"This Squid Bicol Express was just awesome because it was my first time to encounter a Bicol express in seafood."

I really never thought that Bicol Express is as diverse as culture to the extent that I am having a hard time classifying the food if it is a Bicol Express or not. It is also noteworthy that according to a Wikipedia entry, Bicol Express was actually popularized in the districts of Malate, Manila but made in traditional Bicolano style. The name Bicol express was derived from a train moving from Manila to Bicol.

There's nothing to ask for in this restaurant if you are looking for a space wherein as you can consume the grace at the table is an infinite feeling of solitude. While enjoying the food, take a look at your side, or just in front of you, with the fresh cool breeze from God above, you will forget all your worries while you are viewing the world famous perfect cone of Mayon Volcano. Looking from the tip of that cone, look down from that point going down the slopes and you'll suddenly realize that you're just eating at the slopes of Mt Mayon because there is no obstruction of the view. You can notice clearly how the cone shapes up as a cone. 

Hawaiian Pizza usually consists of tomato and cheese. But in some other versions, they tend to include bacon. Thanks to my newly wed friend Rhea who just came from Canada. She treated us at Shakey's JTC Mall Branch, Metro Vigan in the town of Bantay, Ilocos Sur [an outskirt of Vigan City].

The traveling gutom landed on Atimonan, Quezon while on board a bus. The roads are under construction that's why we have to pass by one at a time. The moment we stopped for a while to give way for other vehicles for their turn, a boy suddenly came in the bus handling a basket of bananacue.

"...for readers' sake, strawberries are not real berries but they are more closely related to rose [an ornamental plant] than berries."

In my way searching and verifying stories, I found out these strawberries in Mine's View Park of Baguio City. 

There are a lot of strawberry stores in Baguio I know, because many friends of mine tell me about that but it was my first time to see these strawberries in bundle in person. Whoaah! It was such a very memorable experience to see these strawberries.

The look of these strawberries were very inviting because they look so delicious and juicy being a first timer to encounter those. A lot were displayed at the stalls in Mine's View Park and it was not really easy to ignore those!

Benguet province is really blessed with a cold temperature that it is capable of hosting plants that only grown in countries with four seasons. 

However, for readers' sake, strawberries are not real berries but they are more closely related to rose [an ornamental plant] than berries. 

It is very unbelievable that strawberries are not considered berries. In contrary, eggplant, which we consider a vegetable, is not actually a vegetable, but it is a certified true-blooded berry.

So if someone asks you, "Which is berry, strawberry or eggplant?" You gotta answer, "eggplant!" With that, you'll be very correct. Supposed to be you're in a game show, you have surely won the grand prize for that grand question.

Now we know that strawberries are not berries, they are actually called fragaria." The fleshy and edible part of the fruit is actually called a "receptacle" and not a fruit. It is a receptacle to reiterate it and the dots at the skin of the fruit is not a seed, it is called "conceptacles." 

I repeat, fragaria has no seeds. Anyway, whatever name this fruit is called, it has been painted in my mind, heart and soul that this fruit is a strawberry and the dots at the skin is the seed. And I must say, I don't know fragaria, but I know strawberries.

So, all strawberries in the world including those in Benguet are not berries!

In a long hours of drive from Vigan to Manila, stop overs are really highly needed and they should not just be recommended.

For a long journey of 8 to 10 hours, the tummy also needs to recharge like the engine of a diesel-powered car.

The traveling gutom is now really hungry and he needs to find a restaurant. Because of the urge to eat according to necessity, the gutom traveler and his colleagues ended up at KFC fastfood in the city of San Fernando, La Union.

Along Quezon Avenue in the City of San Fernando, La Union is an array of business establishments and a lot of places to eat but the gutom travelers chose to stay at KFC Restaurant because it is the closest. 

There is also another Jollibee nearby but who cares. Besides, we are craving with the KFC chicken although Chicken Joy of Jollibee is also nice too.

KFC LA Union is very accessible and there is a huge signboard that can be seen from afar.

As we enter the branch, we can see the great smile of the crew welcoming us with the usual "red" ambiance.

The order was of course the chicken bucket meal which was more than enough for the 6 of us. Sulit!

The gravy is as always, perfect for the taste!

I was also impressed with the dessert. I love the very creamy and cheesy taste and I was so glad that I even eaten the dessert of one of my colleague, haha!

We had our eating sessions at the second floor and surprisingly, we can laugh with all our lungs out and be very loud because we were the only group hanging out there. We all had the time and opportunity!

Inside KFC Restaurant in La Union, I love the ambiance although there are some mid-rise buildings with dangling wires outside that serve as an eye-sore but I don't care about what is outside as long as inside is conducive for eating.

I like the hanging things at the ceiling and of course I really can't forget that dessert!

It's time to go on our way. Thanks you KFC for the great food!

Dragon fruit is gaining popularity in the Philippines but although it's exposure has reached the mainstream media like the television being featured in many shows, there are still persons who happen to be ignorant about it - I am one of them. 

It was a hot day at exactly 12:00 noon and I was looking for something to freshen me up. Thank God my friend Rhea Corrales just came from Canada with all the wealth in her pocket and she treated me with some circle of friends.

I saw this fruit shake stand and at the display table of that stall, I saw a fruit on which I thought it was a plastic "toy fruit" made in China. I had a little frown in my face because I was disappointed with that food stall displaying an artificial fruit, with that very colorful fruit with very pink color plus the weird appearance. It was very weird-looking and why it is there? Since I was thinking it was made in China, it would contaminate other fresh fruits placed therein with lead and those toxic chemicals used by the Chinese manufacturers.

I really had to confront the vendor and ask her about it until she asked me what to order. To begin, I wanted to tell her that I don't like what I saw so I purposefully told her that I want that pink artificial fruit made from China. She laughed and looked at me and I was aback when she took that weird-looking fruit and sliced it then put it in a blender!

Whooooaah! I was really shocked! It was not srtificial, it was really natural but it looked so synthetic. With all the "made in China" mind set I had, I was amazed and has a little degree of embarrassment about that scenario. I just smiled and waited until that fruit on which I learned later that it was dragon fruit is done for serving.

As I hand that Dragon Fruit Shake, I was still in a severe status of doubt if what I will be drinking is natural because the color seemed like it was mixed with a can of food coloring because of its really bright and highly-saturated pink color. But linger, I saw how they made it and I should not have any questions in mind. Maybe I was just overwhelmed with ignorance that I was ineffably amazed on what dragon fruit might offer.

It was a perfect day and it was a day of rediscovering new things. I really had fun time with this dragon fruit on which, I made the story complicated and controversial which in fact, there's no issue to talk about. It was just me who was so obsessive and compulsive about that thing.


"Twas another day again of discovering food and a day of eating! That was a dragon fruit day for us. I had fun and I enjoyed dragon fruit because it was so delicious more than I could just imagine.

If you NEVER tasted Dragon Fruit, click Like or Recommend and let us know how many we are in the club!