Brunch at Tinto

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that circumstances had prevented me from attending the regular Thursday brunch with some fellow Americans last week. At one time we'd meet at pretty much the same location every week, but recently we've begun going to a new joint each week. Because I wasn't there last week, I had no say in where we'd meet this time. This week we met at Tinto on E J. Blanco Dr. in Dumaguete.

I arrived a little early and met the "first shift" expats who were leaving as we were to arrive.

As can be seen in the photos, the restaurant's decor is pleasant enough, but it's similar to choosing the proverbial book by the cover. It's the food that's important.

I made the mistake of ordering the fish and chips. I was hoping for something as good as the fish and chips at Thunder Road but I was sadly disappointed. The fries were not bad - pretty good, in fact, but the fish wasn't good at all, and the meal was way over priced at 330 pesos.

One friend had the chili con carne. It did not look at all appetizing and my friend said it tasted like left-overs (and not in a good way). Two of the guys had burger and onion rings. I didn't ask how the burgers were, but burgers are burgers in my book. The one good thing I can say about the place is that they are very generous with their onion rings. I thought one order was actually a double order.

All in all, I did not have a good dining experience at Tinto and it's unlikely that I'll return.

ROTI BOSS Curry House

On Aldecoa Drive in Dumaguete, not far from Silliman University Medical Center, is a delightful Indian restaurant called ROTI BOSS Curry House.

In my review of the restaurant for Google Maps, I wrote :

My wife and I enjoyed our meal very much when we dined here. If you like curry, this is the place to go in Dumaguete.
However, as much as I enjoyed the food, I did think it was a bit expensive.
The restaurant is very clean, and the staff is professional. I have no complaints in that department.

The phone number, as given on Google Maps is 0927 710 7773

ECQ Day One

This post was originally published on another of my blogs. I attempted to post the link to it onto Facebook. I had done that several times in the past, but when I tried to post this, I was not allowed because the blog "violates community standards". I'm attempting to go around that by publishing the post onto this blog. We'll see.

Today is the first day of what we've been told will be a two week Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in an attempt by the Provincial Governor of Negros Oriental to stem the tide of the corona virus here.

We've been pretty much on a lock down status for a few weeks, but this will be Quarantine on Steroids.

Students and seniors, 65 and older had been ordered to stay at home a while back, and that rule remains in effect. We've all been under a 9:00PM to 5:00 AM curfew for weeks, however now the restrictions on everyone else in the province have gotten tighter.

Only one person from a household will be allowed outside the home, and that person is severely limited as to where and when he can go out. Each household has been issued a quarantine pass which must be presented at checkpoints. I've been told that the person going out must surrender his ID at the checkpoint and must return home through the same checkpoint within a certain time frame in order to retrieve the ID.

I'm pretty much a homebody, so the quarantine hasn't been a burden for me, although now it will be a little more complicated getting my money from the bank. That is my main complain now.

This call for an ECQ apparently comes a recent event at a port in Sibulan, Negros Oriental. The borders of the Province had been closed, with only cargo being allowed to enter. Out of humanitarian concerns, a passenger ferry was allowed to bring home stranded residents of Negros from Cebu island. Photos of the arriving passengers were posted onto social media. These photos showed that these passengers were not practicing "social distancing" and most were not wearing masks. None of these arriving passengers underwent any medical exam, we're told that the passengers were not instructed to self quarantine.

These photos sent the local medical community into a frenzy; generating a petition from front liners to the Governor demanding an ECQ.

I suspect this move by the Governor is based more on politics than on anything else.

The powers that be in our area are notorious for not enforcing laws and regulations. It remains to be seen how this will work out.

Even More Street People

Even more street people.