Postcard Series: Mount Batur | Indonesia

Marky Ramone Go October 25, 2017

Mount Batur, an active volcano and its lake, may appear like a picture of tranquility. However, history of its violent eruptions suggests otherwise. The black patch stretching from the bottom to the middle part of the volcano were from the lava field generated by Batur's 1968 explosion. This remnant of nature's wrath stares back at me as I enjoy a feast of a lunch at a side-road outdoor restaurant.

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Where to Eat In Zamboanga City

Marky Ramone Go October 15, 2017

Influenced by the Muslims, Spaniards, Chinese, and settlers from Visayas and Luzon, Zamboanga City’s cuisine is one big delicious melting pot of different textures and flavors. This underrated food hub, shaped by decades of preservation and fusion, is a highly-recommended destination for foodie travelers. To guide you through your food trip around the city, here are must-visit places on where to eat in Zamboanga City.

Mango with Bagoong. Yum

Alavar Seafood Restaurant

Zamboanga's Curacha crabs dripping with Alavar sauce

No visit to Zamboanga City is complete without trying out Alavar Seafood Restaurant’s Curacha, a deep-sea giant crab that’s almost the size of a child’s face. Using your bare hands, crack the shell open to reveal the thick and juicy meat inside. Don’t forget to galze it with the restaurant’s signature Alavar sauce! You will be surprised at how many crabs you’ve licked clean, as the Curacha is definitely a delight to the taste buds. Other must-try dishes at Alavar include the dinuguan cooked Chavacano style, prawn curry, grilled tuna jaw, pinakbet Chavacano, Paella Chavacano and many more.

Alavar Seafood Restaurant can be found at Don Alfaro Street Tetuan, Zamboanga City.

Paseo del Mar and Palmeras Restaurant

New York Knickerboxer NOT. It's Zamboanga's Knickerbocker

Paseo del Mar and Hacienda Palmeras are popular spots to try the Knickerbocker. If compared to the halo-halo or the fruit salad, one can say that the Knickerbocker is “same same but different”. While it also has milk cream, sliced frozen fruits, jelly cubes, and ice cream, it’s still a unique and refreshing dessert concept.

Palmeras Restaurant can be found at Hacienda de Palmeras, Sta. Maria Rd., Zamboanga City, while Paseo del Mar can be found at Valderoza St. (right beside Fort Pilar), Zamboanga City.

Tsokolate Restaurant

Aside from cakes, pies and pastries, Tsokolate also serves hot plated meals to go with their aromatic and flavorful brewed coffee. Mixing great food with a laidback vibe, you get to feast your eyes on cool decorations like vinyl records and other pop culture mementos. This charming nook is an ideal spot to hang out with friends and enjoy a wonderful meal.

Tsokolate Restaurant can be found at NS Valderosa St, Zamboanga City.

Dennis Coffee Garden

Have a taste of some of Tausug kakanin

It’s popular for its brewed coffee and Tausug cuisine but Dennis Coffee Garden also serves traditional native pastries that are widely-known in the whole Sulu archipelago. Don’t forget to try out a platter of Daral (comparable to a crepe but with a sugary coconut filling), Jualan (fried bananas that come with a sweetened dip), Pulihmandi (purple colored balls made of rice and covered with coconut shavings) and Sulu’s version of a pancake called apam.

Dennis Coffee Garden has locations at Labuan-Limpapa National Rd. and KCC Mall along Gov. Camins Rd. (near the airport), Zamboanga City.

Bay Tal Mal

Tausug Platter

No 'Where to Eat in Zamboanga City' list is complete without the inclusion of Bay Tal Mal. Coined from the Arabic word ‘Bayt-ul Mal’ which means ‘House of Wealth’, Bay Tal Mal serves traditional Tausug and Halal Moro cuisines. The Moroccan inspired interior sets an idyllic mood that’s perfect for feasting on Latal-–a platter of a variety of Tausug native dishes. These go great with rice and other favorites such as chicken piyanggang and kiyaliya. (photo shows a platter of Tausug native dishes)

Bay Tal Mal can be found at DSEN Bldg., Mayor Jaldon St., Canelar, Zamboanga City.

Jimmy’s Satti and Johnny’s Morning Sun Satti

Breakfast of Champions indeed

If you’re arriving in Zamboanga early in the morning, consider yourself fortunate because you can immediately try what most locals’ choose for breakfast. The Satti Ayam or Sati is flavored local barbecue (either chicken, pork or liver) that’s eaten with a soupy, sweet and spicy sauce and rice wrapped in coconut leaves. Upon arriving, you can head straight to either Jimmy’s Satti or Johnny’s Morning Sun Satti–-both are modest eateries located on the side of the road not far from the airport.

Jimmy’s Satti Place can be found at Pilar St, Zamboanga City. While Johnny’s Morning Sun Satti can be found at C. Atilano St., Brgy. San Jose Gusu, Zamboanga City.

La Vista del Mar

Ensalada Chamba for the win

A favorite among seafood lovers, this seaside restaurant serves many of the region’s heritage cuisines. A scene-stealing dish here is a healthy bowl of goodness called Ensalada Chamba. It’s an appropriate play on the word chamba, which means ‘stroke of luck’ because the combination of the ingredients (namely diced mangoes, sliced eggplants, salted egg, cucumber and others) just happened to blend perfectly well.

La Vista del Mar can be found at Labuan-Lampara National Rd., Zamboanga City.

There are a lot of must-try dishes in Zamboanga, available in a number of restaurants in the city. Some of these are:

Sama Bangingi Muslim Delicacies

Perfect for an afternoon snack

These are just a few of the favorite appetizers which originated from the Sama Bangingi ethno-linguistic group residing in the Greater Sulu Archipelago: From bottom left (counter clockwise); Lokot lokot (rice flour rolls), baulo mamun, panganan, kalling, pitis patani, baulo tapung, panyalam or panyam bangingi (middle).

Baked Imbao

Lip smacking goodie

In Zamboanga, clams are prepared in a number of different ways and one of the end products is the Baked Imbao. Capped off with garlic and butter, it serves as the perfect appetizer to any dish.

Chupa Kulo

It's a satisfying suck of a meal with these snails on the table

A familiar sight on dinner tables among the houses in the coastal towns and islands surrounding Zamboanga City, Chupa Kulo are snails simmered in squash and coconut milk. As the name suggests,you need to suck it to be able to eat the slimy yet flavorsome meat inside each shell.

I hope you enjoyed this where to eat in Zamboanga list.

**Knickerbocker | Photo from Kara Santos of Traveling-Up*

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Winning Travel tip: For a hassle-free transport and to avail an expert tour guide to accompany you on your food trip adventure around Zamboanga City, I suggest getting the services of ITravelTouristLane travel agency based in the city.

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Jaipur, India | Man Sagar Lake’s 'Floating' Jal Mahal Palace

Marky Ramone Go October 12, 2017

Sticking my neck out of our tuktuk I can already see the outline of the Jal Mahal Palace as it appear to float calmly over the glass-like waters of Man Sagar Lake. An impressive architectural wonder – seemingly fluctuating or plummeting deep into the stoic blue waters. As I stood out from a distance, I immediately recognize it as a thing of beauty stuck out of place. Nonetheless, I felt it eliciting a probing element calling to answer how it ended up in its current state; abandoned, fascinating yet left to the mercy of the tranquil lake.

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Sta Cruz Island, Zamboanga | More than a 'Pretty in Pink' Beach

Marky Ramone Go October 10, 2017

The idea of walking over the pretty pink sands of Sta Cruz Island in Zamboanga City had me LSS-ing on a classic Psychedelic Furs song and recounting a young Molly Ringwald. After a couple of cancelled Zamboanga trips in the past, I finally found myself blissfully seated on a small boat heading to island of Sta. Cruz—otherwise known as “The Pink Island”. With my eyes staring ahead to the spread out patched of glistening shoreline, I was quickly arrested by the enveloping hues of green flora in the not so far distant. Wide-eyed with wonder, everything felt good that even the engine's revving sounded as if it was a soundtrack to a must-watch travel film.

The inviting clear waters of Sta Cruz Island

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Culinary Delights | Where to Eat in Bataan

Marky Ramone Go October 10, 2017

From a traveler’s perspective, Bataan is an underrated tourist spot that surprises its visitors with both natural and man-made attractions. But from a foodie’s perspective, it’s a place that’s rich in both culinary history and modern food culture. If you want to discover Bataan through a gastronomical tour, here are some "Where to Eat in Bataan" places you shouldn’t miss out on!

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Cassie De Pecol Shares Her 7 Favorite Destinations

Marky Ramone Go October 09, 2017

After becoming the first female to visit all the countries on our planet, Cassie De Pecol decided to share her 7 favorite destinations.

Cez and Agness from eTramping.com, an adventure travel blog that provides unique travel tips and interesting facts about destinations across the whole globe, were particularly inspired by the story of Cassie De Pecol, a young woman who has been to every country in the world. Since both of them are experienced travelers, it only makes sense that they take local advice from other adventurers like Cassie.

From Cassie De Pecol's Facebook Page

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Postcard Series: BNP Capones | Tawi-Tawi

Marky Ramone Go September 30, 2017

A boatload of good karma fell on our laps when faced with a few days of being stuck in Zamboanga, the Philippine Coast Guard offered to hitch us all the way to Tawi-Tawi. Since the BNP Capones is also en route to patrol the waters of Celebes and Sulu Sea as a security for the upcoming Agal-Agal Festival, we unanimously said yes. As opposed to traveling a day later on a packed and slower passenger boat, we enjoyed the modern amenities of the ship. We even had a boodle fight of curacha crabs on the deck on the way back.

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Raging Bull Chophouse and Bar at Shangri-La The Fort | Manila

Marky Ramone Go September 28, 2017

A few months ago, I landed a 900-word article writing gig that paid me a decent sum on top of a full-board three-night stay at Shangri-La Hotel at the Fort in Taguig. Of course, I did nothing but relax, get a massage and tried out the restaurants located inside the towering property. Where I had dinner on my first night was the Raging Bull Chophouse and Bar.

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Standing on the Shoulders of Isla de Gigantes

Marky Ramone Go September 03, 2017

I found myself inside a van with a few friends heading to a group of positively raved Islas in the Western Visayas Sea only a 3-hour sleep removed from walking on the rain-soaked streets of Iloilo City. A few moments later, I was staring at the radiant skies above after a few hours of land travel. Mia had reservations about continuing due to the bad weather in Iloilo earlier in the evening, but the sight that greeted us at the port of Carles screamed of a setting perfect for frolicking over powdery sands with a beer in hand.

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Rajasthan on my Mind | India

Marky Ramone Go September 01, 2017

Many-a-times I am always asked by friends about my favorite place in India, and each time I would answered with Rajasthan, I would be met with a surprised reply ‘What about Taj Mahal in Agra? Or New Delhi?’ While, my month-long initial trip to India took me to many breathtaking places which also has given me so much cultural and spiritual widening experiences such as Varanasi, Agra, Cochin, Mumbai and Kolkata - the places I visited in the state of Rajasthan left a collection of fascinating images in my mind; of stunning desert landscapes, grandiose forts and palaces, colorful bazaars, friendly people and delicious food.

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Paoay, Ilocos Norte | Charging at the Mad Max Vibe of La Paz Sand Dunes

Marky Ramone Go August 31, 2017

“Yohooooo, Kuya be kind to us” she shouted at the driver of the 4x4 truck as we make sure our hands were gripped into the handlebar like glue. We were just about to go over the first mound of sand almost 30 feet high when she issued that reminder. Not that kuya had a habit of giving a flying eff of slowing down, it’s just that he follows to heart the unwritten rule of the faster, the better. He then accelerated the truck into a dizzying speed, shaking the four of us huddled at the back. The engine struggled a little going to the apex of the hill but once gravity took over, hellacious yells from my female companions almost busted my eardrums. As we slid through the downhill path like one of those post-apocalyptic vehicles driven by looneys in Mad Max films, I felt a different kind of rush.