Coming "Home" to Majayjay Bed and Breakfast

Excellent service and awesome food. These are the reasons I am recommending Majayjay Bed and Breakfast. 

Majayjay B and B is a good place to relax and unwind. They have a very nice garden with hammock and bamboo bed where you can enjoy the cool weather, the very clean air and the greens surrounding it.

They have spacious rooms, designed like an old Filipino house, with a porch where you can hang out or do mahjong :).

  

They also serve very good Filipino food.  The sinampalukang manok is to-die-for- I guess I can finish one whole chicken by myself!  They also served adobong manok in atsuete, pritong tilapia, and pako salad. Everything tasted so good. 

For breakfast, they served brewed coffee, and pan de Sal, with kesong puti and warm coco jam.  There is also fried rice and my favorite Lucban longganisa, pritong bangus, omelet, and sunny side up.  Fresh guyabano shake is also available.  

But what makes this B and B special are its staffs who go extra mile to make guests feel at home.  They make sure guests are comfortable, and feel welcomed. Yes, it did feel like gong home to your grandmother's house where you get a very special treatment.

Was an excellent choice for the weekend. 


To make a reservation, you may contact the owner, Ms. Encar Benedictor Ordonez at 0918-9181416.  

Mayon Volcano- The Beautiful One

Derived from the word Magayon, which is beautiful in Bicol dialect, Mayon lives up to its name.  Being the most perfectly formed volcano, it is easily one of the most beautiful  volcano because of its symmetrical cone.  Tourists flock to the province of Albay to see it.  

It is as dangerous, as it is beautiful. Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines and can be very destructive.  Many tourists come to see Mayon- but more tourists come during eruptions.  It is a sight to behold during eruptions, specially during night time where you will see the glowing lava rolling down its perfect slope. 

I used to wake up to it during my 4 year stay in Albay- and it never failed to give me the feeling of awe. The very same feeling I had when I saw it once again during my recent trip to Bicol. One beautiful reminder of how magayon life is. 

Rizal Beach, Gubat, Sorsogon

Rizal Beach may not be the most beautiful beach in the Philippines - but it gives me the happiest memories.

Rizal Beach is an unspoiled beach (For most part, that is.  They are now starting to build more beach resorts in the area because a part of it is becoming famous with surfers). It is located near the southernmost tip of Luzon Island and is part Gubat, a very laid back town, I would say. 

My grandmother lived by this beach, and had a small cottage which she rents out to visitors, some of them tourists from other countries. We used to visit her, and Mamay, our greatgrandmother, on Saturdays or Sundays. Mamay was already very old then, has lost her sight and her head shakes involuntarily but she looked very happy whenever we visited. One of my favorites during the visit is the grilled pork, which grandma used to prepare for us.  It's the best grilled pork ever!

We used to spend the day just playing and running around , swimming (or taking a dip, in my case), covering Papa with sand, catching small crabs and just talking and laughing.  And we would come home sun burnt but happy.   

It was lovely to be able to visit the place again.  

These are a few of my favorite (Bicol) things...

During the November 1-2 holiday, I went home to visit my hometown in Bicol, a 12 hour drive from Manila (at least). The visit gave me a chance to enjoy once again, some of my favorite food from my childhood. One favorite is the seashell , called dalu dalo in local language, which my cousin has kindly prepared for us.  It is a small black shell, cooked with creamy coconut milk and malunggay leaves. You either have to suck it or use a toothpick to pick the meat. It is best paired with hot steamed rice.  Then, you can forget your diet.

Ginataang dalu dalo

Another favorite is the binutong. Binutong is made of glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and flavored with a little salt. They are wrapped in banana leaves. As a kid, we lived in a farm for 2 years and I was so used to seeing the wives of some farmers, go around carrying native baskets or bilaos, selling binutong and other snacks made from glutinous rice. My mother always bought from them. They taste so good- and best eaten with brown sugar.  

Binutong

Sinapot is one of the most common snacks in Bicol and we used to buy them for snacks in school.  Sinapot is sliced plantain or a variety of banana called saba in the Philippines. It is rolled in rice flour  and deep fried.  

Sinapot

 And of course, pili nut is a forever favorite of everybody who comes to visit Bicol- a favorite pasalubong . There are many different kinds of pili nut products but my favorite is the more "traditional" way of preparing it, which is to lightly glaze it with sugar and syrup before deep frying. 

Yummy pili nuts

On my next visit, I'll make sure to have the kinunot na pagi (stingray in coconut milk) and the ginataang pako (fiddle fern in coconut milk) . Until the next visit, Bicol!