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Sunday, September 14, 2008

Jo's By the Sea (04-Sep-2008)

Next stop after snorkeling at the Dauin Marine Sanctuary would be Twin Lakes. That would mean going to Sibulan, located north of Dumaguete. Dauin is south of Dumaguete. You're probably thinking: we had to pick a site on the opposite pole of the city? We didn't really have a map of the area so we were not able to plan our trips geographically.

When Bee and I finally got hungry, we asked Mang Danny for a good place to eat for lunch. We were already in Sibulan so he suggested we stop by Jo's by the Sea. It is a relatively new resort/restaurant located at the foot of a property with a 35-foot statue of the Virgin Mary in its large garden/grotto. That property belongs to Josephine Ng, who is also the owner of the Jo's chain of restaurants (the restaurants bear her name).

After putting on a t-shirt over our bathing suits, we walked into the sea-side restaurant.

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Jo's offers a majestic view of the sea, and since it was a weekday and not that many people are in the restaurant, Bee and I took one of the fishing boat-inspired tables that is usually reserved for groups of eight. Not only is the table unique and colorful, it is nearest to the sea.

The tables nearer to the counter were smaller and also looked like small bancas, but they weren't near the sea.

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Next to the counter was a long washstand where four people could wash their hands at the same time. I find it quaint that they put a lot of thought into the design of their washstands. The Silliman Avenue restaurant had faucets fashioned like bamboo poles and sinks that look like giant clams. This restaurant had big jars on top of the faucets, giving the illusion that the water came from the jars instead of the visible pipes. Once again, I found detergent bars on the soap dishes.

Their restroom is relatively clean though far from the restrooms one is used to find in decent Metro Manila restaurants/fastfood chains.

Chicken barbeque is the restaurant's specialty, so we automatically ordered one barbeque each.

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Bee added prawns, sinigang na bangus, and grilled squid to our order. It was Bee's birthday so I told her I was paying for this lunch as a treat. The prawns, squid and chicken tasted great. The bangus (milkfish) however wasn't fresh and we didn't finish it as I was getting an allergic reaction. I usually start to feel itchy at the lips and tongue after eating seafood that isn't fresh ... this would be the first time that I got it after eating bangus. I don't think the restaurant has a proper freezer.

We watched fishermen doing their job as we ate lunch. First they laid out their nets, then they started pounding the water with a long piece of wood to startle the fish and drive them towards the nets. Finally, they pulled out the nets that had captured some fish.

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In the middle of the place was a chicken coop. I am beginning to think that every Jo's restaurant have pet chickens on display.

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Nearby is a children's playground and a snack bar. Only kids are allowed on the swings.

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A path between the playground and the restaurant leads down to the shore. We went there to take some pictures.

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Bee wanted to take a swim but it was not allowed.

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