Malatan-og Falls: Don Salvador Benedicto's Cigarette Falls

 Malatan-og is about an hour and a half drive away from Bacolod City in the municipality of Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental. It is the tallest waterfall on the island and, some say, one of the most beautiful in all of the Philippines.

Getting there, however, is a bit of a pain if you aren’t used to hiking. Once you arrive in Don Salvador, head for the waterfalls viewing deck. Normally you’ll find it quite crowded, but it is such a beautiful sight.

From there, you will be asked to sign their registry and if you want a tour guide (it’s free, but they ask for a donation). Two hundred pesos is normal gift but if you can give more, please do. The money is used to keep the park clean, safe, and beautiful.

Mesa: Possibly the Worst Restaurant in Bacolod City

After seeing what seems like hundreds of advertisements all over SM (yes, an exaggeration, I know), I decided to head on over to Mesa to try their beef kare-kare one of their advertisements mention.

I love kare-kare, so there isn’t too much a restaurant can do to mess it up. Beef kare-kare? Yes, please. Just throw some beef and peanut butter in a pot with a few vegetables and I’m more than happy to slurp it up as long as it isn’t like I’m licking a sugar-cane field or licking a rock.

This is the problem. Mesa did mess it up.

L'Sea Chinese Restaurant

My wife headed to L'Sea before and she said it was pretty decent, but not as good as Ming Dimsum and Noodles. That didn't dissuade me. I'd say Ming is one of the best restaurants I've had, period. We decided to give it another try. And then another. And then another.

My first try at L'Sea was on Lacson St. The last time I had soy chicken, I thought it was amazing. Thus, I thought it'd be worth a try at L'Sea. We then also ordered the pechay in Chinese bagoong.

El Mojo's Mexican Restaurant

El Mojo's Mexican Restaurant is located in the same building as Dana Buko Cocktail across from Panasiatic. You can get there using the Homesite jeepney (be sure to ask, "NGC?" before boarding) or Bata-Pepsi.

Before going to El Mojo's I was excited to learn that there was another "Mexican" restaurant coming to Bacolod. I absolutely adore Mexican food, from Burritos to Quesadillas to Fajitas, I love it. As you can imagine, my stomach was growling all the way until I sat down and looked at the menu.

Dana Buko Cocktail - Delicious Halo Halo in Bacolod

I love halo-halo. It is one of my favorite Filipino foods. If you aren't familiar with it, it is essentially fruit (usually dried) mixed with condensed milk, sweet beans, coconut shavings, and often topped with ice cream (usually "ube" flavor [purple yam]).

In Manila and Cebu there are Coconut Republics, which I love. Essentially, they take a giant coconut, cut it in half, throw a bunch of fruit of your choice inside with the rest of the ingredients and call it a day. It is amazing, and one of my "must haves" whenever I visit one of those two places. In Bacolod, we aren't as fortunate to have such amazing halo halo food stands.