Whatta Pizza!
Today’s Guest Article is from Bob in New York. Bob is a regular reader and participant on the Live in the Philippines Web Magazine. I have actually known Bob for several years now, since he first started considering making a trip to the Philippines. Bob and I first touched base through my Mindanao Magazine Website, because Bob wanted to get the “straight scoop” about the safety of a foreigner visiting Mindanao. Take it away, Bob!
It has been said by many people, those that live in New York City and many tourists and visitors say ” you just can’t beat a New York Pizza .” Well, in many respects that may be true, although I think I had my best Pizza Experience in Iligan City, Philippines.
Several months ago by Internet I learned of a new Pizza place in Iligan that offers (among many other varieties) a 36 inch diameter Pizza! One look at the preview pics of the place and that was near the top of my list of places to visit this year. I got some of my friends together and we went to Calda Pizza in Barangay Pala-O on a Saturday night during my visit. The tables are outdoors on a large lot. Picnic type tables with umbrellas over them and wide enough to accomodate at 36 inch pizza. Being a Saturday night the place was full although it only took a few minutes for a table to become available.
I placed the order for the ” Hawaain Style ” Pizza as that is what my friends agreed upon and for myself just about any variety would please me. I just had to have one of those 36 inch Pizzas! This was the largest pizza (regularly on a menu) I had ever experienced!
What a huge Pizza!
The cost of the pizza was 1000.10 pesos for the one that I ordered. It was freshly prepared and brought to our table in about 25 minutes. Too big to be sliced in a more traditional way, the slices are squared. It was well prepared and attractively served and tasted good. Calda Pizza, a great place for Pizza lovers, for those on a ” Weight Loss Diet ” be forwarned! LOL
A resto-bar in Iligan I had seen pictures of many times but had not had the chance to enjoy is a place called “ The Iliganon. I went there one afternoon with some of my Iligan friends and upon arrival I noticed something I had not seen in pictures taken previously and posted on the internet. The Iliganon resto-bar had added Pizza to their menu. After my pleasurable pizza experience at Calda Pizza, I really wanted to try something more traditional at The Iliganon.
Not being familiar with the names of many of the traditional menu items, I saw something which I pictured in my mind as being some kind of steak (a nice jucy tenderloin, Sirloin etc.). We also looked at the Pizza Menu. When our food was served, I found the item I ordered looked like small strips of beef, coated in something like bread crumbs along with some kind of buttery sauce to dip the strips in. I realize that portions of food there may appear much smaller than you would get at a USA Restaurant or Diner and I also knew that this item would leave me hungry. I suggested to my friends that maybe we should try Pizza at The iliganon too so we ordered a large one just to try it.
I had finished the beef item I had ordered just in time for the pizza to be placed at our table. I picked up the first slice, took one bite out of it and then another. Without hesitation I said to my friends “I think we better order another one of these Pizzas!” I had not tasted pizza like this in decades, yes it was THAT Good!
By the time the second pizza was brought to our table the first one had been devoured by myself and my friends, along with the other food we had ordered. This is sure a place I will visit each time I go to Iligan!
So there you have it, my Iligan Pizza Experience. The Biggest (Calda Pizza) and the very best (Iliganon Resto-Bar).
For me, yes, Iligan City can beat a New York Pizza!
Last 5 posts by BobNY
- My Durian Experience - January 11th, 2010
Hi, Bob- Thanks for the article. Off topic here, but am interested in purchasing a stock from Jollibee. Do you go straight to the company or through an agent? Can you give some tips here like price?
Hi Bob & John – There are thousands of these “hidden jewels” here in the Phils. Also, nowhere else does the old saw, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” more aptly applied. Many of the hidden jewels are unpolished or uncut, but they’re jewels just the same.
John – http://www.jollibee.com.ph/index.php?/investors/contents/5/1
will get you on your way. Navigating around the investors section will provide plenty of “prospectus-related” info. The stock is listed and traded on the Philippine Stock Exchange, symbol JFC.
Hi Bob,
I don’t know anybody in Ililgan City but from your description of the pizza, it sure looks like a great place to visit, even just for the Pizza!
Bob NY: I have much nostalgia for NY pizza, having spent the first 18 years of my life in Queens and Putnam County. I don’t know why we can’t have good pizza here in Maryland/D.C., but we don’t. The best I’ve found around here, I make on my grill in the back yard. I’ve tried to find good pizza for my neices and nephews in Cebu, but haven’t done so yet. Thanks for the article. It gives me hope.
Hi Peter,
In addition to Calda Pizza and The Iliganon in Iligan City, I have also had Pizza at several ” Greenwich Pizza ” Locations. I am sure there are some of them in Cebu so you may wish to give them a try. Greenwich Pizza is a fast food franchise type operation owned by Jollibee Foods Corp. Yes, it is fast food type but it is worth giving a try. I liked it but of course you just can’t beat good pizza made at an independently owned and operated Pizzarea. Keep looking I am sure something will turn up that you find enjoyable. Another Pizza chain operation in The Philippines is ” Yellow Cab “. I have never eaten at one yet but I passed by one of their locations. The first time someone mentioned ” Yellow Cab ” to me I thought they were talking about a Taxi Company !
ahhh you new yorkers, you’d miss your plane if you had Chicago Pizza haha thanks Bob, excellant story ! maybe a trip to Illigan is in order
Hi Tommy,
I can’t remember if it was in Chicago or in Michigan where I went to get a Pizza ” To Go ” . When I entered the place I did not see any of the familiar take out boxes stacked up and I began to wonder if they knew what I was talking about when I said I wanted a large pepperoni pie ” To Go ” .
Instead of a box, they put it on a circular piece of cardboard and slid it into a paper bag that was pushed together from the sides to puff up the top of the bag. the sides of the bag were then stapled to the piece of cardboard the pizza was on ( no staples in the pizza though ). Maybe that is how they do it in Michigan, or maybe it was Chicago.
Hi, Bob New York: If I were to make a guess, chances are the pizza place where you went to was in Michigan, Detroit to be exact, where there is a large concentration of Middle Eastern families that own pizza places, grocery stores, restaurants and other shops. If I were to guess farther, I would bet that you went to a Palestinian-owned pizza store.
The fact that they didn’t have carry-out boxes like you would normally find in a chain pizza store is an indication of a cost-cutting measure by certain stores, and probably not the norm in Detroit. I don’t know whether you also noticed that the napkin holder is not on the counter where customers can help themselves. The counter person will give you two sheets of the paper napkin at the most. Such cost-cutting measures help the business and make the owner very rich in the long run. I know because my wife’s uncle owns several of those stores. He goes home every night to a mansion in a suburb of Detroit.
HI John,
After thinking about it for a while ( after all this experience happened in the early 1970’s ) you are correct. I was in Muskegon, Michigan. That was the first and only time I can remember getting a take out pizza packaged like that one. Yes, the person behind the counter who took my order did seem to have a foriegn accent although at the time I paid little attention to that. the pizza itself as I remember was ok, no complaint there.
Hi Bob,
For this great article about our place. I would like to ask your permission to have it posted on our portal site under DINING. We are still under development and will be full functional Jan. 1, 2009.
Thanks!
Mick
Hi Michael,
As far as I am concerned you can use this ( International ) version of my recent Pizza Experience in Iligan on your website. However, since I originally prepared this item for Bob Martins ” Live In The Philippines ” website ( this website ) and Bob Martin has published it here, I think it only fair to him that you also ask his permission to use it if you are looking for a direct copy.
I have a more ” localized ” version also and I will send you a link to that one in an E Mail.
Thank you for your inquirey.
Hi Bob – Michael did e-mail me and ask. Unfortunately, I cannot give permission, because if you have duplicate content on multiple websites, Google issues a penalty and it affects your search engine rankings. Good idea to send a localized version for Michael!
hi bob,
I would like to invite you to become our contributor and speak yourself about iligan at http://www.iliganporal.com.
regards,
mick
Got, it, Paul K. I’ve bookmarked the link. Thanks.
Hi John,
I bought my Jollibee Stock through an agent. In the USA it is considered as a foriegn stock. I did a lot of internet research before visiting The Philippines for the first time. Before my first visit I was advised to go to a travel Doctor as I had never been to a tropical climate country before. I received many pamphlets and data sheets about food precautions for foriegn visitors to The Philippines. With all of these food and drink precautions I wondered if I would really enjoy myself or not. I felt I had to find some kind of ” fail Safe ” source of food. After researching Jollibee I knew I would be able to survive on that if need be.
While researching Jollibee Foods Corp. that is when I discovered their stock and began to follow it regularly. When most world markets wnet down, that is when I made a decision to invest in ” JFC “. The way things are these days in many financial markets and with the near zero interest banks are paying, I feel quite confident in Jollibee. If you follow news items about them you will see they continue to expand.
The real breakthrough for me about eating food in The Philippiines is when I posed the question to Bob Martin. Bob told me that if my digestive system was anywhere near ” Normal ” and I just used common sense, chances are I should be able to eat just about anything. From this article and the pictures, Bob Martins information was accurate again !
Thank you, Bob! It looks like I’m going to have to go through an agent like you did.
Hi Bob – Thank you for your vote of confidence, and also thank you for the great article about your Pizza Adventure in Iligan City! As I told you on an e-mail, I might have to make a trip over to Iligan soon to check out these great Pizzas that you are telling us about. I have a lot of good friends in Iligan anyway, so what a great way to enjoy a few days in a lovely city that I enjoy visiting anyway!
Thank you again for the nice article, Bob.
Hi John – Iligan is a nice little town to visit. Feyma and I always enjoy going there. It’s about 1 1/2 hours from Cagayan de Oro. We actually have more friends in Iligan than here in Davao!
To me, Iligan City is a very interesting place I found quite by accident a few years ago while websurfing. From spending many hours looking at pictures, video, and articles about Iligan City ( many of which have been posted by the people that live there, with great pride of their city ). Along the way I made some genuine friendships there and finally decided to go and see it for myself. There is a video on this website describing my first visit to Iligan, take a look if you like. For me it was the best vacation I ever had and I seem to keep going back for more !
Hi Bob – Thanks for the tip! I might have a few days left over at the end of my trip so definitely a place to keep in mind. So much to do; so little time!
Speaking of ” Time “. On my recent visit, I began to notice that just about every clock I looked at, when compared to my watch, had a different time on it. Being 12 hours different in time ( during Daylight Saving Time on the East Coast of the USA ) I do not have to change the time on my watch at all. the first few occasions I had to look at other clocks and compare them to my watch I thought maybe the battery in my watch was beginning to fail. This was not the case however. It was similar in both Iligan and Cagayan De Oro. I wonder if this has something to do with the expression ” Filipino Time ” ? LOL
It really is part of the whole filipino time thing, Bob. This is very common.