“I’m glad I brought my snorkel.” I whispered to myself as our wooden boat slowed near the white sandy shore of Once Isla’s Bisaya-Bisaya Island in Zamboanga City. The water, deep green with hints of cerulean, was clear as crystal. I can see all the way to its coral-ridden bottom—I wanted to jump right there and then. I tried to get my camera from my bag to take a photo, but was just too darn clumsy, our boat’s bow was already crunching down on the sand as I freed it from my bag.

ZAMBOANGA HERMOSA FESTIVAL

Island hopping in Zamboanga City was the last thing on my mind when our plane landed on the city’s airport tarmac. We were here to witness the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival and eat—spell curacha and lechon. Yum! But yes, the city, indeed, has its share of white sandy paradise—well, pink to be more precise—with the nearby Zamboanga Santa Cruz Island. But really, that’s about it. Or so I thought.

Zamboanga City came as a surprise in terms of food. Its history as a former stronghold of Spain in Mindanao has indeed taken root in its cuisine, with Spanish dishes going alongside more local flavors from the Zamboanga Peninsula, the neighboring Sulu archipelago, and even Malaysia. It also helps that the area is near the sea, with harvest coming in abundantly—the city isn’t dubbed as the Sardine Capital of the Philippines for no reason.

During our weeklong escapade in the city, in between Zamboanga tourist spots, the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival, and an Once Islas island hopping adventure, we tried various restaurants serving everything from traditional Filipino and Moro cuisines, to Hispanic dishes, and even unique and tasty Zamboanga street food that can only be found on this part of the country.

It’s very easy to change plans without a fixed itinerary and zero sponsors, traveling suddenly begins to be mercurial once again. What should’ve been a straight ride from Rabat to Chefchaoen has been rerouted not once (see our Three Days in Asilah) but twice. The Spanish City of Tetouan reared its head as we were checking the bus route to the Blue City. Dubbed as the White City, Tetouan attracted us by a single thing, its medina’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From the language alone, we knew that we’re now on a different part of Morocco. From French in Casablanca, Rabat, and Sale, the lingua franca changed to Spanish once we arrived in Asilah. And along with the language, we expected the food to somewhat change a bit as well.

ROASTED CHICKEN IS A STAPLE ALONG THE SPANISH-SPEAKING AREAS OF MOROCCO

We had rice on our first meal in Asilah, so we’re definitely loving it here! We sat down at Ali Baba [35.463799, -6.037815], seeing their prices to be reasonable enough. We asked for turmeric fried rice paired with roasted chicken and fries (MAD 30.00 | USD 3.00)—a staple among the Spanish-speaking areas of Morocco. It was kinda strange since the menu was in French, but they were speaking to us in Spanish. Serving size is generous so we decided to scrimp and share. The roasted chicken is extremely flavorful, we decided to eat at the same restaurant the next day.

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I cannot remember how Asilah got squeezed in into our itinerary—a benefit of traveling for a long period in Morocco. We were supposed to head to Chefchaouen after staying in Rabat for three days but here we were, walking the final two kilometers from the train station to town—the sparkling sea on our right, a field of wildflowers with a couple of camels grazing on our left. It all sounds very beautiful and all, except we’re hauling all our belongings with us in the middle of the warm/cold Moroccan afternoon. This town better be worth it.

After having an introductory taste of Moroccan food during our four days in Casablanca, we wanted to advance our taste buds to a few more local dishes. Rabat was our second city for our month-long trip around the country, and its bustling old medina was the perfect grounds for another round of food tasting, Moroccan style.

Should we go? That was the question we were trying to answer as we dilly-dallied whether to cross the street onto the tram platform or go back the way we came. The town of Salé was only a few minutes away by tram, and why we were debating on whether we should visit or not, baffled even us. The deciding point was the tram fare, a measly MAD 6.00 (USD 0.60). We went.

ATYPICAL ALLEY IN SALE

Salé literally sits right beside Rabat, separated only by the Bou Regreg River. It is more of a residential city than Rabat, in fact, most people who work in Rabat lives in Salé. But surprisingly, tourists who visit Rabat, hardly ever take a quick side trip to Salé. Being indecisive ourselves, I really can’t tell why. Besides being older and more historic than Rabat, it’s just there!

Having spent four days in Casablanca—three days too long, according to legit traveler standards—we thought of skipping Rabat, Morocco’s capital city, and instead, head straight to Chefchaouen, the country’s famous Blue City. We’ve been reading a bit before going, and Rabat, being one of the four Imperial Cities of Morocco (the other three being Marrakech, Meknes, and Fes) and the UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription attributed to its medina and surrounding sites decided it for us. We’re going.

Our Rabat three-day itinerary basically went like this. The first day, half of which was spent transferring from Casablanca to Rabat, was spent roaming the northern side of the Old Medina—the cliffside area, lighthouse, beach, the kasbah, and parts of the medina. The second day, we went to the farther places in Rabat, visiting the Hassan Tower, the neighboring town of Sale, and the Chellah. On the third day, we roamed the Old Medina again right after breakfast, then prepared for our next destination, Asilah.

We eat almost anything. And during our Moroccan four-day Casablanca tour opener, we wolfed down every new thing we see, from McDonald’s burgers we haven’t seen elsewhere but in Morocco, to mystery meats being grilled along the corners of the medina. We really don’t have much money, so we almost exclusively ate along the streets and alleys of Casablanca. No fancy restaurants for us—even if we really wanted to. But okay, no, we don’t like eating on fancy restaurants, lol. We like to eat what the locals eat, and that includes fast food.

It was totally unexpected that we’d be scared of Casablanca. Isn’t it supposed to be all glorious beaches and syrupy romance? But that’s what we felt the moment we came out of the train that brought us from the airport to the Casa Port station. Without saying a word to C, she also sensed it. The guide books and blogs don’t mention it, but there’s something about this city that makes you keep your phone in your pocket and your cameras zipped tight inside your bag.

SUNSET AT CASABLANCA’S MEDINA

We arrived at Morocco’s largest and one of its oldest cities after a grueling twenty three-hour flight from Singapore to Casablanca via Jeddah. Tired but elated that we’re finally in Morocco, we stepped out of the plane and got the shock of our lives. It’s cold. Like sixteen degrees cold. Like total ignoramuses, we expected Africa to be hot, especially during the summer months. The summer months in South East Asia, that is. We’re in Northern Africa, dufus, and we didn’t have a single winter clothes with us.

Our favorite haunt for food when in Singapore are its hawkers. They’re cheap, readily accessible, and quite delicious. But sometimes, most especially when we’re with friends, we try out restaurants above our budgetary constraints. Well, when they treat us for meals. Another place we also frequent besides these are the numerous food courts usually found inside mall basements. While we still prefer Singapore hawkers over those two. It’s such a comfort to eat your favorite hot dishes on cool air-conditioned rooms, lol.

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ASIAN FOOD MALL AT LUCKY PLAZA

  ADDRESS: 304 ORCHARD ROAD | OPENING HOURS: 10:00 AM TO 10:00 PM | GPS MAP: 1.304334, 103.833757

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Lucky Plaza holds the number one spot for Filipinos in Singapore. And for this reason, Jollibee built its first outlet in the country inside its doors. It’s our go to spot, whenever we miss Chickenjoy during our annual two-month long summer trip (if we do drop by Singapore, that is).

In all fairness, even though their Jolly Spaghetti (SGD 4.50) doesn’t compare to the original ones in the Philippines, their Chickenjoy (SGD 7.00, 2 pieces), including their gravy, taste exactly like those in our home country.

Besides having Jollibee, the Lucky Plaza food court also has a lot of stalls selling what you’d normally see on a hawker center, sans the usual Singaporean warm weather. We were able to try a bowl of mee rebus and a plate of rendang. Like on most places, it can be a hit or miss. The former was a miss, the latter, a hit.

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ASIAN FOOD MALL AT THE BASEMENT OF LUCKY PLAZA

JOLLY HOTDOG, CHICKEN JOY, AND FRIES FROM JOLLIBEE

MEE REBUS AND BEEF RENDANG WITH RICE AND VEGGIES

 

 

TANGS MARKET AT TANGS PLAZA

  ADDRESS: 310 ORCHARD ROAD | OPENING HOURS: 10:30 AM TO 10:00 PM | GPS MAP: 1.304746, 103.832925

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I cannot remember why we ate at the Tangs Plaza food court which they dub as Tangs Market. It may be that it’s just a stone’s throw away from where we were staying, YOTEL Singapore, the last time we went to SG. My travel partner told me that I went hangry after visiting the Singapore Botanic Gardens and that’s where we were the moment my tummy rumbled.

Anyhoo. Their food court isn’t really that large, but selection was pretty okay. We went for Fei Siong’s Hainanese Curry Rice. We chose the chicken cutlet (SGD 4.30), the cheapest among the bunch. The photos advertising it looked much more delicious that it actually is, but really, it’s on the above average side.

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TANGS MARKET AT TANGS PLAZA ALONG ORCHARD ROAD

HAINANESE CURRY RICE FROM FEI SIONG STALL

 

 

TOAST BOX

  ADDRESS: EVERYWHERE IN SINGAPORE | OPENING HOURS: FROM 7:30 AM TO 10:00 PM

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One of our friends’ go to spot when in Singapore is Toast Box. Since they’re really not the most adventurous when it comes to food, the familiar name (since we used to have these in the Philippines), probably draws them. We’ve tried this popular Singaporean restaurant on their Marina Bay Sands and CHIJMES branches and their menu varies a bit from those in Manila.

My finger always lead me to point to their mee rebus (SGD 6.70) and laksa (SGD 6.80), while C usually goes for their mee goreng (SGD 6.20) which has luncheon meat included, and adds an order of traditional kaya toast (SGD 1.90). For drinks, their Milo Dinosaur (SGD 3.40) is the bomb.

TOAST BOX IN CHIJMES

SURPRISINGLY GOOD LOCAL DISHES AT TOAST BOX SINGAPORE

 

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I’ve been nagging my travel partner, like forever, for us to visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens every time we take a trip to the Lion City. She would say yes, but that would be it. We would always skip it on the itinerary. One time, she ‘fessed up, “what the heck are we gonna do there?” She exasperatedly asked me. Well. I really have no idea, I just wanted to see it since it’s the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Singapore. Honestly, I just wanted to cross it off my list of World Heritage Sites to visit, lol.

VISITING THE SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDEN, AT LONG LAST

So, after much more nagging, we finally went to the gardens, the oldest of its kind in Singapore, like 158 year-old old. This garden is older than my grandma’s rheumatic grandma. I was readying for a good belting of I-told-you-so, after our visit.

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