When I moved to Iloilo four years ago (before the pandemic hit), I planned to explore the province as much as possible and discover its heritage and culture.

Iloilo is known for its old heritage houses (which I am so curious about!) and Spanish colonial churches being the second Spanish colony in the Philippines after Cebu. In Spanish, Iloilo has been dubbed “La Muy Leal y Noble Ciudad de Iloilo”“ which translates to "Most Loyal and Noble City".

When the establishments fully opened, I got the chance to tour 4 Iloilo museums and I highly recommend these as a go-to place for some art therapy and cultural education. Of course, not all of them will fit everyone's liking.

Find out which one you should not get your hopes high on and which one you should mentally prepare for!

1. ILOMOCA (Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Arts) 

I first visited ILOMOCA in 2019 and definitely loved all the pieces. 

According to its website, ILOMOCA is the first museum in the Visayas region dedicated to modern and contemporary art. The museum has 3 floors—but don’t
worry, they have escalators! It is also conveniently located in Iloilo Business Park so it’s close to hotels and malls.     

Entrance Fee:

• Regular: P150.00
• Senior/PWD: P120.00 (ID required)
• Students: P100.00 (ID required)
• Children (4 years below): FREE

They are open daily from 10 AM – 6 PM, except on Mondays. 

Personal take: Aside from the beautiful pieces, I love the ambiance of the place! The soft lighting and relaxing music makes it perfect for some art therapy—or even a casual date. 😉 

I recommend going to this museum first and grab lunch in nearby mall restaurants/food chains before heading off to the next museum destination!

2. Museo Iloilo

Entrance Fee:

• Adults – P50.00
• Students – P25.00

They are open daily from 10 AM  - 4:30 PM, except Mondays. 

Personal take: I was expecting more cultural pieces since this was supposed to be a provincial museum. Its main hall showcases a few artifacts, religious statues and some framed bits, and pieces of old, random items. 

Another smaller room houses some war relics, potteries, and brief history and background of fabric pieces in Iloilo. I think we stayed here for less than 20 minutes because some of the random pieces did not really pique my interest.

Check out some snaps on my TikTok vid by clicking here.

3. National Museum Western Visayas

You can’t miss this museum on your museum tours. I actually thought it was going to be a long walk down the road, but it’s literally just right beside Museo Iloilo.

National Museum Western Visayas was actually an old provincial jail built in 1911
(more than a hundred years ago, wow!). It was already up during WW2 and had been used by Japanese soldiers back then as an internment camp for prisoners of war. 

Now, aside from the prison bars which would remind visitors of the building's former function, this two-storey building has been converted into a museum and the place boasts of Ilonggo Heritage and cultural pieces. 

Entrance Fee: FREE 

        They are open daily from 9 AM  - 5 PM, except Mondays. 

Personal take: No shade to the previous museum, but this one has no entrance fee but looks better maintained, has cooler air-conditioning, and is more child-friendly. 

They actually have some stations where kids and adults can have some activities like drawing and knitting (materials provided). The roof deck is also a good place to visit, it has nothing really-- just faux grass (I think?) but the old prison guard towers just gives a glimpse of the building’s history. 

Check out some snaps on my TikTok vid by clicking here.

4. Metro Iloilo Modern Arts Park (MIMA) or Musée d' Arsie 

Metro Iloilo Modern Arts Park (MIMA) or Musée d' Arsie is not an actual museum, but a 7-storey commercial building with pieces of thought-provoking art displayed along walls and staircases. Don’t expect a hall full of paintings and sculptures, but also, don’t underestimate the displays!

The arts would send your imagination to another level, especially the ones that are kept in the basement. 

• Adults – P100.00
• Students – P50.00 

They are open daily from 9 AM  - 6 PM. 

Personal take: When we were told that the viewing would start at 7th floor, my first thought was “wow, that much?” – and then we got to 7th floor and was told to just take the stairs down until the we reach the basement. The key to touring this museum? Take it easy. Absorb each art pieces, no matter how weird some of them are (for me, at least), taking time to really strike a conversation with a friend (or with your self) will help you forget the many flight of stairs you have to go through. But it’s not that hard, because every art piece and sculpture here is really interesting – weird (again—for me!), but interesting! 

Check out some snaps on my TikTok vid by clicking here.

All in all, including taxi fares, I spent less than P500 pesos on cabs with Iloilo Business Park as my start and end point. It was really nice to just sit and relax in one of Festive Walk Mall’s al fresco cafés and watch the afternoon sky turn from blue to indigo after a long day. 

There are many other cultural places in Iloilo that I wish to go to soon (and hope to share via this blog too) – so let me know if you any suggestions!

In one of my recent blog articles, I shared a brief restaurant recommendations in Iloilo and thought about suggesting specific dishes from them.

I had been in Iloilo for less than a year when the pandemic hit, so I had not been able to go to many places. Although, even now that restrictions have eased up, I still prefer ordering in because it’s safer plus it's less awkward eating alone at home. :)

So—GrabFood and FoodPanda to the rescue! In fact, the following restaurants may have already memorized my name and number because I order from them almost on a daily basis, and today I’m sharing with you what I love about their food and why you should try them out when you’re in Iloilo! 😁

Nicolette’s Bakery + Café

• Smoked Bangus Teriyaki – the store can probably attest to how many times I’ve ordered this, alternating with their Italian-Style Steak Strips or Chicken Shawarma Rice. Their bangus (milkfish) belly is always rich and fatty and is perfectly paired with their homemade teriyaki sauce. I love how their white rice is consistently cooked to my liking and the cherry tomatoes are always, always juicy! 
• Italian-Style Steak Strips – this is soooo flavorful I don’t even know where to begin. The blended flavors of rosemary, garlic, and Italian seasoning which seemed to have been absorbed by the juicy steak strips just make my world stop. I don’t recommend this to anyone on a low-carb diet because you’ll definitely want (and need) more rice! 

Click here to go to Nicolette's Facebook page

Monkey Grounds Coffee

One of my first friends in ILO introduced me to Monkey Grounds. We frequented this place pre-pandemic because they open at 6:30 AM, which was right around the time we got off work. So we would go here for breakfast (our body clock’s dinner) before she drove me home – and I just started craving for their healthy food choices! 

Here are my most frequent orders (according to my apps):

• Roasted Vegetables Omelette with Buttered Ciabatta (or Brown/Adlai/Quinoa rice)

• Meatless Arroz Ala Cubana with Brown Rice (option to switch to Adlai or Quinoa) – I think this is a recent addition, which I love especially when I crave for Momo’s Arroz a la Cubana

• Spinach Alfredo Pizza – a must-try! I love the flavors of caramelized onion, cheese, Shiitake Mushroom, and creamy spinach just complementing each other! 

• Eggs Benedict on Brioche Bread – it’s luscious, need I say more? 

Monkey Grounds is located along Diversion road, and has an Insta-worthy industrial-style restaurant. I highly recommend dining in to enjoy their hot drinks which DO NOT disappoint. I don’t get hot drinks when ordering via food delivery apps (except SB/CBTL), so I always get me Blueberry Cheesecake Shake for take-aways. 😅

Click here to go to Monkey Grounds Coffee's Facebook Page

Prince Baker 

I think I first walked into Prince Baker at Festive Walk Mall when I was craving C’s L’Fisher’s Molo Soup—only to realize I was in a different store (because they had the same clean white store colors washed with warm lights). AND THEN Cheese Rolls found me. I am a huge fan of cheese rolls even when I was still in Manila, so I got so obsessed with Prince Baker’s cheese rolls that I even started saving the label stickers on each wrapping and placed them on my daily journal. 

So during one of my cravings, I looked them up and was so delighted to find them in the apps. It was a good thing that they have other food and drink choices so I don’t need to order dinner from other stores. 

I highly recommend: 

• Roasted Chicken – I love that they serve this with honey-lemon dip and not the usual pepper gravy!

• Everything in their All-Day Breakfast Menu! Lol – I just can’t choose one though I always Hotdogs or Spam, but what I love is their garlic rice. It’s too garlicky! 😁

Their Bichos are also unique and flavorful! Imagine the classic Bicho or Bichokoy (they’re like twisted soft bread sprinkled with sugar) with a modern twist which ranges from bacon bits, banana, cinnamon (my fave), and chocolate. Definitely a must-have when in Iloilo!

Click here to go to Prince Baker's Facebook page

Healthy Kitchen Café 

I have ordered from Healthy Kitchen back in 2019 because they have healthy prep meals and I wanted to make myself believe I can survive on a 1200-kcal meal plan. Then recently, because of my fixation with Nicolette’s Chicken Shawarma Rice and with it not being available on their menu the day I had a serious craving, I searched GrabFood and found that Healthy Kitchen has this on their menu, and I was hooked! 

• Chicken Shawarma Rice – the flavors precisely capture that Middle Eastern tang and the combination of chewy brown rice, lettuce, tomatoes, chicken and the crunch of finely chopped onion can just make my day, any day.

• Mango Float – I think this is one of my constants. Like, I can’t order from Healthy Kitchen without getting a Mango Float to sate my sweet tooth (and to cleanse my palate from the onion-rich flavor of Shawarma)

I’m not often adventurous when it comes to food, but have tried their Steamed Fish Teriyaki, Tofu Sisig, Cilantro Chicken Chops, Pandan Curry Chicken, Spicy Crab Salad Rolls, and nothing—as in nothing disappoints. 

I even located their store and dined in —once, all by my lonesome self, and second was with my BFF and the place was serene and so green! 

Click here to go Healthy Kitchen Café's Facebook page

Courtyard by Marriott

When dining in, a MUST-TRY for a group of 3 or more would be their Giant Marriott Burger, just because!

Click here to go to Courtyard by Marriott's Facebook page

K’s Final Thoughts 💜

Other restaurants/food choices I would recommend when you’re in Iloilo would be (titles linked to their Facebook pages):

• Buto’t Balat – they have a lot of famous Ilonggo dishes and my go-to restaurant for sinigang, pinakbet, and tinola

• Akamon Ramen Bar – my ramen and yakiniku craving fulfiller when in ILO

• Salt Gastro Lounge – their New Jersey Fried Chicken are the best fried chicken in ILO

• Troi Oi – I’ve been here only once, but would love to return when I go by Esplanade again. I love their Bahn Mi and Fresh Spring Rolls

• Seventy N Coffee + Drinkery – been here just once too, but their four-cheese pizza is unforgettable! I’m always tempted to order one whole box for myself. They also have the finest and most flavorful steaks in ILO

There are a lot of restaurants that I really want to try while I’m in Iloilo City! I’m sure that I will one of these days and hopefully find one or two to add to this list! Let me know if you have any recommendations! 

xoxo,