana at 190 pesos which, the menu assured me, featured Cebu...
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Garahe: OK for a quick snack.
by planxty
I apologise for this tip in advance as I have only eaten a quick snack here and I cannot even tell you if there is a full restaurant service or menu here. Garahe is basically a bolt hole of mine when I want to escape the expat centre of the nearby Boulevard. I have been in here a few times and have never seen another Westerner about the place. I don't know why but it seems slightly "edgy" although I have never had the slightest problem here. It is pretty dark even during the day and I absolutely love it which probably says something fairly uncomplimentary about my lifestyle.Garahe is basically a locals pool (billiard) hall usually with some pretty loud music playing that just happens to serve what we in the UK would call kebab but I believe is more commonly known internationally as shawarma. It is basically the meat on a rotating vertical skewer which is thinly sliced and served in some...
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Moon cafe: Consistently good food.
by planxty
I wrote in a seperate tip about Captain Ribbers ribshack in Dumaguete and how good the ribs were there. I had often ridden past it and wondered why it was not better patronised, as I had enjoyed my meal there. I foujd out why one night when, on the recommendation of a friend I visited Moon Cafe with instructions that I should try the ribs there which he raved about. To cut a long story short, Captain Ribbers simply suffers by comparison as it is about three doors along from the Moon Cafe. Let me tell you about this excellent restaurant.I had noticed a very pleasant al fresco eating area with a lovely water feature outside although it was busy there. To be honest, it is usually busy here in the early evening. I was admitted by a polite security guard and greeted immediately by a young lady dressed in a sort of Hollywood version of Mexican national costume with a skirt in the Mexican...
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Roadhouse restobar: A taste of the good ol' US of A.
by planxty
Update 23rd March, 2012.Regular readers will know that I like to keep my tips up to date as they tend to get stale after a while and this is the case here. I can say from personal knowledge that the place, for whatever reason, has become totally deserted of late. I ride past it nearly every day and would stop for a beer but it seems pointless to sit by myself. I know it has taken to closing very early in the evening. I also have it on good authority, although not from personal knowledge, that five of the wonderful members of staff have left since I wrote the original tip. I have also heard that the quality of the food has gone down but again I cannot comment personally as I have not eaten there for a while. As always, I will present the facts and leave it to the reader as to whether or not they want to visit. Original tip.As usual in the Philippines, I am finding it hard to categorise...
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Mandarin Tea Garden: Cheap, cheerful Chinese.
by planxty
In my quest to try as many restaurants as possible in Dumaguete (quite a task) I popped into the Mandarin Tea Garden on evening for a bite. This is part of a chain specialising in Dim Sum and other Chinese dishes.which originated in Mindanao and has now expanded to Negros. There are two outlets in Dumaguete now, one here and one in the al fresco eating area of the Robinson's Mall.My first impressionh of the place was that it was spotless, a sort of fast food place as you can see. Order at the counter and the meal is brought to you.I was greeted in perfect English by not one but two well turned out young staff. There is a good selection of dim sum, noodles, rice toppings and desserts. I chose the sweet and sour spare ribs, served off the bone, from the short order menu as I am a complete sucker for it, I love the stuff. It arived promptly, served with a smile and was piping hot. It was...
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Canto Fresco restaurant: Merely adequate.
by planxty
I think the title of this tip says it all really. Having been in Dumaguete City for some time, I tried to sample as many restaurants as I could, not least to write VT tips about them. What has my life become? Canto Fresco suffers by comparison. In a city, indeed a street with so many excellent restaurants (see seperate tips on Jo's Inato, Captain Ribbers, Moon Cafe), it is perfectly adequate but far from exceptional. It seems to be an offshoot of anther place in Tacloban City judging by the internet.The restaurant is situated upstairs in a semi-open setting and was fairly empty when I visited. The four diners pictured were the only other diners in the early evening which is the prime dining time. It is clean and peasant and the waiter greeted me promptly and in a friendly manner. I perused the menu and unfortunately my first choice of dish was not available (not a good sign) so I opted...
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Hayahay: Very good seafood.
by planxty
Hayahay on Piapi beach just outside Dumaguete city ia very much all things to all men. It is a bar, although I find it a little lacking in atmosphere, it is arguably 9with Zanzibar) the most popular nightspot at the weekends and it is a very good fish restaurant.I had been out with my Filipina friend Buena who is from Negros and knows Dumaguete well where we should eat that evening and she suggested this place. Although I perused the menu, which was fairly extensive and predominantly seafood, I went with my usual practice and asked Buena for her local knowledge. She ordered silligaw and some battered prawns. Silligaw is a fish soup flavoured with tamarind I believe, which gives it a sour taste and I love it. This was a good example of the dish. Buena said that the prawns were not done as she was expecting but were very tasty nonetheless.The service was efficient and friendly and as we...
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Eat restaurant: Just obey the sign.
by planxty
I suppose if you are going to encourage people to eat in a restaurant the name Eat is probably as good as any. This really is the epitome of a no-frills restaurant but it is certainly none the worse for that. A smallish but clean interior with a formica table diner type decor and a rather incongruous cartoon frog mural are the setting for a self-service restaurant.I didn't see anything in the manner of a menu, it is simply a matter of approching the serving area and pointing. If my description of the food lack some technical detail like what it is called, I apologise. My point and smile technique brought forth the items you see in the appended images. There was some sort of stew with the obligatory rice and a pork escalope which the server somewhat bizarrely cut up with scissors rather than a knife and was served with tomato ketchup. The stew may have been an adobo, it certanly had that...
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