The Vagabond Journals

City Gimiks: Krocodile Grille

amiel — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:49:57 +0000

Dinner @ Krocodile Grille

Friends bidding their farewells, another friend celebrating his birthday, and a lot of other friends just wanting to take a break from their strenuous work life. We found all of these as reasons to celebrate. So last October 23, 2009, we headed to a place where all of us can relax, enjoy what we want to enjoy (read: eat), talk as loud as we can, and have fun as much as we want to. Our chosen place for that night is Krocodile Grille, and it was just the place we wanted to be in.

Krocodile Grille is located at the 3rd level of Greenbelt 3 in Makati, which is probably one of the most agreeable place for our group in Alabang to meet up with our friends in Makati–although we prefer that they visit us in our place too every once in a while. But taking their hectic schedules into consideration, we really don’t have much choice but to travel all the way to the busy city just to celebrate with them.

Inihaw na Sampler

Aside from the convenient location, Krocodile Grille is also the ideal dining place for our group, who may be considered as a fun loving but budget conscious bunch. The restaurant offers mouth-watering Filipino foods in sumptuous amounts but in affordable prices. That night, we had more than enough of their mouth-watering dishes on our table. If I can remember it correctly (especially the count), we ordered 6 plates of Pork Sisig, 3 plates of Crispy Calamares, 2 plates of their Inihaw na Sampler, and 2 plates of chicken (don’t know the name as well). With 14 people sharing all of these foods, we ate about 3 to 4 times of what we would normally eat for a night. And despite all these, we didn’t leave the place with our wallets empty or with our craving for good food unsatisfied. Overall, it was one heck of a dining experience.

Pork Sisig

And speaking of an ideal place, Krocodile Grille is suited for our group for one more reason. In this restaurant, you can talk as loud as you can and laugh as much as you can with nobody minding that you are doing so. The place is noisy, so much noisier compared to the adjacent restaurant that is very quiet. But once you are in their table and having fun with your friends, you will no longer notice the noise. Instead, you become part of the noise. And for a rowdy bunch as our group is, we had little difficulty melding with the environment.

Crispy Calamares

More than satisfied with what we had that night, some of us went home immediately after the dinner. But for those in the group who would not be satisfied with just a satisfying dinner, the Krocodile Grille experience was just the starting point of our night. So in search for more adventure, we set off to a virtually unknown KTV after the dinner. And it was indeed an adventure. But my post would have to end here, so you’ll hear more of that adventure in my next post.

Peñafrancia Travelogue: Bigg’s Diner

amiel — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:21:03 +0000

Food. This is one of the many reasons why I always want to go home to Bicol. Not that our region has a claim to having the best cuisine in the Philippines. No. Some other region has already grabbed a claim to that. Probably it’s just because of the taste that I have grown accustomed to–the taste of food that I have grown to love. Whether it’s the simple home-cooked meal that my mother prepares, or the variety of meals served on the various restaurants in Naga City, I just can’t seem to have enough of the food whenever I go home.

So when I arrived at Naga City last September 17, I wasted no time in satisfying my cravings. At around 4:45 in the morning, shortly after we arrived at the Naga City Bus terminal, I and my brother immediately walked our way to the nearest restaurant of Bicolano fame–Bigg’s.

About Bigg’s

Bigg’s Diner is the biggest fast-food chain in the Bicol region, although they rightfully claim that they serve good food and not fast food. The restaurant, however, has not always been known by the name it has today. And while they may now be considered as the most successful fast-food chain in the Bicol Region, the Bicolano restaurant started small.

The fast-food chain traces its roots to the Mang Donald’s burger stand that opened in 1983. It was an instant hit among Naguenos, both because of its tasty burgers and its catchy name. However, it was the same catchy name that forced the burger stand to cease its operation due to legal suits.

In 1984, the owners of Mang Donald’s conceptualized Nalds, this time catering to the city folks who would rather have goto and dinuguan than burgers and other American food fares. Like Mang Donald’s, Nalds was a hit. When 1990 came, the creative minds of the Nalds’ owners again came up with a new concept–a restaurant that offers a fun dining experience with services nearing fast-food criteria in quickness. And like their previous ventures, the new concept was again embraced whole-heartedly by Naguenos.

From Carl’s Diner, the name again changed in 1994 to Bigg’s Diner. From 1996 onwards, the restaurant started to expand outside Naga City. Today, the fast-food chain has various branches in the neighboring municipalities and provinces. But through all these changes and expansions, the quality and taste of the food they offer remained the same.

First Stop

Tired from the trip home to Naga City, all we wanted was a simple, hot breakfast to energize us. We also want our meals to be affordable–I only had around P150 on my wallet at that time. So when we entered the Bigg’s outlet along Panganiban Drive, we ordered what we could afford–goto. And as expected from the restaurant, we were greatly satisfied.

That fateful early morning, however, was not the last time that I visited Bigg’s in my short stay in Naga City. On September 20, we again visited Bigg’s Diner, this time on their newest branch on the ground floor of SM City Naga. And during my second visit, I made sure I have more money in my wallet to spend. The downside however is that by that time, I also had more companions to treat.

Bigg’s Fave Food

So what’s my favorite Bigg’s meal? I love a lot of food on their menu, but for my favorite, I’ll have to pick their Tenderloin Tips with Baked Mashed Potato. As I’ve described it on my other blog, it tastes like a delicious serving we once had at an outback restaurant in Manila, but at around a tenth of the price. Great food at an affordable price, I would say.

But aside from the Tenderloin Tips, I also love other things on their menu. Also making it to my top 5 would be the Bigg Deal (BBQ, Chicken, spaghetti & Garlic Bread), Franks n’ Egg, Pork Kebabs, and Pork Cordon Bleu. Another thing that I like is their hot chocolate, although I would wish that they put it in a larger cup.

Biggs Locations

Now, if you are in Naga City and you want to taste for yourself the food choices I listed in this post, you can find Biggs in 6 different locations: near the Bicol Medical Center (BMC), on Elias Angeles Street fronting the Plaza Quince Martirez, at SM City Naga, along Panganiban Drive fronting St. John Hospital, near Advent Theater, and on Jacob Street in front of Universidad de Sta. Isabel. Aside from these Naga City branches, Biggs also has branches in Pili, Iriga City, and Goa, all in Camarines Sur. Farther south, you can also enjoy Biggs dining at their branches in Daraga, Old Albay and at the Pacific Mall in Legazpi City.

About Bigg’s

First Stop

Bigg’s Fave Food

Bigg's Tenderloin Tips w/ BMP

Bigg’s Locations

Now, if you are in Naga City and you want to taste for yourself the food choices I listed in this post, you can find Bigg’s in 6 different locations: near the Bicol Medical Center (BMC), on Elias Angeles Street fronting the Plaza Quince Martirez, at SM City Naga, along Panganiban Drive fronting St. John Hospital, near Advent Theater, and on Jacob Street in front of Universidad de Sta. Isabel. Aside from these Naga City branches, Biggs also has branches in Pili, Iriga City, and Goa, all in Camarines Sur. Farther south, you can also enjoy Biggs dining at their branches in Daraga, Old Albay and at the Pacific Mall in Legazpi City.

Peñafrancia Travelogue: The Journey Home

amiel — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:03:05 +0000

I am supposed to chronicle my travels in this blog shortly after I had them. But since any plan of travel is a far-fetched aspiration at the moment (budget concerns), and since I have been very lazy lately to write about my latest travels immediately, I would just be sharing with you a not-so-recent travel I had. Just to post something in this blog, that is.

So in the next few posts, allow me to share with you my latest travel back to my home city for the Peñafrancia Fiesta. And let me start by sharing with you my journey home.

I went home to Naga City last September 16 in what might have been the fastest travel time to the city that I had in recent years. Leaving the Cubao Bus Station at 8:45 in the evening, we arrived in Naga City just before the break of dawn at 4:30 AM. That’s 15 minutes less than the normal travel time of 8 hours, and much less than the 10 hours of travel I had been experiencing in the last three years whenever I go home.

All these thanks to the strict schedule compliance of Isarog Bus Lines, owner of the bus we boarded on our way home. Arriving a few minutes before 8:45, we were actually the last persons they were waiting for before leaving the station. Then, at exactly 8:45, we left the bus station, traveling smoothly until we reached our destination, stopping only once for a stop-over in a McDonalds parking lot somewhere in Batangas.

Aside from the bus company, I may also have to thank the seamlessly traffic-free road that we passed through on our way home. Even EDSA had very little traffic that night.

Lastly, I may also have to thank the congressmen of Camarines Norte and the 1st district of Camarines Sur for a splendid job in prioritizing the repair of the roads in their areas. Although the roads still pale in comparison to the roads up North, there has been a great improvement compared to the quality of the roads I have been passing through in the last few years. Gone were the bump-causing crater-like holes of the past that will keep you awake early in the morning as you pass by them.

So with all these conveniences, I arrived in Naga City on September 17, ready to enjoy the next 5 days of festivities and rest. In my next posts, I will share with you my activities to rediscover the culture of my home city. But should you rather discover the rural charms of our little city and experience the “Maogmang Lugar” on your own, have a head start by checking out this list of bus and airplane companies servicing the roads and airways to our city.

List of Bus Companies

Isarog Bus Line Contact No: +632.913.3551

Penafrancia Tours Contact No: +632.913.1528

Philtranco Contact No: +632.853.5220

List of Airlines

Cebu Pacific website: www.cebupacificair.com

Philippine Airlines website: www.philippineairlines.com

Air Philippines website: www.airphils.com

So in the next few posts, allow me to share with you my latest travel back to my home city for the Peñafrancia Fiesta. And let me start by sharing with you my journey home.

Aside from the bus company, I may also have to thank the seamlessly traffic-free road that we passed through on our way home. Even EDSA had very little traffic that night.

List of Bus Companies

Isarog Bus Line Contact No: +632.913.3551

Penafrancia Tours Contact No: +632.913.1528

Philtranco Contact No: +632.853.5220

List of Airlines

Cebu Pacific website: www.cebupacificair.com

Philippine Airlines website: www.philippineairlines.com

Air Philippines website: www.airphils.com

starting anew

amiel — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:02:11 +0000

I’m done with the old, so I’m starting with the “not as old as the old one”. Hehe. Confusing? I bet it is. I myself am confused with my first line. Actually, I don’t really understand what I have just written. Hehe.

Well, all I wanted to say is that I am starting anew with new posts on a blog site that is not quite new but then not as old as my previous blog. Still confusing? Well, this blog has been sitting around idle for some time now. It had two entries as of November 2008, but I have not updated it ever since. And since I’m tired with my old blog (actually, I’m dumping it because its PR rating has dwindled to 2/10 when I proudly wrote there that it was at PR4 some months or years back.. hehe), I am trying to revive this one. Hopefully, it will fare better than the other blog. And hopefully, I would be more dedicated to update this site more frequently.

Well, that’s it for my quite long re-introduction of this blog. And I think it’s pathetic that I am introducing this blog on this site and not on another site. Hehe. Well, that’s it. Read my posts soon!!!

**By the way, I deleted the two blog posts that I mentioned previously in this post. I thought it better to start with a clean blog.