The Metropolitan Cathedral and Parish of St. John the Evangelist - Part 2

We were finally able to enter the cathedral on our next visit to Naga City. Here are photos from that trip, all taken in the morning. We actually did our morning walk around the city and our final stop was at the cathedral.

The Porta Mariae - he main gateway of the cathedral featuring an image of Our Lady of Penafrancia and two angels blowing trumpets.

The dome with the cathedral in the background

The cathedral is being repainted

A peak inside through the main door showing the main altar.

Large churches like this usually have one or more minor altars where prayers, novenas, other rites or even Masses may be held. Altars like this 

One of the main doors of the cathedral

Photo showing the expanse of the cathedral including the ceiling of this grand church.

A close-up of the main altar. Note that this is not the shrine or basilica to Our Lady of Penafrancia. The retablo is simpler and features the Crucifix, Mother Mary and St. John the Evangelist (who is also St. John of the Cross or San Juan dela Cruz, the beloved apostle).

I will share photos of the Shrine and Basilica in the next posts. 

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The Metropolitan Cathedral and Parish of St. John the Evangelist - Part 1

The seat of the Archdiocese of Caceres The Diocese of Nueva Caceres (Naga) was established in 1595 at the same time 3 others were established - the Archdiocese of Manila, the Diocese of Cebu, and the Diocese of Nueva Segovia (Vigan).

The dome across from the cathedral is where the image of Our Lady of Penafrancia is placed during the fiesta. There is a similar dome at the basilica grounds.

The present church was built in 1808 and consecrated in 1843.

Main gateway to the cathedral grounds

A closer look at the dome

The cathedral was already closed when we passed by. The facade at night is stunning.

Close-up of the main door of the cathedral, which is the seat of the Archdiocese of Naga.

Stained glass depicting the Holy Spirit as a dove.

Just across from the cathedral is the Archbishop's residence. Major Catholic schools are also nearby like the Ateneo de Naga, University of Nueva Caceres and Universidad de Sta. Isabel.

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Delicious Spanish bread in Naga City c/o Ednorm's Bakery

Yesterday, the wife sent me a link to a post of a popular chef checking out the Spanish bread in Naga City. The vlog identified the bakery's name so I was able to find it immediately on the map. It was along the same street as our hotel and right across the school where we had our meetings last week. Ednorm's Bakery is located at the ground floor of a house, probably a family business. Aside from the neighborhood, the schools nearby probably make them profitable.

The bakery is along Penafrancia Avenue and right across from BISCAST. There wasn't a long line for Spanish bread or pandesal. It was only 6AM on a Saturday and there was no school. We decided to pass by for our breads on our return. We were headed to the Penafrancia shrine and basilica on our morning walk yesterday.

There were breads on display and two of my favorites were available - star bread and pinagong. I got some of each aside from the Spanish bread.

We got a few to eat for our walk back to our hotel. Its small size makes you crave for more but I think its precisely the size that helps deliver the taste that's somewhat concentrated in this small sized serving.

Ednorm's Spanish bread is the real deal. I myself have tried Spanish bread in most cities I've went to and I would say this is the best so far. I think my only regret for this Spanish bread is that I only brought home a dozen pieces. This is a must try and must buy for those visiting Naga City. The people there probably think its ordinary because they're used to this but I'm sure that if they tried other Spanish bread elsewhere, they would remark that this one's better.

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A surprise find in Naga City - Cacaolat cocoa milk

The hotel where we stayed at in Naga City had a small convenience store near the parking area. We checkd it out for some snacks to enjoy while continuing our work at night. I was surprised to find this chocolate drink. Cacaolat is cocoa milk that's made in Barcelona, Spain. It wasn't expensive but I have not found this in other convenience stores; at least the major ones like Seven Eleven and Uncle John's. 

Cacaolat is supposed to have been made since 1933!

Ingredients and nutrition information

Information on the maker of this chocolate drink

Made in Barcelona, Spain (not Barcelona, Sorsogon)

This was surprisingly good compared to the typical chocolate drinks you'd find in convenience stores and supermarket shelves. I hope this is still available the next time I visit the convenience store.

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Pandesal in Naga City - Atlantic Bakery

My morning walks couldn't be complete without trying to find a bakery. I usually check out the breads available and purchase some of those I'm familiar with and like to eat. These include pandesal, monay, putok, pinagong, pan de coco and spanish bread. Sometimes I get monay, donuts or kalihim depending on whether I think they taste good based on their looks.

I passed this bakery located across from the public market and a monument. Their sign says "since 1966" so this is a relatively old business (older than me by 6 years).

There were a few customers that early morning buying hot pandesal from the bakery so I decided to buy some to eat back at the hotel.

The pandesal was good but this was the kind that you eat with some butter or perhaps dip in coffee or chocolate.

I will try the other bakeries in my next trip to Naga City, which is coming up this week. 

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Dinner at Bigg's in Naga City

We were able to visit the grounds of the Naga Cathedral just before it was closed. We just had to visit after our meetings as we didn't have the luxury of time during this trip to Naga City. The grounds are secured by 8:00PM while the church itself was closed just after 7:00PM. There were a few joggers on the grounds and they were winding down to exit as well. As we exited the compound, we navigated our way towards the city center (plaza) where the restaurants were located. We didn't get far when the rains started to fall but fortunately there was a Bigg's branch near one of the main gates of the cathedral. 

Their sizzling tanguige steak was good according to my friend

Fries as appetizer

Their version of tuna salpicao was good

The interior is set-up like a diner. There were few people so we can choose a nice table where our conversations aren't within earshot of others.

Our meals were served on a sizzling or hot plate with a paper cover similar to what they use at Pepper Lunch. The latter is to prevent diners from being burned by the hot plate.

 

It's a welcome break from the other fast food restaurants and perhaps a middle ground between fast food and the sit down restaurants you'll find around the city. It is good for a quick good meal or perhaps to wile away the time like what we did while we waited for the rains to pause to get back to our hotel.

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Snacks: Consilia Wafers Al Cacao

I was gifted with these wafers by a faculty member who traveled to Italy to attend a conference. While they seem like regular wafers, they turned out to be one of the best if not the best I've had.

Wafers with chocolate layers

Details on the chocolate are at the back of the pack.

Ingredients, nutrition information and info on the manufacturer

These are not items I would usually pick in a supermarket, grocery or store here or abroad. But if I do enjoy eating these from time to time. I thought the wafers themselves were on the crunchy and/or crispy side (malutong) so the packaging helped keep them in the best condition. The chocolate cream between the wafers were also of good quality and not too sweet. This could be a good snack or side to any drink, whether hot or cold.

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Chocolate review: Fleur de Sel Erable (Maple)

Here's a catch-up post as this one was drafted early last year (2024!). The chocolate was a souvenir brought by the wife from her trip to Montreal earlier. I've posted about another variant from Fleur de Sel

The chocolate is packaged very simply. You can see the chocolate through the transparent packaging (i.e., plastic wrap).

Close-up of the label indicating the maker's address and contact number

What looked like a regular chocolate bar from one side of the package is actually a more complex one with nuts and sea salt bits.

Details on the chocolate include its having a minimum of 60% cacao.

Nutrition information

This chocolate was both complex and enjoyable. Some chocolates we've tasted were complex or tried to be complex but ended up not succeeding in the blends. Some were enjoyable but very simple. I though the maker succeeded in the mix of peanuts, rock salt and maple for sweetener. This 100g bar cost 4.60 Canadian dollars so its on the middle side of prices for chocolates of this quality. We thought this was a good buy and a sure pick-up for when we see this again.

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Cacao Culture, Poblacion Market, Davao

I found this chocolate shop at the Poblacion Market in Davao. The name of the shop speaks for itself and what it sells. Davao being one of the top producers of cacao and chocolate products, the store provides a one stop shop for chocoholics like me.

Store front - you can't miss it as it is one of the first shops you will see when you arrive at the Poblacion Market.

Some of the products we bought at the store.

Davao is famous for its cacao and chocolates. The two brands that I think are currently the best chocolates - Malagos and Auro - source their cacao in the region and manufacture their chocolates here. There are other chocolates and chocolate products there and we got some tablea, cacao mix for drinking, and some chocolate bars that we only saw there and wanted to try. We'll definitely be back to check out other products the next time we are in Davao.

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Sourdough snack

We usually look for some 'good' bread that we can eat anytime including for afternoon snacks or merienda. For 'normal' bread, usually have a loaf from Fuwa Fuwa. Their breads are better than Gardenia or Marby, which we usually bought at the supermarket. Occasionally, we can get some ciabatta or focaccia. The latter we usually can get from a supermarket selling Village Gourmet breads. Both we can get from the French Baker. While The French Baker is a reliable source of bread and pastries, there are other sources of really good bread. That includes Lartizan, Italiannis and Nono's.

A slice of sourdough for breakfast with a dip made of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The latter mix, of course, was inspired by similar dips restaurants like Italiannis provide as appetizers or starters.

 

Lartizan is a reliable source of breads. There's one at Ayala 30th where we regularly go to because of our daughter's music lessons. And recently I discovered they have a stand at a supermarket branch near White Plains.

More on breads in future posts.

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Red kiwi fruit

I first tasted kiwi, the green one, while living in Japan in the 1990s. Right then and there I fell in love with the fruit. It is right up there with atis (sweetsop) and kaimito (star apple) as one of my favorite fruits. I've known, bought and eaten the green and gold variety of the fruit but only a couple of weeks ago was I aware (from the supermarket shelf) of a red variety. I got a few to eat with our salads.

Red and green kiwi is like Christmas in terms of color. They're also Christmas in terms of them being a treat to the palate.

I will get more of this red kiwi the next time I get a chance. My suki at the Antipolo market doesn't have this as well as the supermarkets near our home, and I bought it at a supermarket in a rather posh area of Quezon City. It's not along my usual commuting route so its basically out of the way and requires some effort to go there. I usually pick up some other items from some other shops there to take advantage of going there. Of course, this is by Zespri. I don't buy our kiwi from any other source.

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