Discovering Dumaguete - Part 5 - Dating at the Rizal Boulevard

HB and I felt like college kids as we first headed out to Rizal Boulevard  -- which was immediately right after freshening up in our hotel room on our first night.

As soon as the smell of the street food wafted to our senses, we stopped the tricycle and excitedly ordered our "appetizers". We chose a stall and our table. The manang selling the street food took one look at us and smiled. She continued to smile when she served our "tempura", squid balls and balut.

HB and I tried to blend with the crowd of students and some office workers unwinding. We tried hard but I guess we were obvious because we were also busy posing and trying to take our picture :D  After much frustration with taking our self-portraits, we asked the manang to take our picture. Here is our souvenir shot of that "date".

The following day, we were again at the Boulevard to view the bay and the Acacia tree-lined path. And since this was a university town, we tried to dress the part so we could blend in with the locals. We strolled the whole stretch and just soaked in the fresh sea breeze.

Later that afternoon, we again found ourselves in the vicinity and we did something that the locals do: we sat on a bench fronting the sea and found ourselves wonderfully happy with such simple pleasures!

HBs at the Boulevard
(this photo was taken with a small tripod) 

Discovering Dumaguete - Part 4 - Sans Rival Cakes & Pastries

Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries is Dumaguete's biggest attraction for people with sweet tooth like me. We stumbled upon the shop while we strolled along the Boulevard and I remembered all the raves I previously read from other blogs.

It is a tiny shop tucked in one of the streets perpendicular to the Rizal Boulevard. When we entered, the shop was abuzz, it's interior was almost full and the staff were on their toes. 

Aside from Sans Rival, they also offer various cakes and pastries.

But we were set to get their classics:

yummy silvanas

yummier sans rival 

I was completely floored with the melt-in-your-mouth sans rival! It was buttery and yet it was not too sweet. It was absolutely perfect! The silvanas was also good, although it took us about three bites before we fully appreciated it. I guess HB and I completely got enamored with the sans rival.

But I must say that both were truly perfect with brewed coffee!

We ordered these treats as well to bring back to Manila and arranged for pick up that night. We were told that the cakes should not be out of the freezer for more than 4 hours so we asked our hotel to keep our cakes frozen overnight. The cakes were wrapped and boxed very nicely. I guess they have perfected this art as a lot of tourists do bring home the sans rival as pasalubong.

Here are pictures upon unpacking when we got home.

carefully wrapped and packed sans rival

foil wrapped silvanas

Our sweet tooth satisfaction lasted for three days ... I wonder who's going to Dumaguete so I can ask him/her to bring me back these goodies. Hmmm ... anyone? 

Discovering Dumaguete - Part 3 - Cityscapes

As soon as we finished breakfast, we headed out to tour the city on foot and via short tricycle rides. Armed with nothing but a list of must-sees, we bravely ventured out to explore the city of Dumaguete.

Our first stop was the Siliman University, which is famed as the oldest American University in the Philippines. Aside from being called the "City of Gentle People", Dumaguete is also touted as a University town, with the Siliman University as the most famous educational institution.

campus map by the entrance

the Katipunan Hall

the Siliman Cathedral

Siliman Museum

And then we found ourselves at the Rizal Boulevard, close to the port.

the port of Dumaguete

the Rizal Boulevard

This is the famed Rizal Boulevard, named after our country's national hero who walked this path on his way to Dapitan for his exile.

We continued to stroll down the boulevard and saw this landmark which marks the landing of the seven Sisters of the Congregation of  the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres. These sisters founded the first St. Paul University in the country in 1904.

And then we walked further down and turned right near the other end of the boulevard and found ourselves in the vicinity of the Dumaguete Cathedral.

St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral

HB and I took some time to go inside to marvel at the interior and say a few words of praise and thanks.

a historical fact about the cathedral

details above the altar

The belfry, also called the Campanerio de Dumaguete, was found a few meters off the church. It is considered to be the one of the city's  popular architectural landmark which was originally built in the 18th century and served as a watchtower to warn the people of Dumaguete against the attack of Muslim pirates. At present, an Our Lady of Lourdes  Grotto is found below the belfry and we lit some candles for love, peace and prosperity.

the Dumaguete Belfry

Belfry historical marker

After discovering these historical and religious sites, we ventured to the "commercial side" of the province and found out that this quaint city of Dumaguete is not unfamiliar with "malls". The oldest shopping center is the Lee Super Plaza which was located a couple of blocks from the Cathedral.

Dumaguete's local "mall"

While the newest addition to the city is a Robinson's Place.

Robinson's Place Dumaguete

In a nutshell, these were the highlights of our city tour. There was little and there was much to see. We have toured the city in half a day. And from what we saw, there is indeed much reason for the people to be gentle in this town.

Discovering Dumaguete - Part 2 - Breakfast at South Sea Resort

The following morning, we were greeted with overcast skies and sporadic rain showers. It was dark and gloomy when we went outside to have breakfast at the resort's restaurant by the sea.

South Sea Resort's seaside restaurant

the dining area

While waiting for our food, I couldn't help but go around to take some snapshots:

Poolside Rooms

And I felt lucky to capture this:

PAL plane about to land at the nearby airport and a yacht

Our food arrived after a few minutes. We noticed that the breakfast was on the pricey side at Php 220 per plate. The breakfast set came with a choice of drink (coffee or juice) and fresh fruit for dessert.

Chicken Adobo

Chorizo (sausage)

There was nothing really special about the food but I liked my sausages as they were garlic-ky. HB didn't say much about his adobo.

I also observed that the resort had clearly seen better days. It was a sprawling property and we had to walk 5 minutes from the reception area to get to our room, and about 2 minutes from the reception area to the  breakfast area. The quality of service do need improvement but the gentle ways of the staff and their pleasing demeanor more than made up for the lack of efficiency. This was a laid back city, after all.

Discovering Dumaguete - Part I - Lab-as Restaurant

We missed the sunset (sigh) as it was way past 6 in the evening when we alighted from the bus in front of St. Paul College in Dumaguete City. From there, we took a tricycle to get to South Sea Resort where we were billeted. After freshening up, we headed out to Rizal Boulevard for some quick bites before dinner at this restaurant.

Lab-as Restaurant signage

We scoured the menu and asked for the restaurant's best-selling dishes. The waitress recommended that we try:

Dumaguete Express

From the menu, the Dumaguete Express was described as "fish, shrimp, squid sauteed with young coconut meat, topped with crispy lechon kawali." The last three words were a clincher for my mainly carnivorous HB, while I was instantly hooked when I read the words 'shrimp and squid'.  The combination of seafood and pork was quite perfect for us. And the young coconut meat gave a sweet taste, giving the dish a delicious kind of twist.

When I saw in the menu that the restaurant had curacha, I knew then that I had to try it.

Curacha in Chili Garlic Sauce

The Curacha  is described as a crustacean which is a cross between a crab and a lobster. This sea crab species is unique to the province of Zamboanga, which is but a  2-hour boat ride from Dumaguete. We chose to have the curacha cooked in chili garlic sauce as the waitress assured us that it was a house specialty. Indeed, it was!

Our tummies were definitely filled to the brim. So much so that we came back on our second night. This time around, we binged on baked oysters.

As nothing beats the oysters from Roxas in my book, I wasn't too impressed with the oysters from Dumaguete. However, the generous cheese and pesto more than made up for the oyster meat that were on the lean side. Topped with the restaurant's own hot sauce, the baked oysters were the perfect appetizer for our main course. We feasted on sinigang na lapu-lapu, inihaw na liempo, mixed steamed vegetables with bagoong and crabs. 

Sadly though, I wasn't able to take pictures anymore. Allow me some credit when I say that the traditional Filipino dishes were cooked perfectly well. Truly, Lab-as is one gastronomic must-go-to when in this gentle city of Dumaguete.