Belly Bursting Bacolod

After checking out the ancestral homes of Silay City and before going to Mambukal in Murcia, lunch! Lunch had to be in Manokan Country, the restaurant on top of my list. Their chicken inasal (roasted chicken) is finger lickin' good! The not-so-secret ingredient? Sugar (so they say). Oh, and they have a bottle of chicken oil, too, that's to be mixed with your plain rice.

Narra St., Capitol Shopping Center, Bacolod City

(034) 433 1374

Cansi is a cross between pochero and sinigang—at least that's how it tasted to me: like sour pochero. As you can see from the photos above, we left nothing but the bone for the dog. Even the extra soup was all gone. A bowl of Cansi (Php 230), three servings of rice (Php 15 each), and two bottles of softdrinks (less than Php 20 for a bottle) shared between two equals big burps from two happy customers.

North Capitol Road, Old Pala-pala, Bacolod City

(034) 708 8130

You do the shopping (at the wet market next door) and Hykso's does the cooking. When dining at the Old Pala-pala, it's best to bring a bunch of friends. Hykso's cooking fee is for a minimum of half a kilo. Anything less than half a kilo, the fee would still be for a half kilo.

Since it was just me and my travel bud, we only bought 1/8 kg of scallops (Php 60), 1/8 kg of shrimps (Php 60), and a crab (1/4 kg, Php 80). The fresh seafood were then transformed by Hykso's to grilled scallops, buttered shrimps, and steamed crab, with cooking fees of Php 80, Php 80, and Php 65, respectively. These three would not be complete without three orders of rice (Php 15 each) and drinks (Php 20 each). As evidenced by the above photo, we enjoyed our excellent fresh seafood dinner.

21st Street, Bacolod City

(034) 433 4096

10AM - 11PM Sunday - Thursday

10AM - 1AM Friday - Saturday

The interiors of 21 Restaurant look fancy and make you think that everything on their menu is beyond the normal price. True, the food is quite expensive: the starters go from Php 110 and up; salads Php 140 and up; sandwiches Php 115 and up; main course Php 155 up to Php 1,200. But we were here for the batchoy. Super batchoy (with liver and bone marrow, Php 90) with egg (Php 15) for me and regular batchoy (Php 75) for travel bud. Bowls of cholesterol paradise. To counter this unhealthy choice, we threw in an order of mango salad (Php 165). It's lettuce, mangoes, and candied cashew nuts, with creamy mango dressing. We patted our stomachs for a meal well chosen.

Lunch at Manokan Country for two Php 232

Lunch at Sharyn's for two Php 308

Dinner for two at old pala-pala Php 550

Lunch for two at 21 Restaurant Php 345

Belly Bursting Bacolod (you're here!)