Scotland - Fort Williams

This was not my first time to visit this place as I was able to kind of explore this last year before I went home.  However, this year when we docked again, I opted to stay onboard. Maybe I had fever or what but I did not have the heart to go out. Haha

Comes another Scottish cruise and viola! I fould myself waiting in the gangway for several minutes and was ashore by 10 in the morning. Now, I have the heart. Hehe

So, what I did in my second visit? The same thing but not EXACTLY the same thing (whatever is happening to me).

We took pictures of the busy main street of Fort Williams. The shops were wide open, people busy doing their thing and mind you, the sun was up. There were no drizzles whatsoever, it was a very fine day, unlike last year.

in full bloom!

Entrance to the main shopping street

High Street!

Timber building!

too big and too sweet!

Just a refresher from wiki, Fort William ("The Garrison") is the second largest settlement in the Highlands of Scotland with around 10,000 inhabitants – and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger.

Along the way, there were bagpipe players entertaining the passersby.. So Scotland!

Walking past the cute shops, we arrived in this beautiful park. It's Alexandra hotel and Duncansburgh Church in the background. What a lovely day!

After taking pics (as what we usually do), we went farther - going through the undepass

 to Morrisons, a huge supermarket..

then to this particular spot that was something new to me!

Then we went farther to the left of Morrisons straight to Lidl to look for Kinder Chocolates but to no avail, we went back with choco wafers and very yummy pastries instead.

We ate along the way as the sky started to look gloomy and a few drizzles coming down. We visited Boots and Superdrug to find a conditioner but nothing of the scent I was looking for. Then, we looked for a place to eat. We were supposed to go to the place we tried before but I suggested to go somewhere new. Hence, we settled in this Fish and Chips corner in the main street. They served us 1/4lbs burgers for £3 each. It was a nice try actually and I was sooo full I wasn't able to finish it all.

If you are a philatropist at heart or a fan of second-hand shops, there are various hospice and charity shops where you can buy quality clothes for just a few pounds. Surely, sooo much of your time will be consumed as there are several of them. It feels good though knowing you have helped the community.

I had 30 minutes left so, we went back to the tender boat bidding Fort Williams goodbye as the tender slowly sailed to Boudicca. See you again this June! :)

Big Daddy Truck

I am a lover of burgers. I don't know how I came to be but there are instances these weigh more than any rice meals. And being a rice person, that could really be something. Haha

Anyway, Chika-an in Lahug has a huge parking space. Not only for its customers but to a big food truck as well. It really is big and even named Big Daddy Truck.

When my unusual craving set in on this particular night, with my ever supportive friend, we checked this place out.

They have a menu visibly placed where you can choose from a variety of burgers. When you have decided on what to order, you would need to tell the staff situated inside the truck and pay to the cashier as well (in the front seat).

 

We waited for a few minutes before we got our orders. You can choose 3 condiments to add more flavor.

 

 

Well, here's my burger.

My verdict?

For its price, it is worth it. As I super love burgers, I could say this is one of those places I would surely be coming back when the craving sets in again. Thank God this is situated near my place. Haha

Amy's Lunchbox Cafe

This is a looong overdue post but I would share anyway. Haha

My former colleagues and I share a great love for food. Remember the Payday Habit section of this blog? They were my accomplices before. It was them who I shared most of my food trips way way back.

So, a mini-reunion was agreed and we thought of a place that we all have never been and later on decided to meet at Amy's Lunchbox Cafe.

could you read it? haha

This cafe is located behind Harolds Hotel. The place was previously Urban Kamalig. Anyway, there were a lot of customers but we managed to secure a spot, ordered our food and started THE talking. Haha.

just eat healthy

It's not really a big place actually but I love how it is designed, how it is lighted and everything seems to be organized. Did I tell you this is a healthy cafe? They offer food which are oil-less and yummy! At first, I thought we would be eating out of a "lunch box" but then the plates were served. Kinda disappointing but we ate anyway. Haha

So, what did we order? We ordered different dishes..

pasta!

lasagna!

squid!

The food was great. The pasta being oil-less, you may find it dry but it still tastes good. I super love the lasagna! The squid, it was too big for one person. Haha. I find it kinda salty but we still managed to finish it. Haha.
 
You know, nothing beats healthy meals...

                    and hearty conversations! :)

Brique

I have had the chance to visit one of the newly-opened restaurants in town - Brique.

When my friend and I agreed to meet, she immediately thought of this place which is located in Salinas Drive, Lahug, Cebu City- just right beside Chika-an.

This is a 2-storey diner serving quite a lot. See their menu here.

  

   

A lot of people has been coming here we could not immediately be accommodated. We waited for around 10 minutes to settle in our table.

I ordered their bestseller, Shrimp and Spanish Chorizo in Light Sofrito and my friend ordered Tuna Sandwich.

Tuna Sandwich

Pasta best seller!

The whole place was packed but you could immediately notice the brick walls where the name of the restaurant came from.

We killed time through hearing each other's updates. Our orders were served a few minutes after.

We were so busy discussing about our planned trip that I could not really recall how it tasted like. But I know it was good because I never left a single piece of pasta on my plate. Haha

I would love to come back and order a rice meal perhaps and see how it would satisfy the foodie in me.

Had not been to the 2nd floor as well. Got to really come back. Haha

BUDDIES

Our spontaneity led us to Escario St. It just so happened we've never been to much of the establishments here, so we were excited!

We had dinner at Buddies. The restaurant's pretty obvious along the street and it's famous for its burger challenge that you just can't ignore it.

facade

Since this is a burger place, my 3 colleagues ordered burgers while I had mild spicy sizzling squid. We never took the challenge of eating a huge burger in 5 minutes coz aside from the fact that the burger is too big for any of us, we were there to relax and not to hurry things up. Maybe next time.

So, while waiting, I took some pics.

the counter

the challenge

Our food finally arrived. And I tell you, I'm not joking, it was one of the best-tasting sizzling squid I've ever tried. The mild spices, the flavor, it was really perfect.

THE SQUID!!!

It was the kind of food I really think of whenever I'm hungry or the food that whenever I think of, makes me hungry.

The burger was also good. We tried their cheeseburger and loved it.

burger!

We even thought Buddies was just a franchise of an international chain but I found out we were wrong. But indeed made me proud.

When I happened to talk with the store's manager, who is my best buddy's sister. She shared that Buddies is a product of 3 friends' travel experiences. They've made an idea out of the places they've been to abroad.

It's either they've been to really great places or they're just so brilliant, or both. But I do hope Buddies would not stop here in Cebu.

Looking forward to my next sizzling squid encounter! :)