Dumaguete City

With a note about Jo’s Chicken Inasal

I was about to comment on Kate’s entry but then I thought I should just post a separate blog entry so here it is.

When I was still in elementary, summer vacations were always spent in Negros Oriental. We had relatives in Dumaguete City but my lola’s house was in a town about 3 hours away from the capital. Today, though, my parents also have a house in Dumaguete.

The airport is not in Dumaguete but in neighboring Sibulan town. It is very small and because of its size, they don’t feel the need for conveyor belts for checked-in baggage. The porters just haul bags and boxes in, and leave them on one side of the arrival area for the passengers to claim.

Whenever we came to Dumaguete, my mother would often ask, “O, anong gusto niyong kainin? Meron diyang Jo’s Chicken.” At first, I thought it was Joe’s Chicken. I love my mom dearly but there are times when her Cebuano accent would still fight its way out of her mouth. So when I saw the restaurant itself, I thought, “Jo’s Chicken nga naman pala talaga.” :-)

You would not have a hard time finding Jo’s Chicken in Dumaguete. I think everyone in the city knows about it and besides, Dumaguete is such a small city. Until now, when none of our relatives can fetch us from the airport, we ride a tricycle/pedicab going home. Yup, the ubiquitous pedicab can take you anywhere in the city and Sibulan, I think.

Some people who love hectic city living would probably get bored in Dumaguete. But those who like a simple, quiet place would appreciate the quaintness of the city.

I already told you about the pedicab. Another thing you would notice is that almost everybody owns a motorcycle or a scooter. When you go downtown, you’ll see rows and rows parked outside stores and eateries.

The last time I was in Dumaguete, there was only 1 department store although there were small shops around. Long before Jollibee was introduced to the city, there was already Scooby’s, which until now serves the tween/teen and, ehem, the more mature consumers. Do you remember a pizza store called Giacomino’s? Well, that used to be THE pizza place in the city but they closed up 5-7 years ago. Now, there’s a Shakey’s restaurant along the Boulevard.

Ah, yes, the Boulevard! Before I even heard of Baywalk, there was Boulevard (pictured above). For walks with the family, a rendezvous with a date, or just plain muni-muni, the Boulevard is there. The most well-known hotel in the city and a number of good restaurants face the Boulevard. One restaurant that I particularly like is Don Atilano and a must-try is their gambas. Yum!

I don’t know exactly how to end this post, so let me just quote a few lines from this OPM Christmas song: Let’s sing Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday. This season may we never forget the love we have for Jesus…

You may ask, why this particular song? Well, aside from hearing it the other day which signals the official start of the Christmas season in the Philippines, 60% of the time I see Jose Mari Chan arriving from Manila when I’m about to leave Dumaguete.

Maayong buntag!