Dumaguete’s signature dessert, Silvanas
TALK about Dumaguete City and what comes to mind are Silliman University, the promenade along the main road of Rizal Boulevard, and the signature pasalubong items from Dumaguete, Silvanas and Sans Rival.
During our recent stay in Dumaguete City, where Sta. Monica Beach Club served as our host and home for three beautiful days, my husband Raff and I, along with a group of media friends — Tribune’s Earl Bracamonte, Manila Standard’s Maan Pamaran, Philippine Star’s Lester Hallig, Manila Bulletin’s Ronald Jayme, Manila Times’ Sheila Mañalac, and View’s Glaiza Lee — we got to visit all these iconic places in Dumaguete and discover even more about the City of Gentle People.
SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY
First things first. After settling in Sta. Monica Beach Club and enjoying its food and amenities, it’s time to start exploring the city proper, and first thing on the agenda was a visit to Silliman University. It seems that everybody who hails from Dumaguete City has something to do with Silliman University because it is the prime educational institution in the city and has produced some of the country’s most brilliant literary minds.
Silliman University has produced some of the country’s most brilliant minds
The Promenade along Rizal Boulevard in Dumaguete City resembles the scenic Roxas Boulevard in Manila
One of the most photographed and photograph-able spots along Rizal Boulevard in Dumaguete
Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres along Rizal Boulevard
Silliman University is located right in the heart of the city, right along the main road of Rizal Boulevard, which is very similar to Manila’s Roxas Boulevard, as it stands right along the bay. In the case of Dumaguete’s Rizal Boulevard, it overlooks Tañon Strait and is lined with a scenic promenade that allows people to simply stroll along the boulevard, relax by the bench and marvel at the horizon, look out to sea and identify the neighboring island of Siquijor. The promenade — the long stretch of it — lined with lamp posts.
At one end of the promenade, visitors can find the “I Love Dumaguete” signage, a favorite place for tourists to pose for pictures. A little further on is the Tempurahan, an al fresco dining area where people enjoy bites of heavily battered, deep-fried tempura, which is Dumaguete’s signature street food.
The sprawling campus of Silliman University is within walking distance from the “I Love Dumaguete” sign and the Tempurahan. We talked to the guard and asked if we could enter and just take pictures, and he allowed us in. While there, we chanced upon some homecoming ladies who were placing floral arrangements at the foot of Silliman University founder Horace Silliman, Ll.D.’s bronze bust in the garden and having their pictures taken. Silliman University was celebrating its 113th founding anniversary that week, and a lot of alumni had come home to join in the celebration. We were to return to the campus that evening to check out the anniversary fair that was taking place in the campus grounds, as our travel companions, Earl Bracamonte and Ronald Jayme, hail from Negros Oriental and are alumni of Silliman University.
The camaraderie and the vibrant school vibe was so invigorating, it was impossible not to catch on.
SANS RIVAL AND SILVANAS GALORE
Sans Rival and Silvanas are familiar refrigerated desserts that can be found everywhere, but in Dumaguete, they have become iconic desserts—thanks to the following that Sans Rival Bakeshop and Bistro has attracted through the years. Its versions of these two desserts are so good that you’d want to take them back to Manila with you as pasalubong for your family, loved ones and friends even if they’re a little delicate to handle.
Sans Rival’s Sans Rival (layers of meringue mixed with ground cashew, held together by the creamiest of butter mousseline with a generous sprinkling of cashew nuts on top) has been made into loaves, which are sliced very thinly when served to bring out the crunch of the meringue and the buttery goodness of its icing. It sells at Php310 per loaf and Php26 per slice. As for its Silvanas (thin meringue wafers smothered with melt-in-the-mouth butter cream filling then rolled in cookie crumbs), these have been made into small flat circles that come in Original Butter and Chocolate flavors at Php 15 and Php20 per piece or Php125 and Php180 per pack of 10, respectively.
Sans Rival Bistro can be found along Rizal Boulevard, right across the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres
Sans Rival
Spaghetti a la Puttanesca
Bistro Signature Burger with Crunchy Coleslaw
Spicy Chili-con-Carne Burger
Datiles con Chorizo
The bakeshop has spawned a bistro as well, so the place serves savory dishes apart from its Sans Rival, Silvanas and other delicious cakes. It has an extensive menu of burgers, pasta dishes, soups, salads, tapas, paella, pork, beef, chicken, fish and seafood entrées, and desserts. Making it to our table for snacks were Spaghetti a la Puttanesca (Php75), buttered noodles with green olives, mushrooms and anchovies in the sauce and topped with grated Parmesan cheese; Bistro Signature Burger with Crunchy Coleslaw (Php195), signature prime Wagyu beef burger served with crunchy coleslaw salad; Spicy Chili Con Carne Burger (Php60), burger topped with chili con carne plus an added bowlful to enjoy with tortilla chips; and Datiles con Chorizo (Php115), dates stuffed with chorizo and wrapped in bacon.
Sans Rival Bistro can be found right along busy Rizal Boulevard, just a stone’s throw away from Silliman University.
WAR MUSEUM
One important lesson to learn from World War 2 is that nobody wins in war. It is all destruction and pain, and nothing really good comes out of it. Glaring reminders of the war can be found at Cata-al World War 2 Museum, a private museum put together by private citizen Felix Cata-al in his backyard in Valencia, a town just off Dumaguete City. It consists of bombs, helmets, uniforms, medals, grenades, machine guns and magazines, and other war-time paraphernalia and mementos.
Part of the exhibit at Cata-al World War 2 Museum
American bombs
Japanese machine guns
Smaller bombs
Cata-al’s father, Porfirio Cata-al, was a policeman. When the Japanese arrived, his fatherwent up to the hills and lived the life of a guerilla.
Cata-al was 5 when he started collecting wartime memorabilia back in the 1960s. His collection began with his dad’s uniform and all equipment issued to him. The family’s tenant farmers started to unearth remains of Japanese soldiers as well as loads of Japanese wartime paraphernalia from their property in Valencia, and so he built his collection around that. The remains of the Japanese soldiers, though, were turned over to the Japanese government.
Although a private collection, Cata-al allows visitors to visit his museum as long as prior arrangements have been made, and quite a number of visitors in Dumaguete do make it a point to stop over and look at his vast collection when on a trip around the countryside.
“RED” WATERFALLS
Not too far from the Cata-al World War 2 Museum is Pulang Bato, Valencia, Negros Oriental, where two beautiful waterfalls can be found. What makes these waterfalls different is that the rocks around it are naturally colored red. This is because they’re located in the Red River Valley, where a Red Rock Hot Spring can also be found. What accounts for the natural red color is sulphur smoking out of a hill. There are a lot of roadside areas around the waterfalls where you can actually see small “mounds” of smoke steaming out of the ground.
Waterfalls at Pulang Bato, Valencia, Negros Oriental
SHOPPING FOR SOUVENIRS
For souvenir shopping, visitors in Dumaguete City usually hie off to the Negros Oriental Arts & Heritage (NOAH) in Bacong, Negros Oriental. It offers lots of lacquer jewelry boxes, artworks, woodcraft, local fashion jewelry and accessories, and table décor.
Negros Oriental Arts & Heritage (NOAH) for local handicraft and pasalubong items
Beautiful handmade jewelry boxes available at NOAH
Bongbong’s Piaya & Barquillos store at Robinsons mall in Dumaguete
Piayas are freshly made in the store
For food items to take home, visitors place advanced orders for Sans Rival and Silvanas with Sans Rival Bakeshop and Bistro, although others opt to go to the shopping mall and buy Piaya, Barquillos and other regional specialties. One such store that visitors frequent is Bongbong’s Piaya & Barquillos. The Piaya and Barquillos, plus Pinasugbu and other local delicacies, are not exactly from Dumaguete City. They are originally from Bacolod City, although they are now being made directly in the store so they’re freshly made and delicious when you buy them.
- to be continued -