Drinking and eating in Dipolog

There are four things to do in this city. Shop, eat, drink and sing karaoke. There is not too much to say about the shopping here. I will leave that for another time. First let me say that eating and drinking is extremely cheap. It is very easy to be an addict!

I have my favourite restaurant here, Chicken-ati-atihan, which does the usual Filipino food. Plenty of rice which they do an unlimited offer with all meals. It is only plain rice but it is very good value for money. My favourite there though is the Shanghai Fried Rice which is around 79 pesos. Most meals are around 79 pesos my favourites are the sweet and sour pork or beef, they also do a very nice sisig dish. Other choices include a mixed seafood, shrimp rolls, chicken skins amongst others. Also try the Buko Pandan shake which is very refreshing and very sweet. You can get an unlimited ice tea there for about 50 pesos. Not always but often I like to eat the banana split. One thing that is not in short supply here is bananas.

You will rarely pay more than 500 pesos for a meal here and it is possible to eat for under 100 pesos. There are a number of fast food restaurants here. The best one is Chowking. This is Asian Food in a McDonalds style. They serve rice and noodles dishes from as low as 49 pesos. You should try the Buchi which is made from rice flour, mongo beans and sugar. There are also two Jolibee restaurants here, that is chicken a little like KFC. There are a number of places here to get Pizza but no Pizza Hut or Yellow Cab. The pizza is ok but pretty basic. There are also a number of places to get food quickly including a barbecue food area which is a little like a market with a number of vendors. A little smoky for me but the food is good. There are many street vendors selling barbecued banana, chicken claw, hot dogs, rice and adobo amongst others. If you can try the sour mango and shrimp.

One thing here is you will never go hungry even on a very small budget.

There me say about alcohol here. It is extremely cheap. A large bottle of rum will cost you around 65 pesos as will a 1 litre bottle of beer. I am not sure of any licensing laws here so it is easily available. Let me warn you though that the rum can be a little harsh. I rank half a bottle three days ago and still feel it on my belly!

The people here are very friendly and I have yet to encounter any problems here. I have on many occasions been offered a drink with the locals. On some occasions I have accepted the invitation without any problem. They always seem to treat you like an old friend. As I have mentioned before the people here are this city and this country's main asset.

There are a small number of foreigners here who seem to congregate at a local Chinese restaurant in the city, I am not aware of which one, on a Tuesday night. Life is good here for the foreigner who likes a peaceful simple life and I would recommend it to anyone.