What's new in Roxas City

Dining and entertainment in the seafood capital of the Philippines is on the upswing. All along Baybay Beach, restaurants are sprouting and the masses are following. On weekends, the beach is full of day trippers who jump gleefully into the sea and soak their feet in the sand.

Before any beachside restaurant was born in Roxas City, Marc's was already around serving their famous pork barbecue. When I order my meals, I go for their vegetable chop suey and battered chicken. Up the street from Marc's is Coco Veranda, a crowd favorite. You can order fresh catch of the day by pointing to any swimming fish in their tank or try their blue or white marlin.

At the Sandbar, I like their tangigue steak. You can order food from this restaurant and have it served poolside across the street. The infinity pool streams down to a man made lake. It's beautiful! If you wish to stay the night, Casa Felisa has luxury suites next door to the pool.

Outside the city center in Dayao, Espacio is now open daily. Dining here is an experience amidst lush tropical landscape. The Pinoy style salad is truly Pinoy (see previous blog). For dessert I love the banana turon served on a bed of ice cream.

At Em Punto on the second floor of Gaisano Mall, wifi is free with any order. I like their one of a kind mango iced tea.

Across the street from Gaisano Mall is Area One where a live band attracts a young bunch. From Cebrew or Red Sun, you can watch and listen to the music while sipping a latte.

Roxas City is a sleepy town no more. No need to go overboard and suffer the fate of Boracay.

* * *

Photos by Rosario Charie Albar

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was...

Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called Kasaysayan ng Maynila (History of Manila). The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and...

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

Lizares Mansion The province of Iloilo on the island of Panay has a rich trove of heritage houses, left over from the sugar industry boom in the 19th century. Iloilo also had the largest port in the Philippines at that time which facilitated the export of sugar to foreign shores and deposited money in the hands of the sugar barons. The barons dropped their earnings into the acquisition of properties in Negros and the construction of beautiful homes in Iloilo, many of which are located in the vicinity of the Jaro Cathedral. The Lizares Mansion was built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife, Concepcion Gamboa and five children. The family fled to safety when World War II broke out and the house was occupied by the Japanese military. The family returned to the house after the war but left once again after the demise of Don Emiliano. It was sold to the Dominican order in the 1960s and was converted in 1978 to a private school, Angelicum School. The mansion now houses the ...

TravelswithCharie

Search This Blog