Expat Guide to Living in Iloilo City, Philippines (Part 2) — Food, Drinks and Entertainment

Excuse me for taking so long to post Part 2 of the Expat Guide to Living in Iloilo City. My excuse is… I have no excuse other than the fact that there are people to meet, things to see, and obligations to fulfill. After all, Iloilo City is a vibrant city with many great eye candies. What can I say, I love Iloilo.

Before I tell you about the many great distractions here in Iloilo City, allow me to introduce you to Ebon L. Thea, Sheryl (more on Sheryl and her husband Patrick in my future blog) and I met him last week. Ebon L. is a professional poker player from Kansas. He moved (yes, moved) to Iloilo City because he can earn more here than in Kansas. I wish I could reveal his poker secrets, but I took a vow of secrecy. But, trust me, they are great secrets. Let’s just say that I would hate to be the ones playing poker against Ebon.

Now, on to the many great distractions in Iloilo City. I’m going to focus on food, drinks and entertainment this time.

Food
If you are seafood lovers, head to one of these restaurants: Breakthrough, Tatoys, Coastal Road, Ocean City, or Freska. If you’re at Breakthrough, be sure to check out their live-seafood tanks. My all-time favorite at Breakthrough are the crabs — they are succulent, sweet, fresh and inexpensive. Be warned. These crabs are in high demand. So, if you see them, order them right away.

If you are the all-you-can-eat type, head to the Grand Dame Hotel. The restaurant is located on the second floor of the hotel. There you will be treated to an all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet. Again, at 250 peso per person (excluding drinks), it’s super affordable. Be sure to save some room for the halo halo.

If you crave authentic, Iloilo meals, be sure to visit Ted’s La Paz Batchoy Restaurant (there’s one at SM Iloilo City Mall). They serve the best noodle soup. But, you don’t want to know (nor should you ask) what’s in the bowl. Just enjoy it. The best way for me to describe Ted’s noodle soup to you is that it’s like Pho #1. You know, the vietnamese noodles that we Silicon Valley (or should I say, ex-Silicon Valley) folks love. At lease I did.

If you want super-cheap, super-delicious, all around good grub, tell the taxi driver to take you to JD Bakeshop (there are many). I personally like the one on Gen. Luna Street (also know as the Highway) because it’s right on the waterfront.

Pastries
For pastries (things like biscocho, ube piaya, butterscotch, mango chewies, and boat tart), there is a hidden gem. Look for the Sweet ‘Nes brand. They have a stall at the Atrium Mall next to the SuperMart Grocery Store. For the widest selection, take a taxi to Molo Deli in Molo (about a 10-15 minute ride from Smallville). Go past Molo Church and Molo SuperMart. I’m guessing it’s about .5km from Molo SuperMart. Look for the Molo Deli sign on the left-hand side of the main road. Not all taxi drivers know where it is. But, it’s worth the trek if you are pastries lovers. Tell them that I sent you.

Drinks
Of course, you can’t have food without drinks. Don’t be shocked by the limited selection of beer. Of course, you can pay a premium for a bottle of Heineken. For the same price of a bottle of Heineken, however, you can literally get a 6-pack of San Miguel Beer (Light or Pale Pilsen). If you want to get wasted for even less, try Red Horse Beer. Unlike beers in the States, which contain less than 2% alcohol, local beers in the Philippines contain 5% alcohol. Oh, by the way, a bottle of San Miguel will cost you (are you ready?) less than $0.50 (depending on the exchange rate). So, you can get drunk twice as fast for less than the price of Budweiser.

Entertainment
Wouldn’t it be great if you can eat, drink and be entertained? Well, there is such a place. In fact, it is the only place to be if you want to people-watch or listen to live bands or partake in a karaoke (in case you don’t know, Filipinos love to and can sing. Most filipinos are extremely shy. But, once you stick a microphone in front of them and turn on a karaoke machine, watch out world! This talent is not reserved for Charise Pempengco only.) Ok, the place you need to be is called Smallville. Again, all taxi drivers know where Smallville is. And, if plan to stay in Iloilo for a few days, I would recommend you stay in Smallville. Before I moved to Iloilo, my wife and I would stay at the Westown Hotel located in Smallville. In case you are wondering, no one pays me to tell you about all these places. This blog is simply a labor of love.

That should keep you busy for a while. Do let me know if you are going to be in Iloilo. Maybe we’ll meet in Smallville and knock down a few San Mig Lights over some steamed oysters at Freska. If nothing else, should you find this blog helpful or entertaining, please drop me a line. Until next time, baboosh.