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Central Pilinut Candy

Pili is a soft oily nut that has a mildly woody taste. It has almost the same texture as a pinenut. As Pili is grown in Albay, many pili products like marzipan are sold in the market.

I have tried many pili products but the best are those from the New Albay Central Pilinut Candy (CPC). I first learned about CPC from relatives who returned from Legaspi and brought back for me CPC products such as sugar coated Pili, Mazapan de Pili, Yema de Pili, Pili Butternut and plain Salted Pili.  As I was curious about that store, Boktor and I visited it briefly on our way back to Hotel Venezia. It was then that I discovered the roasted pili coated in butternut and sprinkled with sesame seeds, which is now my CPC favorite.

CPC is located along Rizal Street in the Old Albay District. The store is actually the living room of an old house. As you enter the house, there is a lanai with lounge chairs and a coffee table. Beside the lanai is the living room, the shelves  of which are filed with Pili products. Displayed on the walls are the pictures of the more popular customers of the  store. Of course, Boktor did not recognize Piolo Pascual.  He pointed to Piolo’s picture and asked me who that was. I looked at him strangely and said, “Hello???  That’s Piolo Pascual ‘no.”  Then, with a bewildered tone of voice, Boktor said, “Oh, ya.”  Obviously, Boktor does not know who Piolo is as he is not jologs like me.  (Read this and this to get a sense of  what jologs means.) (more…)

Monk:  Boktor just sent me a picture of the view from his room at Hotel Venezia.  Here it is…

Mt. Mayon:  The Elusive Superstar

Legazpi City, Philippines is on a plain.  From almost anywhere in Legazpi, you will see Mt. Mayon on a clear day.  It is a green mass rising from the ground to meet the sky.  Not being part of any chain of mountains, Mt. Mayon is solitary.  Mt. Mayon’s cone shape is almost perfect and it is undoubtably an active volcano.  Smoke plumes are seen coming out of its mouth. (more…)

The Hotel Venezia

Boktor and I were not expecting to be billeted in a fancy hotel.  Lucky for us, our hotel in Legazpi, the Hotel Venezia, surpassed our expectations.

Hotel Venezia is a three-minute ride away from the airport. Surprisingly, I never saw or heard any planes flying overhead. I was told that this is because the planes fly from the opposite direction of the hotel.  The hotel is located inside a quiet and well secured subdivision away from the busy streets of Legazpi. I was able to walk around the area without fear of being run over by cars or bothered by other pedestrians.

When Boktor and I got to the hotel, we checked-in and went directly to our rooms to unload our things. When I stepped inside my room, I immediately noticed that the room had already been cooled for me. I also saw that it was very clean and the layout was simple and made good use of the space. My room had a king-sized bed with white crisp clean sheet and huge fluffy pillows, an LDC TV, a desk, a coffee table, a comfortable arm chair and a closet. When I opened the closet to put my bag in, I was surprised to note that I was provided with a cotton robe (the one with the small square pattern), room slippers and a laundry bag. I was also pleased when I saw that there was a safe, a well-stocked mini-bar (I just like seeing that there are things to eat in the min-bar but I am not one to binge on mini-bar food) and a bathroom that had complete amenities like cotton buds, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, lotion, hair dryer, comb and shower cap.  My room had a veranda, and when I stepped out, I realized that my view was Mt. Mayon. Sadly, it was cloudy so I could only see parts of it. (more…)