About Anything and Everything: April 2011

Zamboanga City: Eats!

Aside from the ever-so present Jollibee, Chowking, Mang Inasal, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts etc...the 2 restaurants that make it to the top Zamboanga google list are Alavar's and Hai San.

Based on my experience, Hai San wins hands down...if there's a contest. We had the most horrible experience with Alavar's bad service. The restaurant was obviously undermanned and the staff get easily confused in taking orders...and the follow up for such orders. We were optimistic despite the bad service because the food could save the day...but no. The food was just so-so, even the much-talked about Crabs in Alavar Sauce. Maybe we expected too much but then... To make it even worse than it already was, our order came in one at a time in 5-minute intervals. You should not do that to a starving bunch. Anyways, I didn't bother to look for the Alavar sauce to take back home to Manila because I've had better crabs in other sauces. Now, that made me crave for home-cooked adobong alimango with lots of aligue.

Hai San is like Dampa where you pick seafood and meat and then have it cooked the way you like it. The staff were attentive. Our orders were done after 20 minutes as they promised...and all the orders were served at the same time. We enjoyed our lunch and didn't pay as much as we did in Alavar's.

ALAVAR'S

Blah...err...clam soup

Baked imbao, I loved this, finished 2 orders

So-so calamares

So-so buttered prawns

This is chopsuey, I don't know why.

Grilled fish...they all taste the same anyway

Crabs in Alavar sauce...i've had better.

HAI SAN

Fish?

Crabs...shells?

Squid...prawns?

Fried tofu

Clam (bamboo shell) soup, yummy!

Adobong pusit, yummy!

Garlic pepper bamboo shells, yummy!

Ginger crabs, yummy!

Garlic butter prawns, yummy!

Sizzling tanigue

Steamed lapu-lapu, yummy!

Zamboanga City: The Greater Sta. Cruz Island (Pink Beach)!

After making sure that there’s a boat that would take us to Sta. Cruz Island, we went straight to the tourism office in Paseo del Mar to arrange for our security escort. It is required if you want to tour the island. Let’s just say that due to numerous kidnapping incidents in Zamboanga and other nearby areas, security has to be really tight.

It’s a short 20-minute trip to Sta. Cruz Island but it’s interesting to see 2 helicopters hovering in the area. Familiar with the Balikatan exercises? It so happens that the smaller Sta. Cruz Island is the military installation and site for the military exercises between American and Filipino forces. And that explains why the smaller island is off-limits. Sayang, considering that the area is known to be a very good snorkeling site.

The pink sand is really noticeable upon our arrival in the greater Sta. Cruz Island. We looked closely and the pinkness is due to the mixture of pulverized red coral and white sand (or another pulverized white coral?). The rare bright red organ-pipe coral (Tubipora Musica) is responsible for the coloration effect that earned the island its moniker, the Pink Beach.

But other than the pinkness of the sand, I can’t find any other nice thing to say about the beach. Because for one, it’s not ideal for swimming especially for kids because the sea bed suddenly drops to a depth that I don’t even want to know. The heavily damaged coral reefs that’s to blame for the very few fishies that we saw upon snorkeling. And the critters…like sea insects, (oh they’re nasty!) that kept on feasting on our bodies while we’re submerged in water.

Being included in the list of the few pink sand beaches in the world, I think the Zamboanga City government should do something (or maybe a lot) to give life back to Sta. Cruz Island. The preservation of the coral reefs and the assurance of tourist security will definitely beef up tourism in this once famous tourist destination. I’m just pessimistic about the preservation part because as I’ve seen it, there are no more to corals preserve. Sigh!

Our dependable escort

See the chopper that's about to land in the smaller Sta. Cruz Island?

You can't have just one helicopter scouring the area, right?

Look closely...

The red pipe coral that makes the sand pinkish

The snorklers...were disappointed :-(

See the lone fish? And the sudden drop considering that it's just a few meters away from shore

Sellers of pearl and coral accessories...

Cottages by the beach

Zamboanga City: Jardin de Maria Clara and Pasonanca Park!

Jardin de Maria Clara is a garden park where you’d find many varieties of flowers such as hibiscus (gumamela) etc. It was named after the late Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat. There’s also an aviary and a butterfly garden. We did not stay long because of the scorching heat.

Just stone’s throw away from Jardin de Maria Clara is the Pasonanca Park where the famous tree house sitting on an acacia tree can be found. A well-known landmark that’s always open to the public. It’s said that you can ask permission from the mayor’s office if you want to stay in the treehouse for a night. We didn’t ask because we are a kapre-fearing Catholic bunch. Lol! Pasonanca Park’s construction is said to be started by Governor John J. Pershing.

Right beside the tree house is the Zamboanga Headquarters of the Boy Scout of the Philippines. There’s also a camp site with rows of teepees. But I was kind of more interested in the neglected building right across from the tree house. I suspect that it used to be a casino but judging the design of the building, considering that it’s already rundown…it must have been a really flashy building back in the day. Wonder what happened? Hmmm.

Zamboanga City: Freedom Park and Mt. Pulong Bato!

Next stop was Barangay Abong-Abong where the Freedom Park is. The Park is home to some military relics, large guns and a tomb for an unknown soldier. It’s also the final resting place of the late Mayor Cesar Climaco, the beloved politician of Zamboanga who was assassinated in 1984. The name is familiar because it was one of the numerous film biographies made in the 90s. I googled Mayor Climaco’s name and read about his life…if even half of what I read about him is true then curse those who killed him but then the killers must be dead at this time so…ay naku, mahirap talaga maging mabuting tao!

The Park serves as the jump off point to Mt. Pulong Bato…it’s a very steep climb to the vantage point but you can already offer the hike as your penance as you can see the 14 stations of the cross along the way. I tell you that it’s really exhausting but seeing the huge cross overlooking the city and Basilan Strait was so worth the climb. Do not forget to bring a large bottle of water, a face towel and an extra shirt, trust me…you will need all of it.