Tio Sid’s – Flippin’ Yummmmy Burgers

You can read on, since I decided not to take this post down.  But as of early 2012, Tio Sid's Burgers are no longer available in Bacolod City... :-( (too bad... I'll miss these yummy burgers...)

There's a new craze in town and it has got Tio Sid's flipping burgers from morning 'til night!

I am quite picky when it comes to the taste of burgers.  For one, there are many burger places here in the city that mostly everyone loves, but I can live happily without them.  However, when it comes to Tio Sid's burgers, it's quite a different story.

line up for the big, yummy burgers
photo courtesy of Moi de Asis

Here's why I love Tio Sid's burgers:

*as far as I'm concerned, it tastes like pure meat – no extenders detected.

*the burger patties when cooked, remains to be about ¾ inches thick.

*the patties flavors are TO MY TASTE (and note that I don't like food with after tastes or weird, unappetizing smells).

*the burgers are grilled and come with fresh vegetables (healthy eating!)

*the burgers are very much affordable that I can eat there everyday without straining my pocket.

Tio Sid's burgers range from 30 pesos (that's for the mini burger – which can actually be enough for someone who has a small appetite),; 50 pesos for the plain burger (that's basically just meat, cheese, and bread); 60 pesos for the regular burger (that's meat, cheese, and veggies), and there are those at 70, 85, 95, 120, 130, and 180 (that's for their giant burger).  Okay, here's the thing:  I love eating – and a regular burger is good enough for me.  So imagine how their giant burger would be like!

My YUMMY (mild) inferno burger with fries :)

Their burgers  vary from Hawaiian, Bacon Mushroom, Taco, and A1 (yeah, the steak sauce), as well as the must-have for spicy-food-lovers which is their Inferno burger. Yummmm!  Plus, a single order of fries to go with your burger is only 20 pesos.  And not for anything, but I LIKE their fries so much better than McDonald's – really!
                                                                                                                                                                                                 You can find it along the middle part of Narra Ave.   21st Lacson street, the same street as Cafe Bob's.  It's the stall near the road. Don't worry, you won't miss it.  With all the cars on "hazard" waiting for their burgers and the grill will countless burgers on it visible from the street – you can surely spot it easily.
                                                                                                                                                     Tio Sid's burgers are definitely the best burgers your money can buy.  They open at 8:00 am up until around 8:30 -9:00 pm daily.  They are now open 24 hours daily (as I have heard yesterday).  You'll enjoy these American grilled burgers – I know I did! 
                                                                                                                                                                                    Although, since the time they moved to their new location, I have been made to wait 45 minutes for my burger, twice now.  So basically, if I'm really hungry and I want to have my food a lot sooner, I'd probably go to McDonald's or KFC which is just about 5 minutes away.  I do hope they do something about that... 45 minutes is too long for one regular sized buger...

photo courtesy of Moi de Asis

Contact Details
Tio Sid's Burgers
Narra Ave., Shopping,  21 Food Park
21st Lacson Street,
Bacolod City, Negros Occidental
Philippines
Mobile #: +639083582021

Top It Off With a Bag of Beans

A trip to the Philippines' coffee country, the city of Tagaytay, would not be complete without a visit to Bag of Beans.

Bag of Beans started as a small coffee shop whose specialties were freshly baked products, English pies, and Coffee Alamid (excuse my French, it's coffee made from the beans that has passed through the wild civet cat's digestive system – yes, it's basically "harvested" from its poop).                                                                

                                                     Bag of Beans' Coffee Alamid, also known as Civet Coffee (or Kape Alamid in Tagalog), is similar to Indonesia's Kape Luwak and Timor's Kafe Laku. For certain, Bag of Beans' Coffee Alamid is clean and safe for human consumption – but I just don't have the guts to try it though.

However, for those who have, they have this to say: Coffee Alamid's strong, creamy, and a hint of dark chocolatey taste makes it the best coffee in the world – and quite expensive too.                                          
Well, that sounds good… But perhaps, next time.

So for my Bag of Beans coffee experience, I simply went for a cup of warm white mocha, my sister went for their iced caramel macchiato, hubby had coffee choco banana frost, and my aunt had their bottomless iced tea. We opted to try the famous Bag of Beans farm house white bread which is said to be so fresh that you can't stop eating it. It came with jam and literally a slab of butter too.

                                                                             Often, in restaurants, when their simplest dish is good, then everything else is most likely to be too.

The verdict: Bag of Beans DID NOT disappoint us. The coffee, the bread – it was undeniably fresh and warm upon serving, and the ambience was wonderful.

Aside from the usual restaurant at Bag of Beans, they have their garden and small little nooks that make your time much more relaxing too.

When in Tagaytay, don't forget to drop by Bag of Beans. Their food and drinks are affordable. Basically, our total bill was less than 500 pesos for that afternoon (that's for the 4 of us already).

So basically, your great trip to Tagaytay will just be topped off with a Bag of Beans!




           Contact Details:

Bag of Beans Coffee Shop & Bakery
115 Aguinaldo Highway
Mendez Crossing West, Tagaytay City, Cavite
Landline: +63-46-4134356/+63-46-4132724
Mobile: +639234544797/+639209546370

Visiting the Organic Market

I have heard of the advantages of going for organic products for quite some time now.

In malls, there are stalls selling organic vegetables, fruits, rice, and even beauty products all from organic stuff. However, it has only been recently that I kept on coming back to the Organic Market.

The Organic Market is a humble place located at the back of the Provincial Capitol Building, right in the center of Bacolod City. Upon going in the little gates, you'll see a number of stalls lining up to your left selling organic produce such as bananas, papayas, eggplants, squash, etc... And to your right, a simple structure with screen windows and about 3 umbrellas that look like a parasol but is made of nipa.                                                                                                    
Inside, that simple structure they sell healthy foods!

photo courtesy of http://37581/photos/view/7/19

If you want a place that sells healthy foods, it is here! They have several viands such as bitter gourd with egg, squash with some greens, chicken tinola, and so on.

But what I always go there for is their fresh fruit mix.

In the afternoon, when I crave for something sweet for a snack, that is what I get. It is a mix of different fruits they have during that time, such as papayas, avocado, ube, and bananas, all mixed together with crushed ice, their organic pasteurized milk (which they also sell if you wish to buy), and just a bit of organic sugar. On a hot day, it is the perfect – healthy – snack. One glass or small bowl costs 25 pesos – not a bad price for a healthy snack.

They also have other products for sale that you might enjoy such as mascobado sugar, salabat (ginger tea), herbal soap, and organic wine, among others. These would make great souvenir ideas too.

photo courtesy of http://37581/photos/view/7/19

Pizzeria Makes It Big!

The latest in joining the fad of selling "gigantic" pizzas is Greenoz.

Greenoz started as a small hut selling pizzas with sizes ranging from 9 to 30 inches (in diameter). Competing against well-known and established pizza places such as Mamma Maria's who has had a number of branches around Bacolod City already, it has an edge over flavor and taste.

I must admit that I once fondly bought pizzas from Mamma Maria's. However, their pizzas weren't consistent. Sometimes it was nice, sometimes it was simply okay, other times it was just not nice. To this date, a number of branches of Mamma Maria's have closed, leaving only one, big branch open near the downtown area. Greenoz Pizzeria, on the other hand, is busy expanding and opening branches in the different areas of the city.

                                                                                 Starting somewhere in the south area of the city, near the Goldenfields Commercial Complex, they soon took a step up by opening one in the center area of the city at 6^th street, a mere walking distance from the Capital Lagoon.                         And now, they have another one, recently opened near the Bacolod Government Center (which is the location of the newest call center Panasiatic Solutions as well).

we barely finished this 
(and we had heavy eaters with us!)

Greenoz pizzas taste good, and for a really, really good price too. We ordered a 30-inch pizza, half of which was their "greenoz special" flavor, and the other half, their "bern" flavor. It cost us only 825 pesos. J Greenoz is a Swiss-Italian pizza place, so they serve food other than pizza. But it is their pizzas that get people coming back. Ask anyone in Bacolod where to get the greatest pizza and they'll instantly say "Greenoz" – at least everyone I know have said that.

Bascon Café: Your Own Little Place

When I was younger, I used to dream about cafes in Europe, small and cozy with some outdoor chairs and tables for some who'd like to stay out there. :) There has always been such a romantic and homey feel to it.

they've got a high chair for your baby too! :)

The closest one to this, that I have found, is Bascon Cafe (along C. L. Montelibano Street, which is their original branch). The moment you step inside the glass door, everything is about 3 to 5 steps away from each other. This is what I like about the place. It is a quaint little place where I can have my pasta, salad, and iced tea without the noise and the stress.

I've always been picky when it comes to pesto pasta, and this is one of the two places that I would like to have some. They also have many desserts ranging from bite size ones such as cupcakes and muffins, to mini cakes, and regular sized cakes. My favorites are still their lemon meringue pie and their natilla. They make excellent cinnamon rolls too – my favorite is the orginial one and blueberry – it goes very well with coffee!

Their other branch (the one along Lacson Street) opens at 6:00am in time for breakfast. They serve traditional Filipino breakfast and international ones as well. From time to time, they have new additions to their menu and it makes it something to look forward to. Bascon Café has really nice staff – very friendly and accommodating. It's not for anything, but I still love going to their original branch. It has a homier feel for me.
Plus, the staff there is always very pleasant. Looking from the sidelines, you can see them smile and serve as though they just want to do it. It adds to the nice ambience of the place.

El Ideal Bakery – A Family Legacy of Good Food Since the 1920’s

El Ideal Bakery, (pronounced "el idjal"), Silay's original bakery, is currently run and managed by the 3^rd and 4^th generation of the family that started it.  It is not only a family legacy of good food to their grandchildren, but also to the many Negrenses who have had this place as a part of their lives.

photo courtesy of: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2184

I, for one, am one of those Negrenses. My paternal grandfather was an original "Silaynon" (what people from Silay City are called), with my great grandmother listed as one of the owners (former owner, actually, since she sold the house when all her kids got married – it was just too big for her) of the big Spanish houses that still stand up to this day. My grandfather used to own a farm in Silay, near the area where the new Silay Airport is located today. It was sold when none of his children followed his footsteps of going into farming, and he was getting too old for it.

Anyway, El Ideal Bakery has been part of our family's tradition as well.  Every November 1, my father's side of the family – complete with my grandparents (although now it's just my grandmother since my grandfather passed away in 1996), uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, the whole caboodle –  go there for our brunch right after we visit the cemetery (for our All Soul's Day tradition).  It has been that way ever since I could remember.

photo courtesy of:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2019

El Ideal has always been where it once were (since the 1920's), in 118 Rizal street, Silay City, Negros Occidental. The place have had some minor modifications like the installation of air conditioners, replacing of their chairs and tables with newer, more durable ones, new kitchen equipment, etc... But there are some aspects of it that remain as is, like their famous pre-war brick oven, the facade that remains almost the same up to this day since before the war, etc...

photo courtesy of: http://photos.friendster.com/photos

Every year, we never grow tired of it. My order has always been their specialty pancit malabon and fresh lumpia. My grandmother never fails to order halo-halo (her thirst quencher after the hot morning in the cemetery); the kids never fail to order the usual spaghetti; my aunt and uncles would go for my choice of food, plus some native delicacies. A November 1^st without stopping by El Ideal is not exactly November 1^st – if you know what I mean. And guess what?

Every year, at about the same time, we meet the same people – who also make their trip to El Ideal part of their tradition.

photo courtesy of: http://www.dessertcomesfirst.com

photo courtesy of:
http://elideal.multiply.com

Family traditions aside, El Ideal has earned a name for itself with its famous guapple pie. Yes, it's guava-slash-apple pie. It is one of my favorites, so to speak! This recipe was created in the 1980's when Negros Island hit a sugar crisis, and sugar became too expensive for pastries sold at reasonable prices. So guava was used as an alternative to sugarcane – and it turned out to be oh so delicious! Today, El Ideal's guapple pie is one of the most sought after pastries in local, national, and even international food fares held in the Philippines.

Their Dulce Gatas (it's Silay's version of the pastillas, made from carabao's milk and sugar) always reminds me of my father. My dad has always had a sweet tooth and it could be cured with this. Having this as dessert takes me back to my childhood days...

 I can't wait 'til next November 1! :) 

El Ideal's Telephone number: (034) 495 4430