Inaka is the first and the oldest Japanese restaurant in Bacolod.  It is owned by Martin’s childhood friend, Aljay De La Paz. 

When we were little kids we would hang out at Inaka just for fun and to accompany aljay’s mom and we would be bored to death.  We would play with toothpicks for hours on end.

Sometimes Aljay’s mom would offer us sushi but we always declined.  As a kid, Martin thought sushi was disgusting!

Martin remembers his first taste of a california roll - and hating it because it had mangoes! 

Recently, Martin had the opportunity to revisit Inaka because of a family reunion. He was pleased to see that the quality of the food had gone up along with several much needed renovations to the place.

Martin’s family rented out a large family room.  Martin was very pleased with the decor and table settings.  It was very pleasant and the room resembled a japanese house with a window looking out on a Zen garden and with faux white “paper” walls.

Appetizers were ordered.  California rolls! Yummy! Martin really loves sushi.  Inaka’s California rolls were nothing like Martin had ever tasted.  The orange crab eggs were so fresh that they actually were CRUNCHY.  Wow! The taste was incomparable!

The best part was Martin’s cousin Erika who was sitting beside him didn’t like sushi so Martin had nearly the entire plate to himself.

More and More food and relatives were coming so Martin had to quickly snap pictures of the food before they could complain about his shutterbug habit.

Beef misono!  Martin likes Inaka’s beef misono.  It’s not overdone and the beef is soft and perfectly seasoned.

Martin’s aunt ordered Tofu and like all other dishes, it was a wonderful one! The tofu is fried and the sauce covering it doesn’t overpower the Tofu’s basic, simple taste.  Instead it blends with the Tofu to create a new taste. It was simply awesome.

A lot of food was ordered and Martin couldn’t take pictures of all of them since there were too many relatives eating.  They had beef sukiyaki, bangus, Tempura, chahan rice and a sushi boat that was absolutely fantastic because it had unagi, sea urchin, and a sushi topped with red salmon eggs.  Wow!!

Martin’s two uncles smile after finishing their meal.

Inaka’s dessert was a fantastic mango icebox cake that Martin had never tasted the likes of.  It was sweet but not cloying and like all Inaka dishes it was subtle on the palate.  It was so good. Martin gobbled up his cake before remembering he had to take a picture!

Martin’s relatives.  WE love Inaka !!

Inaka is the first and definitely the best Japanese restaurant in Bacolod.

Yummy Yummy is a very old restaurant that caters primarily to the students of the University of Saint La Salle. Countless generations of La Sallian students have sat at their tables and eaten their food.

Martin remembers when he was in kindergarten, he would go with his father to Capitol Supermart to do their grocery shopping.  After their groceries were done, they would head to Yummy Yummy for a snack and munch on Chip ahoy! cookies that they bought.  Back then, Yummy Yummy was one of the “premiere” coffee shops in Bacolod. Nowadays all that is left of their glory are the old bamboo seats that they once used. 

Capitol supermart has been replaced with Marby arcade but Yummy Yummy still exists.  The clientele has changed to primarily network gaming addicts but yummy yummy can still hold it with the best of them.  Their speciality is their fresh lumpia.

 

Martin hates fresh lumpia but when he was at Yummy Yummy during christmas, he was able to see a board filled with orders for fresh lumpia or lumpiang ubod.  Some orders were for 100 pieces!

What Martin likes about Yummy Yummy is their Pizza.  Back when the ninja turtles were the rage, and every kid wanted pizza, There were only three places for Pizza in Bacolod.  Shakey’s in Goldenfields, Greenwich in downtown. (Not the Greenwich today!) and Yummy Yummy.

It’s a typical Filipino-type cheapie pizza.  Nothing fancy but its taste brings back memories of childhood.

Everyone has their certain favorite food in Yummy Yummy.  Jerome, Martin’s nephew likes their hamburgers. 
Martin’s friend Nakhai swears by their sisig.  However he says that it had lost much of its taste ever since Yummy Yummy swapped out its old grill for their new grill.  He claims that the years of accumulated crusted bits from frying and cooking gave Yummy Yummy sisig’s its distinct flavor.