Dumaguete’s got me!

MANILA, Philippines — This time, serendipity brought me to Dumaguete, a genteel town that has aptly called itself the “City of Gentle People.” It has also adopted a catchy tagline, DumaGetMe, which works very well because this capital of Negros Oriental certainly gets you, and gets to you.

Many people come to Dumaguete as a jump off point for other destinations in Central Visayas, particularly the mystic – or is it bewitched? – island of Siquijor just an hour’s ferry ride away or the amazing dive spots around Apo Island, 25 kilometers south. But it would be a pity if you don’t spend some time in the city to discover its many charms.

Bronze bust of Horace Silliman, a retired businessman and philanthropist from New York, has pride of place on campus.

I first came to Dumaguete some years ago on my way to Siquijor, and on the way back to the airport for the flight to Manila I made a quick stop to pick up boxes of silvanas (more on that later). This time, having to “chaperone” a Canadian friend who was to lecture at Silliman University, a bunch of us decided to make a vacation of it – and it turned out to be a gem of a vacation!

Silliman University is at the heart of the city, its campus occupying about a third of total city area. Founded in 1901 by Presbyterian missionaries, it is the first American university in Asia and was named after New York businessman Horace Silliman, who gave $10,000 to start an elementary school for boys. It became a university in 1938.

Good eats:A mouth-watering spread at Oosaka…

Silliman is one of four universities in Dumaguete, which also has 12 public and private colleges and a long list of primary and secondary schools. Thus there is a pronounced bagets vibe here, a youthful energy tempered by the laid back character of a city that refuses to give in to the urban rat race. There also seems to be a significant number of Caucasian retirees here; the attraction of a retired life in Dumaguete is quite understandable.

Silliman has an enviable location facing the sea, along the Rizal Boulevard waterfront promenade. We took a late afternoon stroll along this quarter-mile stretch, with canopying old trees stretching out moss-covered limbs and old-fashioned street lamps, sharing the peaceful view and gentle breeze with students huddled over an assignment or project, young and old couples sitting on benches or on the grass, others like us leisurely passing time until dinner.

…followed by Nabe(left) and then silvanas (right) for dessert.

Dinner is definitely not a problem here, for the boulevard is lined with restaurants, bars and food stalls. On the recommendation of a friend of a friend, we made our way to Oosaka, a little (capacity of about a dozen diners) cubby hole where the owner – who we simply called Mr. Oosaka (the double o, he explained, was because Osaka was already taken when he registered his restaurant, so he improvised on the name) – cooks up a storm in his little open kitchen. We had a fantastic spread of crabs and prawns and other dishes, but the two-part Nabe – a huge steaming pot of delights that was followed up, as if that wasn’t enough, by savory rice cooked in whatever was left in the pot – was so good we went back the next night just for this one-pot wonder.   

The other wonder of Dumaguete is silvanas, that crunchy, crumbly, buttery pastry that has no equal anywhere in the universe. You have to make your way to the Sans Rival Cakes & Pastries store near the corner on San Jose Street; sit down for a cup of coffee and some pastries – sans rival and silvanas, what else? – while they pack your order. We had to do this because – between all the pabili and pasalubong – we had to wait for quite a bit while they packed all our orders into two cartons.

Dumaguete’s got me for sure.

This culinary wonder began in 1977 when the Sagarbarria matriarch Trinidad started making this confection “without rival” for family and friends. They now have branches in Manila (prices are nearly double here since the goodies are shipped from Dumaguete), but nothing beats getting the blue-and-white box from its home kitchen. We had enough stock to freeze and enjoy this splendid taste of Dumaguete back home in Manila – until our next visit to this gentle city by the sea.