Bacolod in bullet points

• There are so many good places to eat in Bacolod. Every year, a new restaurant pops up. Dependable Kaisei is still good, with its brand of Filipinized Japanese food, which means everything is a bit sweeter and tastier. Carlo Ristorante Italiano is still in Goldenfields. The newcomers include Imay's, Jewel's, the other Pala-pala (not the real, by-the-ocean one), and Brickpit. At Imay's we ordered buko juice, not realizing that these come in real coconuts and is about three glasses worth. Brickpit is a bit out of the way, which means you can actually have a nice, long conversation with friends there - no dirty looks from waiters aiming for a swift turnover. I love how the tables are spread out, which means you don't have to include all of Bacolod in the conversation. The lights aren't too bright or too dim. The pretentious-sounding Cafe Breizh, on the other hand, was a disappointment. It was too dull when we were in the mood for a fun girl's night out, and too loud when we just wanted to hang out and talk. The best discovery was Cafe Bascon - a small, cozy cafe hidden in the backroads of La Salle. They have the best mini cakes - way better than Manila's Bizu. Cafe Bascon's cakes are lighter and less sweet. I bet they're going to expand soon.
  
  
• At night, everyone goes to MO2. Their drinks suck and the place isn't even that nice. But everyone goes there, anyway.
  
  
• Twenty-four hours in Bacolod, and we'd been to two wakes and a funeral.
  
  
• On our last day, my mom, my sister and I drove all over town looking for isaw. Everything was closed. Everything closes from Dec. 24th to Jan. 2.