CDO: City of Delightful Options

I had visited Cagayan de Oro more than ten years ago. But at that time of our visit, my kids and I used CDO as a jump off point for our visit to enchanting Camiguin. We did not find it necessary to explore CDO then as we felt it did not have anything of interest to entice us to stay.

Last week, I was back in CDO with a group of travel buddies.
The very basic airport had not changed from the last visit. And although there was now so much hype about the thrills of white water rafting and the excitement of zipping above towering trees, my friends and I opted for another adventure— of the eating kind interspersed with visits to a monastery and a holy shrine.

With bags piled up at the back of our rented van (contact: Adonis Ucab at 905 361 9223), we immediately were on our way to the Benedictine Monastery of the Transfiguration in San Jose, Malaybalay. We were also on a mission to sink our teeth into the juiciest pineapple and the delicious steaks from pineapple-fed cows. This entailed travelling through wide and well paved roads towards Bukidnon. Along the way, we passed several brand new subdivisions. It seems there was no stopping the urbanization and fast pace economic development of CDO. As we climbed higher and higher through the winding roads, I got a bird’s eye view of CDO--- from the cranes and construction activities, it was clear that CDO was growing at a very fast rate.

As we moved further away from CDO, I was glad to see that there still was a very rural fell about the towns we were passing. Clean grounds surrounded one-story schoolhouse buildings. There were fields planted with pineapple, coffee and rice while majestic cloud-shrouded mountains rose in the distance.

After about an hour of travel we stopped at Pinotos sa Kanto Restaurant in the town of Manolo Fortich. This was a screen-covered establishment that our driver, Aldrin, recommended. Here we filled ourselves with our first taste of the juiciest and sweet pineapple. Plus their cinnamon rolls, ensaymada, and chicaron (yes!). We would have stayed longer and sampled their menu offerings but we had a long way to go.

After another two hours on the road, we reached Malaybalay City. On their short main road was a Jollibee, a BPI and a mini- university. But what really caught our attention were the striking yellow blossom covered trees. Aldrin informed us that it is only in Malaybalay that one can find these trees. Unfortunately, he did not know the name of the tree.  There were lots of buntings and festive decor to mark the celebration of the "Kaamulan Festival"-- the annual one-month gathering of the 7 tribes that live in the mountainous area of Malaybalay.  As fate would have it, there was no activity scheduled for that day we were in Malaybalay.  We learned that it is one of those must-see events in the Tourism calendar.

In possibly 5 minutes, we were out of Malaybalay City proper and back to rural setting. In another hour, we had finally reached the Benedictine Monastery grounds  (contact: (088) 221-2373 or (088) 221-2899).

On top of a small hill was their impressive church. I found out that this simple yet stunning structure was designed by the late and great Pilipino architect, Leandro Locsin. I immediately felt at peace in the quiet interior. Lucky for us that we were allowed access to view the statue of Our Lady of Monserratt up close through a stairs at the back of the altar.

Reluctantly, we once again boarded our van.  As the group's tradition dictated, no visit to a famous landmark is complete without a visit to the souvenir shop. In this particular visit, once at the shop, the group loaded up their bags with the monk's famous coffee beans, cookies, peanut brittle (pinato) and St Benedict medals before heading back to CDO. 

As certain segments of the road were being repaired, it was a grueling travel back. But no matter, there were food vendors who rushed to the vehicles when the traffic was at a standstill. Vendors were selling kakanins, boiled bananas and huge fish crackers. Intrigued, the group went for the fish crackers. Perfect if we had a little vinegar to go with it.

After three hours, we arrived at the Del Monte Clubhouse  (Contact: (6388) 855-4312 to 22 Loc. 2709, 742-394 to 396  )-- a pit stop for a very late lunch and an early dinner. It was a screen-covered structure that had a view of the manicured golf course. I felt like I had moved back to the 1950s and found myself imagining Americans in their white outfits and hats with a cool glass of pineapple juice in one hand.

This was where we got our craving for steak out of our system. The servings were HUGE and as expected, tasty. Each serving came with a vegetable salad smothered in Del Monte Catsup and mushroom soup—which I suspect came from a instant soup packet. The winner, for me was the fruit salad in a creamy cooked dressing served at the end of the meal.

Like well-fed cats, we lingered on the dining table and gazed at the golf course. Then a mist had settled over the grounds and we took this as a cue to get up and head back to CDO.

What was earlier vistas of green had now turned pitch black. It struck me as ironic that despite the many hydroelectric plants, much of Mindanao is still in the dark. A silent prayer that our driver would get us safely back to the city was in order.

And then there was light--- lots of it and traffic!! We had arrived in the city and to our hotel that we will rest our weary heads for the next two days. Seda Centrio (Contact: 6388 323 8888) was the latest boutique hotel to come up in the city. Best of all, it was strategically located beside a sparkling new Ayala Mall. We found the interiors tastefully done in gray tones and the staff exceedingly welcoming and helpful.

After a smooth check-in and a comb quickly run through my hair, I was ready to join the group for a light snack at a trendy café at the mall. Candy’s  (Address: Centrio Ayala Mall, CM Recto St) was as refreshing as the guava-pineapple smoothies it served. Decorated in a playful manner, the group immediately felt at home. Since we wanted to explore fully their menu at a more “hungrier” time, we promised to come back for a lunch and promptly made reservations.

All tuckered out, we walked slowly back to the hotel. The thought of a warm bath before snuggling into a cool bed was just too good to resist.

More delightful options were waiting for us the next day.

--xoxoxox--

I believe that the pineapple provides a lot of challenge before one can bite into it. You start with carefully picking it off the center of its thorny leaves. If you are successful, you can now move on to peeling the pineapple of choice. The pineapple should be ready to eat if it is no longer green but has turned into a nice orangey-brown color. Best way to tell is if gives off a sweet pineappley scent.

Now just like going through life, there are many ways to peel a pineapple. I like to use the method learned from watching my mother.

1. You first lie the fruit on its side and chop off its thorny crown with a very sharp and long knife. Then you go on and slice of the bottom of the pineapple.

2. You then can now stand the pineapple on a steady bottom. You next cautiously slice off the thick peel that is decorated with “eyes”.

3. It does not end there. You next have to remove these “eyes” if you do not want to get bits of stiff “lashes” in your throat.

4. Now comes the tricky part. You will notice that the eyes follow somewhat a diagonal pattern. Following that pattern, sink your knife in a slight diagonal tilt along both sides of these eyes. Remove the cut parts as you go along the pattern.

5. Continue on with the rest of the eyes and you will now see that you have created canals or ridges along your pineapple.

6. You can then slice your pineapple into rings.

7. Chill and serve with a smile.

You may also want to check out the following site that to me, provides an easier way, but still with challenges, to peel a pineapple.

http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/cookingtechniques/ss/cutpineapple.htm