Oro Ham breakfast sandwich
Cagayan de Oro City is a major tourist hub in Northern Mindanao. It is accessible via several modes of transport. Going there I've ridden an overnight inter-island passenger ferry from Tagbilaran City in Bohol, from Manila it was a huge Boeing. It could also be a bus, or a small, prop plane, from another regional center in Mindanao.
The tourist attractions are not in the city itself, which only offers big malls, fruit stands and souvenir shops. The Maria Cristina Falls, Tinago Falls, white-water rafting, canopy walk, Dahilayan Adventure Park, Camiguin - all of which are my kind of place, not touristy, not for the faint-hearted and fussy - are all at least an hour away.
But to go to these, you have to sleep in CDO, have breakfast there, unwind in the bars there after day-long physical exertions. And it's where you buy pasalubong for those left behind because they're not adventurous enough.
A breakfast must, and pasalubong must, too, are the hams of CDO. They're a tender bunch, due to the CDO pigs' diet of pineapple peels from the big plantations in Bukidnon.
I like the breakfast sandwich at Oro Ham (top photo), thick slices of lean meat with a scrambled egg piled on a bed of lettuce, slathered with mayonnaise and assembled inside a soft bun. I order it to go, as the vibe is not really conducive for lingering on an early morning, preferring to munch on it while walking around the city still clinging to sleep.
More popular is SLERS, which offers more variety, and has a nice cafe where I am tempted to spend the entire morning. If only I could, but there are more places to go, and they are far. So it's a good option to order food to go. And come back for that pack to bring home.
foreground spicy; background regular
I find SLERS products a bit on the salty side, though, including the chicharon. Which are heavenly fatty. Good thing they are available in small packs. A piece or two of deep-fried crackly rind is enough for me. With a good douse of pinakurat.
My office colleagues in CDO like the siopao from Best Bake, the ground floor bakery at the VIP Hotel. It is sufficiently soft and chewy, filled to bursting with sweet stewed pork. There's a baked version, but it's too hard. If only it had the cottony softness of a good newly baked pan de coco, I'd happily stuff myself with it. But it does not. And I'm happy with the steamed buns that I bring some home.
Oro Ham
A. Velez corner Mabini Streets
Cagayan de Oro City
SLERS Ham & Cafe
30 Amparo Lim Building
A. Velez corner Del Pilar Streets
Cagayan de Oro City
Website
Best Bake
G/F VIP Hotel
A. Velez corner Pacana Streets
Cagayan de Oro City
Hotel Website
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2 comments:
ham sandwich - good idea for my son's baon next week. if i ever get to cdo, i'll visit these places. i would sure like to get to camiguin, where my grandfather is from. love those lanzones. lucky you, getting to travel all over.
-lou
Oh Lou, Camiguin is magical, though it might be a bit crowded with the tourists now. You're lucky you have roots there, take advantage of it!
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