Barbecue!!! in Ormoc

Our Tuesday badminton session was canceled so of course -- is there anything better to do than eating barbecue on a Tuesday afternoon when your badminton session is canceled? Well actually, there are a lot other things, but we refused to think of these others. When I pitched the barbecue idea to Maica, it was clear she was already thinking of barbecue because she said an instant yes. We called up Iana and told her to get ready. This girl diets like crazy, but even she can't say no to barbecue. We called up our favorite neighbor, Alyssa, and thankfully she was home and excited to go, and what-a-surprise, Kuyahhhhhng was home as well. Whee!

SO this is what happens when your Tuesday badminton session is canceled. Here we go!

There are only two places in Ormoc where you can expect good barbecue: at your own homes and at the P10m barbecue-han in the city plaza. (P10m!?!? Tell me about it.)

In this barbecue-han, everything is barbecued: chicken chicken, chicken gizzard, chicken heart, chicken blood (yummy!), chicken liver (atay!), isaw (or chicken intestine), chorizo, fish. It reeks of carcinogen, really. But the doctor says it's okay as long as you don't go everyday.

There are a lot of manangs to choose from. We don't have a suki yet so we just approach any of the manangs selling close to the entrance. We can never be too sure about the freshness of the meat, but certainly, we can tell which ones are appetizing and which ones are not. It's also easier if the manang you choose offer all the goods you want, so you don't go through the inconvenience of paying different vendors after eating. But if you're nicer and you want to split your generosity, it's your choice.

The fan is the coolest technology in the area; keeps the langaws away with no effort from manang. I don't think Cebu's lartian even have it. (They don't have a P10m budget, I suppose.)
The best barbecue is grilled the old fashion way.

The dining area is a long hall, but you have to sit in the tables owned by the manang grilling your barbecue, which are always just beside their stalls. There are two dining halls: one is bordered by the river and the other hall, by the skating rink. If you are especially sensitive to smell, I don't suggest sitting by the river. It can get very smelly. You wouldn't want that with your isaw or atay!

Over barbecue, they bond.

Kuyahhhhhng is back!!!... For 2 weeks anyway before summer school starts. Alyssa will join him in Ateneo starting this year and them two shall be bestfriends in no time. (Already, they're cringing at the thought :D


Make-all-you-can sawsawan! Iana nearly blinded herself with all the sili she squeezed and forced into that bowl.

P2 puso, which is a very sad thing because that's not too heavy to shell out. Your mentality would hypnotize you into eating all you can as it is that (so-called) "reasonably priced". Gr (wait 'til it adds up). And that it is that small would fool any dieter into thinking, 2 small pusos plus 2 small pusos equal to 1 cup of rice. Yeah, right.

Chicken Barbecue, P25-P30.
Batikun (Chicken Gizzard), P15-P20.
Chicken Skin (a must!), P2-P4.

(Price range given as I'm not sure what the exact price is. I did not bring a wallet to our barbecue session so I had no business joining in the calculation and anxiety over the total bill. That's how I get away, which they call mean ;)

What's barbecue without isaw? P3-P4.

Happy face. After the meal, we counted how many sticks each of us finished. Shamefully, I came up with the biggest number, at 15.

Busog faces. 2 bottles of 1L Sprite (but ofcors!). 20 pusos. 2 sticks of Chicken Barbecue. 30 sticks of Chicken Skin. 20 sticks of isaw. 6 sticks of Chicken Gizzard. Whew.


Must-visit in Ormoc: barbecue-han at the City Plaza. Ditch your diet and see what P10m supposedly looks like. That is, if you're not already a P10millionaire.

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Special request.

Stations of the Cross

(It's not quite right that the name of the priest integral to this post, and even the name of the Hermitage, escapes me now, so I apologize in advance.)

So the story goes that an Italian priest touring the country paid a visit to the Hermitage in Kananga, Leyte and fell in love with it. When he went back to Rome, he sent over money to the sisters in the Hermitage to have sculptures built in the forested area next to them chronicling the Stations of the Cross. In local currency, the money totaled a million, and back in Rome, the depletion of his entire life savings. Humbly, he told Mother Tita, the Mother Superior, "Sister, I'm a pauper now."

Last week, pop invited all of us to the Hermitage, for our yearly homage to the walk that Jesus was made to do to His death thousands of years ago. The construction was recently finished. I found that the life-sized structures are not without flaws. They are not works of art. You will likely spend a lot of time studying the curves dulled or overdone by the concrete works.

But the generosity was not made in vain. At the end of the homage, I was slightly reeling from the resonance of the meditation that pop read before each Station. The significance after all is in these meditations. It is after all, in our remembrance of the sacrifices that Jesus walked through, and not in the aesthetics of the commemoration.

Thank you, to the pauper priest from Rome, whoever you are. By giving these gifts so we will never forget, I believe you will always have your mark in this Hermitage, as it had left its mark on you.

The last Station.Each Station is enhanced by a landscape. There's a paved pathway that follows these Stations along the perimeters of the area. In the middle are grown gemelina trees, a collection of which imbue an enchanting atmosphere. It was a long but meaningful homage we did; and visually dramatic with the splendid natural landscape of fields and mountains, and not to mention the glorious sunset that visualtracked our own walk.This collection of gemelina trees is enchanting. I bet at night, it is enchanted.The hills are alive.Last note (by the toilet).

BTW: the Hermitage is very strict now. Ladies in jeans are not allowed, whoever benefactor you are.

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(These photos are not very good. In my next visit, I'll dare to take out my camera more.)