OUR WEEKEND FOODTRIP IN CEBU

OUR WEEKEND FOOD TRIP IN CEBU

By Ysabel Villaflor

The last time I was in Cebu was in 1992.  At that time, I had not been that attentive to the food that I ate or the places we’ve been to except for the fact that I have spent my entire stay in Cebu just in Cebu Plaza’s gigantic pool. What can I say? I was just a kid back then, and at that time, I just wanted to swim.

Come 2012, I had the opportunity to come back to watch a football game with my friends —and this time, I was determined to make up for all those things that I felt I missed out on the last time I was there: the FOOD.

The good thing was: my football friends are also my foodie friends so looking and trying out the food in Cebu was oh so FUN!

CASA VERDE

One of our friends, Christian Cruz, suggested this little place.  It was tucked away in this residential area and if you didn’t have a great driver, it would be quite a feat looking for it.  You might even miss it since this looked more like a house than a restaurant.  But for all the mystery this little place brings, the food was another story! It was so GOOD!   The best part, the quality doesn’t seem to affect the price. When we found out the steaks were around Php300++ or US$7++, all of us decided to get steaks AND shakes (not the usual combo but, hey, we were a hungry bunch and the shakes were around Php90, so why not?). It did not disappoint!

 

  

  

The most famous of them all - Brian's Ribs.

Don't let the cheese fool you. It's awesome Rib Eye with Onion Rings Almonds and special sauce. YUM!

Beef Stroganoff

The Finger Sampler. Definitely made quite an impression!

My Chocolate Shake! 

LARSIAN

For the weak at heart, Larsian may not be for you. If you don’t mind a little sweat, smelling a bit like barbeque and good food, then this just make you smile.  This is Cebu City’s street food capital. But before you write this area off, try it first.  The Larsian Experience consists of: barkers luring you to their stalls to try their fare, no utensils only one plastic glove to scoop the food in your mouth, the random musical numbers that show up during the meal (why hello there, Harpist), having your food prepared right on a communal grill that everyone shares, eating the food al fresco and the smell of beautiful burning meat and barbeque. Yes, take it all in. And the price? No heart attacks there. It is cheap and yummy - Can’t go wrong there.

 

 

Barbeque Grilled Chicken

Grilled Liempo (Pork Belly)

What's this? Rice wrapped in Coconut Leaves.

Grilled Milkfish and Stuffed Squid 

Would you believe this humongous bowl is free? Seafood Sinigang (Seafood in Tamarind Broth)

Getting our Larsian ON!

ZUBUCHON

You can’t visit Cebu and NOT try their lechon or Roasted Suckling Pig. Among the many lechon houses, Zubuchon was one that was always recommended.  Since Anthony Bourdain himself got a piece of this, why not? The Cebu lechon unlike its Northern counterpart isn’t dipped in Sweetened Liver Sauce but is preferred to be eaten by itself.  It is succulent, juicy and flavorful in all its cholesterol goodness.  So, for this experience, let’s not consult the BP apparatus just yet.  The Kamias Juice too is a killer.

                            

  

 

Pork Sinigang (Pork in Tamarind Broth)

   

The Famous Kamias Shake - refreshing and delicious.

Lechon de Cebu.

Turon con Leche (Banana in Rice Paper fritters with Caramel Dip)

MARSHALL’S

Didn’t I say we went to Cebu for a football game? Well, one live game wasn’t enough and we had to watch the replay.  Marshalls was suggested by one of our Cebuano football friends- Kuya Egay Salvacion.  It had European Beers and the proper atmosphere for a football.. however, there was an acoustic performance that made it a bit strange. Imagine watching a high energy game with sappy love songs in the background. It just doesn’t mesh well together. But despite that little detail, we discovered something: that awesome Bailey’s Cheesecake! Will ask next time if a band will be around before going with the intention of watching a football game.

Bailey's Cheesecake

TOPPS

My friend Jaron Genota suggested we make Topps our last stop in our Cebu City Tour. I had no idea what it was.  Only that it was one of the places we had to see when visiting Cebu.  When we finally arrived there, I finally understood why. It was breath-taking! It had a view of Cebu unlike no other spot in the city.  And the fact that they had small restaurants on the side that serve beer and desserts is just awesome. So we ordered European Beer and stayed for a bit with some really relaxing music in the background. Ah. What an experience. If you just want a relaxing drink, this just might be the perfect place in Cebu.

This is what we came here for. Breath-taking.

  

 

 

CHOCOLATIER

We were walking around Ayala Mall looking for the bathroom when we chanced upon this dessert place.  Since the exteriors looked inviting, we decided to give it a go. It paid off. The servings were laden with rich Lindt chocolate and the selection was just smothered with exquisite chocolate, though the price is on the expensive side.  But then again, we never had a pricey meal during our stay, and it was our last night in Cebu, so we were happy to try this out.  We ended up falling in love with the White Chocolate Crepe and the Hot Chocolate Soup with Chili.  The Ferrero Rocher Cake was unbelievable.  The Fruit Tart was memorable. We closed the store that night. We had so much fun indulging in its richness.

Chocolate Soup with Chili.

White Chocolate Crepe with Fruits

Chocolate Fruit Torte

Ferrero Rocher Cake -- (Drool)

Fondue Baby!

Classic Hot Chocolate Soup

TINDERBOX

While we were waiting to be boarded for our flight back to Manila, we chanced upon this place in the airport.  It looked nice from the outside and we wanted to eat something handy.  Turns out, this place had great paninis and we ended up having our names announced on the PA system when we were enjoying our meal.  I ordered the Quattro Formaggi Panini which haunts me up to this day while my friends bought the Panini with Mozzarella and Panchetta.  

Quattro Formaggi Panini

Panchetta and Mozzarella Panini with Pesto Sauce

Lemonada with the Menu

SOME NOTABLE PLACES AS WELL (Sorry, no pictures)

The LOFT

If you want to go clubbing in Cebu, I guess this is the best place to go.  It was packed when we went there.  It didn’t feel like I left Manila. This was definitely the place to be in.

ILAPUTI

We had our first real meal on our first day in Cebu in ilaputi. It was Filpino-American Fusion restaurant with a nice ambiance.  I was so hungry I grabbed a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich while some of my friends grabbed Adobo and Rice or their Liempo and Rice.  After partying at the Loft, we went back to have some post-party snacks (much needed after some drinking). Their shakes are fresh and their coffee is two thumbs up! (Their coffee is by Illy)  Pretty impressive.

PARKLANE BREAKFAST BUFFET

On our last day in Cebu, we decided to go all out on breakfast and tried out the buffet from our next door neighbor as suggested by Ida Torres.   We had a very modest selection of continental and Filipino fare which we indulged to our hearts delight