Hibiscus in recovery

This is another late post of a draft I started right after the break. During the Christmas and New Year break, there was no one with the skill to tend the flower garden at our office. My colleague who developed the garden taught one of the maintenance staff on how to care for the hibiscus and roses. Unfortunately, that guy was transferred to another office so there wasn't anyone who could help with the plants. 

My colleague returned after the break and I saw him tending the garden, which we at the office cheerfully say we will name after him. The garden was actually damaged by a vehicle last year, which plowed into the plants. The garden has recovered since then and again is recovering. Here are photos of the various hibiscus varieties that are now in full bloom again.

I will occasionally share photos of these and the roses in future posts! 

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Back at Breakthrough for lunch

We just had to go to Arevalo to eat at either Breakthrough or Tatoy's. Breakthrough's menu has more items though and we didn't feel like eating chicken so we went to Breakthrough for a heartly lunch.

Diwal or angel wing clam is popular in the region. The best are supposed to be from Capiz, in Roxas City. This is supposed to be abundant in clean waters so if there is no or few diwal, then that means the waters are polluted. Its actually a good example of how we can gauge cleanliness in nature.

More diwal in another basket. 

Other live fish in the aquariums include lapu-lapu varieties and tilapia

Other food available and on display include grilled pork, vegetables, shrimps, etc. Of course, you can also order other items including pancit (noodles), drinks and dessert.

Variety of fish for 'paluto' including tangigue and managat.

A view of the beach, waters and Guimaras Island. Surprisingly, the weather was fair despite the approaching storm.

Another view of the beach. Noticeable is the cleanliness of both sands and water - a testament to Iloilo's commitment to clean-up. You can observe the same at Tatoy's, which is not far from Breakthrough.

Grilled tangigue, which is a variety of mackerel.

We saw that they had mangoes available at the counter. These are supposedly from Guimaras, which is famous for its mangoes. They are recognized to be of the highest quality among Philippine mangoes.

Halaan or clam soup just the way we like it. Perfect for rainy days.

My friends ordered crabs. You can select live ones from the tank at the restaurant and ask them to cook it the way you like them.

 

There's an FIC stand inside the restaurant for those who was some ice cream for dessert. Payment is separate from the restaurant bill. Its actually a good dessert for those who feel "umay" after eating a lot of tasteful food.

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Dinner at Ponsyon by Breakthrough at Plazuela

What to do at a city renowned for gastronomy but enjoy the food. Due to the inclement weather (there was a storm the past days), we decided to eat at a familiar place at Plazuela. Ponsyon by Breakthrough is conveniently located near where we are staying and serves items on the menu of its mother restaurant in Villa. They just don't have live seafood that you can choose from.

Baked scallops

Halaan soup as we like it

Grilled managat is something we regularly order. Managat is a variety of snapper that can be cooked in a variety of ways including sinigang (with soup) or steamed.

This was a really good dinner for our first night in Iloilo during this quick trip. 

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