IT WAS my second time in two months to be in Cagayan de Oro and I really liked my nice new hotel (New Dawn Plus at Don Apolinar Velez Street in front of the Pelaez Sports Complex) , and so I booked there again, this time with Maan as travelmate. It was our last day and we're all set to check out, but first, an early lunch.

Walking around the neighborhood, we saw this old house with the sign saying "Chicken Inasal". Now, old houses and food are a special treat for me, and so we went in. The restaurant's whole name is Chicken Inasal Grill House Bacolod Style.

Since it was still early, there were no customers. Just a group of resto crew watching a Nicholas Cage movie on the television.

We each got Chicken Inasal and I also ordered the eggplant salad. Plus, I wanted 'sabaw'... Since there were just two of us, I thought a P160 soup should be just right. I got the "8 Treasures Soup".

The chicken inasal were sized just right, being native chicken, they're on the small side, but perfect for the regular tummy. The eggplant salad serving was a bit big, but I can hack it. Then, the soup came. It was one huge bowl enough for a small family to share and it was just P160. It was pretty nice too. Hot and thick.

The food is familiar to the tastebuds, barbecue and sabaw. It's not something you'd rave about on a food blog, but it's something that you'd be eating regularly though. Yes, that kind of familiar.

What I enjoyed the most, however, was the ambience of the old house. I could've sat there for hours just reading a book and chomping forever on that huge bowl of soup. But, maybe next time.

We had a plane to catch. So, where is it? Errrmmm... From the side of New Dawn, just walk toward the inner street (Macahambus Street), it's at the next kanto. Google Maps says it\s at the corner of Tiano Brothers and Macahambus Streets. That should be easy to find (especially if you like old houses).