Don Salvador Benedicto

Don Salvador Benedicto - family road trip

DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO Family Food Trip

143Shares

DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO

One fine day, our family just went on a ROAD TRIP | FOOD TRIP to Don Salvador Benedicto in Negros Occidental, Philippines from our home city of Bacolod. It was a convoy of three cars all the way up the mountains.

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip
Our mandatory family portrait at Mountainview Restaurant in Don Salvador Benedicto.

Sometimes, when the going gets tough down here, the only way to go is up. And yes, literally we go up in the mountains.

City life can be too much for the mind and body and it can also dampen the spirit. We just have to detach ourselves and go to a nearby hideaway with a refreshing view and cool surroundings. Such a trip calms the mind and refreshes the spirit, too. You would be surprised at the effect, as when you get to work the next day, there is a skip in your step or a perk in your usual routine. Yeah, we need such trips from time to time for our sanity’s sake. Traveling can have such a positive effect on us.

HOW TO TRAVEL With the Least Stress

DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO

One of the favorite getaway spot of Bacolodnons is Don Salvador Benedicto. It is a municipality nestled in the mountains of Northern Negros Occidental. Because of the its cool temperature, it is now dubbed as the SUMMER CAPITAL OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL — and rightfully so. It’s no wonder that many of the affluent families have built summer houses here.

SUMMER CAPITAL OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL

The roads going to Don Salvador Benedicto are wide and paved and just a short drive from Bacolod City–the province’s capital. We left Central Bacolod in our private vehicles at around 10:30am and arrived at our first destination, Mountainview Resort Bar and Restaurant, at 11:30am in order to have lunch. So yeah, even on a holiday when so many people are going there, our drive only took one hour.

Mountainview Resort Bar and Restaurant

Mountainview is one of the most established restaurants in the area, with a nice building and sprawling grounds. And of course, the view is breathtaking. Our only disappointment there is the food–it’s way too overpriced, considering that no air conditioning is required around here. I would probably understand if it’s seafood, because this is the mountains and bringing seafood up here takes too much logistics.

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Mountainview Restaurant
This platter of 1 small bangus, chicken inasal, pork barbecue, and some steam vegetables is P1198.

And of course, the cost of spoilage. So if you come here, it’s really to enjoy the view and not really to enjoy the food. We could have eaten so much more delicious foods in Bacolod restaurants for what we paid for at Mountainview. We ordered very basic meals because they are really dear. Make sure you have lots of cash when you go up here. I shall show you in photos.

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - MOuntainview Resort
Three pieces pork barbecue and rice – P215. Imagine my shock.
Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Mountainview Restaurant
Crispy Pata – P385. This is the only thing that came through.
Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Mountainview Restaurant
This pinakbet is P250, You would think that this would be cheap because fresh vegetables are abundant in the mountains.

But if a pictorial is what you like, you will certainly get your fill of selfies and groufies here because of the verdant surroundings. They look very nice in photos. So, go ahead there’s no limit and it’s the only thing that’s free. hehe

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Mountainview Restaurant
Mountainview Restaurant of Don Salvador Benedicto.
Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Mountainview Restaurant
The family at Mountainview Restaurant.

Other travel related stories:

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Mountainview Restaurant
The roadside sign of Mountainview Restaurant.

Jomax Peak

So my sister-in-law suggested we check out Jomax Peak for coffee and just for sightseeing. It’s another popular resort in the area. We drove several meters going up the mountain from where Mountainview is. The road near Jomax Peak was full of cars parked on the sidewalk. So they asked if we can go in just for pictorial but it’s not allowed.

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Mountainview Restaurant
We enjoyed walling at the backyard of Mountainview Restaurant.

They are full for the day and they would not entertain walk-ins. So if you plan to go to Jomax Peak, always — as in I really mean it — make a reservation beforehand. And you have to make advance payments, too. Otherwise, you will NEVER be allowed inside. Just check their Facebook page for instructions on how to make reservations.

Doc J’s Resto

So after Jomax Peak, we decided to drive down already. We stopped by Doc J’s Resto, another popular stop because of their organic food offerings. It is surrounded by a garden of fruit trees and flowering plants so it is a nice and relaxing play to spend the afternoon. So we had halo-halo, coffee, and organic ice cream there.

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Doc J's resto
A popular stop for meals and coffee in Don Salvador Benedicto is Doc J’s Resto.

The halo-halo is also natural, using only organic fresh fruits and a syrup sweetener that they produce at the farm. But for it’s price, it’s not that impressive. There’s only a few slices of fruits and it’s mostly just ice. I counted them and it’s like just two small slices of each fruit. It wasn’t very satisfying.

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Doc J's halo-halo
Organic Halo-halo at Doc J’s is P85.

The brewed coffee was so-so according to my husband but the VIETNAMESE ICED COFFEE—aaahhh for the win. A must-try when you come here. It’s really flavorful and a great wake up call! haha An hour at Doc J’s later, we took off with many of their ornamental plants that we bought.

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Doc J's
For those who are into coffee, don’t miss the VIETNAMESE ICED COFFEE at DOC J’s. P75.

Pack Your Family TRAVEL BAG with HEALTH ESSENTIALS

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - Doc J's
Doc J’s is a rustic restaurant.

Roadside Fruit Stands

On our way home, we stopped by the fruit stands that are just along the highway in order to buy different fruits in season. They are so cheap here, like P20 for a kilo of avocado. Our loot of fresh fruits didn’t finish P200. So when you come here, make sure to bring home these fruits because you can never get them as cheap when you are in Bacolod.

Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - fruit stand
Check out this brightly decked fruit stand along the highway of Don Salvador Benedicto. Everything is so cheap!
Don Salvador Benedicto road trip - fruits
I forgot how much all these cost — I think it was P140? Imagine that.

Other Things to See

After Doc J’s we have spotted I think about five more versions of Doc J’s and they were numbered. I don’t think these are branches of Doc J’s anymore, just like the different Nena’s Chicken Inasal of Bacolod. They are cottages along the highway that offer coffee and refreshments to travelers and they have nice views overlooking the mountains, too.

We went home tired yet our spirits satisfied. But we were still hungry as we were not really satisfied with our meals back there. Maybe next time, I will be able to find better Don Salvador Benedicto restaurants that are worth their price.

Note: If you don’t have a private car, you can still easily go up to Don Salvador Benedicto by taking any one of the Ceres buses plying the Bacolod-San Carlos via DSB route.

Find Don Salvador Benedicto on the map.

21 thoughts on “DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO Family Food Trip

  1. It’s common practice to see elevated prices to touristic areas. So I guess Don Salvador Benedicto is just average. We have them here in Greece too. But going to the mountains is so worth it!

  2. Oh wow! You live in the Philippines, incredible! I love the look of the pork skewers and the pinakbet! Don Salvador Benedicto looks like a refreshing place to visit.

  3. I LOVE that you went on a family food trip! This is going to be me when I have children. That pinkabet? Looks so delicious!

  4. Looks like a nice place to visit and those food are really delicious. I would definitely visit that place to see how beautiful it is.

  5. It sounds like a great place but I wouldn’t say the same for the food that you ate. It’s a little overpriced but at least you got to enjoy the good view and everything else the place has to offer.

  6. I love travelling and taste the local food. I have never been to the Philippines so far, but I enjoyed your photos…it was like I was there in Don Salvador Benedicto. What I also do not like, is expensive restaurants , but sometimes is not possible to avoid them. Have fun!

  7. Looks like I need to schedule a family food trip as it looks like your family had an amazing time with spectacular views!

  8. It is a shame that the food is so expensive in this restaurant in Don Salvador Benedicto but it is great that the surroundings are so lush and green which makes up for the expensive price. I love the look of the green valleys in Jomax Peak, the Phillipines is truly beautiful aren’t they?

  9. It looks like a fun trip with the family except for the disappointing food when you finally arrived in Don Salvador Benedicto. The fruits are such a bargain though!

    1. Oh yeah! Fruits in Don Salvador Benedicto are abundant because of the cold weather. Their place is elevated, weather is cool, and there’s constant rain. So they have the best yields and they are able to sell their harvest for cheap. 😀

  10. It looks like you all had a lovely time at Don Salvador Benedicto. I love all your “groupies”, such a beautiful family! Also could you send some of that Crispy Pata to Florida!? It looks yummy and I’m hungry🌞

    1. Thank you Michele! Oh if only! hihi Crispy pata is one of our local favorites 😀 We often eat this in our local Bacolod restaurants, not just in Don Salvador Benedicto. 🙂

  11. I love that you took your family to Don Salvador Benedictor! And all of the foods look so fresh and delicious. What a trip! 🙂

  12. Nothing compares that happiness of visiting the local scene and enjoy the local foods. Ah those BBQs are superb!

  13. I will happily eat a vegetarian dish, but I guess I am usually one of those people that think “oooh, this would be really good with some pulled pork on it”. But that wasn’t an option in this cafe, so I went with the black bean stew. There is not a single thing that I would have changed about it, apart from double the portion because it was that good! It was just the comforting bowl of food that was needed after a long winter walk, but not so stodgy that you felt like 10lbs heavier after it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *