Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Al Dente
Sarabia Manor Hotel, General Luna St
T
033
336 7183,
W
sarabiamanorhotel.com.
Stylish, reason-
ably priced Italian restaurant serving tasty herb-roasted
chicken (P155) and a range of delicious pasta dishes
(P145-175).
Daily 11am-10pm.
Bluejay Coffee
Smallville Commercial Complex,
Diversion Rd
T
033 333 3961,
W
bluejaycoffee.com.
Bluejay
has moved from its central location to Smallville,
but it still offers the same relaxed blend of comfy chairs and
tasty food. The chunky apple and tuna salad sandwich
(P120) is excellent, as is the coffee (P50-130).
Mon-Sat
6am-midnight, Sun 8am-midnight.
★
with its mouthwateringly good-value daily lunch and
dinner buffets. Over forty dishes are on offer, including
green mango salad, chicken
Inasal
(marinated and grilled
- an Iloilo speciality), BBQ pork and a delicious dessert
line-up. Your thirst can be quenched by the huge selection
of imported beers and staff are upbeat to the point that
they dance while they mop.
Daily 11.30am-2.30pm &
5.30-10.30pm.
Green Mango
Plaza Libertad; E. Lopez St, Jaro; SM City
Mall, Diversion Rd;
T
0920 945 9406,
W
greenmango
.ph.
Trendy Ilonggo fast-food chain with several branches
around the city, including one in Jaro Plaza and another
in SM City Mall. The extensive menu covers everything
from chicken or
bangus
barbecue (P69) to noodles (P60),
pandesal
(P39) and
halo-halo
(P55-75).
Daily 8am-8pm.
Ted's Oldtimer Lapaz Batchoy
Valeria St & SM City
Mall
T
033 337 9817.
Though the precise origins of this
famed Illongo dish are something of a mystery,
Ted's
, open
since 1945, is without question
the
place to get an authentic
helping of Ilonggo
batchoy
(P70). There's another branch on
the ground floor of SM City Mall.
Daily 8am-8pm.
6
Buto't Balat
Solis St
T
033 509 6770.
A haven of
tropical tranquillity and greenery in the midst of the
downtown mayhem, this popular restaurant offers
candlelit dining under thatched cabana
s
surrounding a
small pond. Dishes to try include chilli shrimps (P245),
pork Bicol Express (P175), beef
kare-kare
(P285), or there's
fish by weight.
Daily noon-midnight.
★
Freska
Smallville Boardwalk, Diversion Rd
T
0922
845 5260.
Freska
continues to make Illonggo dining easy
DIRECTORY
Banks
There are countless banks with ATMs. BPI and PNB
both have branches on Plaza Libertad and General Luna St,
there's a Metrobank on Iznart St and there are also ATMs
in the malls.
Hospital
St Paul's Hospital is at the eastern end of
General Luna St (
T
033 337 2741), towards the junction
with Bonifacio. Dr Iloilo Doctors' Hospital is a 5min
drive to the west of the city centre in Timawa Ave (
T
033
337 7702).
Immigration
The Bureau of Immigration (
T
033 509
9651) is at the Old Customs House on Aduana St.
Internet access
All of the big malls have internet cafés,
including Netopia on the second floor of SM City, or you
could try Tavern Cyber Café at the
Riverside Inn
on General
Luna St, or Shark Byte Café on Yulo St (9am-7pm; P15/hr).
Pharmacies
There are pharmacies in every mall. There's
also a large branch of Mercury Drug opposite St Paul's
Hospital on General Luna St.
Police
The main city police department is in General Luna
St (
T
033 337 5511).
Post
Iloilo's main post o
ce is in Muelle Loney St, close to
the junction with Guanco St.
The south coast
Heading southwest from Iloilo City along the coastal road - the only road - takes you
through the atmospheric Spanish-era towns of
Oton
,
Tigbauan
,
Guimbal
,
Miag-ao
and
San Joaquin
. Each has an historic
church
, notably the Tigbauan's Baroque example
(22km from Iloilo City) and, 13km further on, Guimbal's Catholic church, which
stands close to a number of ruined seventeenth-century watchtowers.
Miag-ao Church
Pride of place along the southwest coast goes to
Miag-ao Church
(also known as the
Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva), 40km from Iloilo and built by the Augustinians
between 1786 and 1797 as a fortress against Moro invasions. Declared a national
landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the church is built of a local yellow-
orange sandstone in Baroque-Romanesque style, a unique example of Filipino Rococo.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
THE SOUTH COAST
By car
The easiest way to visit the church towns of the
southwest is to hire a vehicle and driver in Iloilo for a
day-trip, which should cost around P2500.
By bus and jeepney
If you have time, it's also simple
enough to travel between the towns by public transport.
All buses from Iloilo City bound for San Joaquin (1hr)
