Calda Pizza

One of my American expat coworkers once told me, "Calda has the est pizza in Bacolod." Being a fellow American, I had to give it a try.

Calda is located near Gaisano City in Singcang-Airport along Araneta Avenue.

Calda Pizza location in Bacolod City

Honestly, the pizza was one of the farthest things from what i could have imagined. Nothing like an American pizza at all and definitely not something I figured an expat would consider as the best pizza.

Ading's Pala-Pala

Pala-Pala in reference to Bacolod cuisine is similar to turo turo (meaning "pick pick" in English) of Manila.

The term pala-pala was first used due to the market nearby. The market today is called "old pala-pala" due to their being a "new pala-pala" restaurant behind L' Fisher Hotel.

Ading's Pala-Pala location

If you don't know the term, basically, you choose the fish you want and the restaurant will cook it for you. The fish is usually laid out across a long table (or in old pala-pala's case, you buy it at the market and bring it to them) and then the waitress will come and bring it to the chef whom prepares it.

Chicken Charlie Restaurant

Chicken Charlie is a newish chicken place in SM Bacolod. They have changed their menu a couple of times but they seem to have caught a big fish with this latest rendition.

Chicken, Spaghetti, pepper rolls and rice from Chicken Charlie

 The food is about the same price as other mid-level fast food restaurants in town -- 135-180. So it isn't too costly if you frequent places like McDonald's, KFC, or ChowKing but it is a bit more than Mang Inasal or Jollibees.

Where to Buy Clothes in Bacolod City

So you are new to Bacolod and you need to buy some new clothes. What do you do?

That all depends. For Westerners, it's a bit more difficult than for other Asians. Our bodies are built differently. We can't go to the shops around the Central Market and have the clothes fit neatly.

I'm a relatively tall man for the Philippines, yet I'm quite short for Western standards (5'7). I'm about average weight with broad shoulders. This makes things difficult when trying to buy shirts and even pants to some extent.

How Many Foreigners Are In Bacolod? Answer: Not Many!

A recent report released by the Bacolod Immigration Office said that there are around 1000 foreigners registered in Bacolod City.

This number, however, is the total amount of Permanent and Temporary Residents. It does not include foreigners on tourist, student, business, or medical visas.