Tag: northern mindanao

Posted on

Marianos

I have a rather simple definition of fine dining. The food doesn’t have to be expensive (that would be expensive dining) nor the servings big (that would be overeating) . But it definitely has to be good (not just fine) in terms of taste and presentation. It’s about the experience. And it has to have cloth napkins.

Mariano’s, tucked away in a quiet residential village in Iligan City, meets my definition. The family headed there tonight for dinner. The place definitely has good ambiance. Clean and well-designed. The indoor tables are air conditioned and cozy. The outdoors tables are bigger and give the al fresco experience further accentuated by the Chinese bamboo plants lined along the wall.

We sampled a variety of dishes: shrimps in squid ink pasta, barbecued pork ribs, crispy braised chicken, herbed lemon pork loin, and aromatic fish. The food not only taste good but look good, too. Pardon the photography, I’m blaming the poor lighting :P But really, they do look good. The desserts were also good. We tried the New York cheesecake, and the truffle cake, and the panna cotta.

Pricing is a relatively high for the area but quite reasonable considering the food, service, and ambiance is comparable to better known restaurants. Unfortunately, they don’t accept credit cards so you have to bring cash.

Marianos
Meadow Lark Street, Isabel Village, Pala-o, Iligan City, 9200
Telephone: +6363-221-0095
Email: [email protected]

Posted on

Laguindingan International Airport

After so many delays, the Laguindingan International Airport finally opened last June 15, 2013. And today I was finally able to see it. It was quite impressive. Definitely better than the old Lumbia Airport (which is a pretty low bar admittedly).

As I previously mentioned, the airport strategically situated between CDO and Iligan. It is just about an hour away from either cities. Soon we can expect a wider highway between the two cities and maybe even a high-speed railway system. This increases the potential for an influx of more tourists, investments, business opportunities, and general benefit to the region’s economy.

For example, the airport is far from densely populated urban areas (as it should be) but I can already see there will be a level of development in the surrounding areas as a direct result of the airport opening. That in itself is already an big economic benefit to the local economy.

Posted on

One For Iligan

There was a lot of casualties and damage in Iligan from the flooding early Saturday night. I only learned about it from my parents when I picked them up from the airport. They themselves only saw the extent of the damage the later in the day as they made their to the Cagayan De Oro (which was also affected) to catch a flight to here. Yesterday, more information filtered in as calls and messages were exchanged with relatives and friends. There was little to nothing on the mainstream news until today but the damage is extensive, hundreds lost their lives, and thousands were affected. If you want to donate and/or help in the relief effort, Iligan bloggers have started an online campaign One For Iligan.

Posted on

Betting On Northern Mindanao

Northern Mindanao, aka Region X, is a cluster of 5 provinces including the island province of Camiguin and two highly-urbanized areas Cagayan de Oro City (CDO) and Iligan City. The economy of Northern Mindanao is primarily agricultural but also industrial mainly in CDO and Iligan. It is the largest economy in Mindanao. As of 2009, it had the second highest per capita Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of P91,453 just behind the National Capital Region (NCR) (P246,753). It had the fourth fastest growth of 7.6%, just behind the Bicol (12.7%), Davao (9.2%), and Western Visayas (8.4%) regions.

Focusing on the two urbanized and industrialized areas, CDO and Iligan, the two host several industrial plants along with the supporting economy. The power generation plants in Iligan actually provide 65% (as of 2010) of the power for ALL of Mindanao so electricity for plants is not a problem. Aside from both being port cities, there is also a container terminal, Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT), near CDO which addresses bulk shipping of raw materials and finished goods. Telecommunications is also now well-developed and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies are now operating out of CDO but also some in Iligan. Tourism is also being developed especially in Camiguin.

Providing manpower to the local economies of both cities is the urban population. There is also two major universities Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) and Xavier University (part of the Ateneo group) . There is also the bigger MSU Main an hour away from Iligan. Together, these universities produce thousands of graduates every year, making available a well-educated and well-trained manpower pool.

One latest development is that Laguindingan International Airport is due for completion next year. The new airport, strategically situated between CDO and Iligan, is just about an hour away from either. The new airport is also a driver for plans of a wider highway between the two cities and even a high-speed railway system. This increases the potential for an influx of more tourists, investments, and business opportunities.