Travel Negros Island, Philippines and discover great art, food, and beer

In this post we venture out of the box onto the largely unbeaten path of traveling around one of the lesser known islands in the Philippines. Negros Occidental and Oriental - all part of Negros island have a lot to offer, in many case without the touristy buzz (like Boracay, El Nido, and Coron) but with the great food, beer, and astonishing art.

So sit back, and start to learn about Negros - sugar capital of the Philippines and about Bacolod City and Dumaguete City.

Just Been There Art

Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store. Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site.

 

Early Morning at the Market

 

All art copyright by: Christine Ong-Dijcks 

Bacolod City - City of Smiles

The most common place to arrive is likely going to be Bacolod City. It is the capital and has a ton of flights from Manila (NAIA) on Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and Air Asia. And so lets start with some good places to go and eat in Bacolod.

The Art District 

Anchored by the Orange Project art gallery, this city block sports a barber, a couple of restaurants (try Tropicalia Pizza!), a coffee shop, a tattoo parlor, and tons of public art and art spaces.

 

 

Check the opening hours, as this place comes to life in the (late) afternoon and the evenings, with all sorts of fun stuff going on. You'll be one of the cool kids when walking around here, and do bring some money, because there is a ton of talented artists showing their work across Orange Project, and some of the other art spaces.

And a must eat is right across the street, at the Shell gas station... yes, really, I'm encouraging you to go across Santa Clara avenue and eat at a gas station. The place is Banh Mi Kitchen, and this is their new location (they moved from another Shell station a bit further down). Their Banh Mi is really nice, crunchy bread, and I like the Samgyupsal Kimchi one... others love the Spicy Lechon Belly. And, the junior is small... so unless you want a small snack go with Full Size. If you don't want to eat there, there is a Banh Mi Kitchen branch/stall at the main SM mall in Bacolod.

More Food

A couple of other favorites to eat at are: Hanok Korean and Golden Fortune Chinese with a seafood specialty. At Golden Fortune their Suahe (shrimp) and steamed fish (lapu-lapu) are specialties and favorites. Most other dishes are quite good as well. 

 

Coffee, a old time favorite is Kuppa and then in its main branch (not the mall stand - which of course is in SM) in its pretty, modern building with fine coffees and wonderful atmosphere. And for amazing cakes and baked goods visit Ann Co Cakes just north of the art district. Ann Co Cakes has a few branches (the other one is in Silay) and all of them feature interesting art work.

To see and do in Bacolod and Surroundings

When in Bacolod, start with the art district, and then venture to a number of other places, including:

• Negros Museum - in downtown Bacolod
  
• Ancestral houses (in Silay) - Balay Negrense
• The Ruins - historic site in Talisay
• The malls, including SM, Ayala, and the now (2024 - 2025) renovating Robinsons are some prime, typical Asian malls
  

And there are a number of highland resorts if you are looking for some cooling down, including Campuestohan for younger visitors as it has a nice water park. Ilaya Highland Resort is a nice relaxing place with amazing views.

Dumaguete

On the opposite side of Negros (Oriental vs. Occidental) is the city of Dumaguete. Everyone who is into diving should become familiar with this place as it is close to many wonderful dive locations, including Apo Island and Siquijor. 

This post describes a few places - likely a bit off the grid - to eat and enjoy life in Dumaguete. For anyone that goes diving, a few resorts are called out at the end as well. Note that most are outside the city proper in towns like Dauin.

Food in Dumaguete

We had the luxury of having some of the locals take us to some nice places to eat. And, quite honestly, the first one looked a bit off... a it is in a hotel near the airport and across from the Ang Tay golf course. 

Dumaguete Royal Suite Inn

Now, if you are going here, you go for a singular reason, the Sizzling Bulalo. What is that you ask? Only a picture can give this dish true meaning, so see below for the sizzle.

Sizzling Bulalo

What is it you ask? It is basically a cow leg, with gravy and cheese, on a hot sizzling plate. The meat is super tender, add a bit of Knorr and some Tabasco with the gravy and it is very tasty! Now, if you enjoy the cartilage and stuff, this is heaven. But even for those who like their meat a little more lean, there is plenty to enjoy. Make sure to add Chopsuey and some rice, to balance the protein overload, and there is your meal for the day.

The other wonderful place we enjoyed - literally everything on the menu is amazing - is a restaurant called Esturya Sa KRI.

It is listed as a Tapas & Bar, but has pizzas (the truffle pizza is very good!), main dishes, burgers and more. It has a good wine list, and like I said, the food is genuinely amazing! It well worth going, but I would assume you want to make a reservation... so give them a call.

Unassuming but Amazing - Esturya Sa Kri

And then lastly, if you are for a local adventure, visit the boulevard or the main drag in the city and see if the market is up. There are a number of stalls, and we did the fish and chicken booth. Sat down under the canopies and had a great meal. Expect basicely fresh, grilled fish, chicken Inasal (from Bacolod) and more stuff like that.

Food at the Market - Boulevard

And then we ended the food trip for that evening at Sans Rival Bistro. Some of us had cake, and others enjoyed a drink in the outdoor bar. Personally, I love the outdoor bar, with it's pretty tiles and people watching location on the boulevard.

Local Craft Beer

And the Sans Rival outdoor bar is a great introduction into the craft beer scene. And this one is very local, so it will take a taxi or driving up there to go and get back into the city again.

Hidden away - Apolong Brewing

Apolong is a father and son - oh and the rest of the family will be present to serve you some delicious Mexican food - brewing hobby that turns into a destination with live music on the weekends. It is very local, but as with the other places, worth the trek into the hills.

The beer and other drinks menu at Apolong

The Farmhouse Ale is the local favorite, but I personally really enjoyed the Sunset Amber. Others in the party did try the excellent Dragon's Blood Margarita. We did eat a bunch of the food, which is very nice as well. And with the beer, makes this a nice weekend destination.

Dive Resorts

We did a day trip - as we do not actively dive - to enjoy the beach, the ocean, and a bit of the pool. And of course, we did eat and drink while at the resort. I mean, c'mon what else does one do in the Philippines...

Pretty picture - dive boats in Dauin

As mentioned before, you'll find a ton of resorts in Dauin, ranging in price from very expensive to basic and affordable. We did do a day trip to a more high-end resort: Atlantis Dive Resort and Liveaboard. The dive boat picture is taken from the resort.

The resort is very pretty (see their website). We really enjoyed the restaurant, which is directly on the beach, and serves some delicious meals. They also have a good selection of local craft beers on tap and an astonishing list of single malt and blended whiskeys. 

As we walked along the beach - note, the color is more black than white - you will see a number nice resorts. All with a slightly different look and feel to them. Check them all out online, and get ready to dive.

Roadhouse

As we drove across the island, from Bacolod to Dumaguete and back, we also had to stop a few times. Since we left early in Bacolod, we arrived in San Jose around noon. And of course, we had to stop and, eat something!

Jo's by the Sea

We stopped at Jo's by the Sea, and as one of travel companions mentioned, you can get mountain vibes when driving up the hill or beach vibes when you go to their beach front property. As you can see from the picture above, we ended up with the mountain vibes in this case. Technically, it is called Jo's Garden Restaurant...

We enjoyed the nibbles, like the grilled squid and the squid rings. The lumpia was a bit salty, but it is a nice big portion. So wash it down with a San Mig Light and you are in business.

And if you do the drive, we and some others stopped at Kalan-an sa Buntod, which is, shall we say... rustic? It is a local joint on the main road across the island.

The place is definitely rustic, and the bathrooms are not the greatest in the world. But, the drinks are very good. A decent americano and a number of other espresso drinks, as well as some good shakes. The food is basic, cheap, and pretty ok.

And, that is that for this post. Go out and explore the Philippines outside of the known spots. You will find some amazing food, beer, and wonderful people.