Kalami Cebu! - A Gastronomic Guide to Cebu

If you are looking for a good place to eat at the SM City Cebu Foodcourt, you should check out the newly-opened branch of  Cebu's most popular Mongolian-themed restaurant Kublai Khan's.  Kublai Khan's is among my favorites when it comes to a quick and healthy hot meal that is guaranteed to give me a full stomach.  I am pretty much happy that they now have a branch at SM.

Planet Grapes Cebu has a unique event that will happen today as they will host a wine tasting event featuring 6 wines paired to 6 dishes. This exclusive event is limited to 13 people only. Here are the food and wine that are going to be featured on the Noche Buena Wine Tasting:

I just realized that I have many friends and family who are born in October and November. I was not really expecting to attend many birthday parties at this time, but last week I attended two parties and both were held at Bigby's at the Ayala Terraces. After 2 birthday celebrations in a week, I realized that Bigby's is such a wonderful place to celebrate a birthday party.  

Photo of a part of the sky during a meteor shower over an extended exposure time. The meteors have actually occurred several seconds to several minutes apart. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) It is November and the Leonids Meteor Shower is at its full blast. If you like eating good food while waiting to make a wish on a shooting star, you should head out to the Linear Park across Ayala Center Cebu and Cebu City Marriott Hotel to check out the Foodish Food Festival. At the festival, you can choose from hundreds of food options then dine surrounded by lighted trees and bunting lights serenaded by mood-setting acoustic music. You can have a memorable dinner with a view of the sky and the passing shooting stars under the transparent tents of the Foodish Food Festival .

Do you love having food delivered to your house??? Aside from giving you thousands of options for lunch, dinner, or midnight snacks, FoodPanda is giving away money for you to spend on more food. In the next four weeks, our favorite food delivery app will be giving away a total of 100,000 pesos in their Freaky Fridays promo.

Warning: This post is full graphic images that might cause you to drool or have cravings in odd hours of the day. When it comes to eat-all-you-can restaurants in Cebu, it is hard to beat the quality, variety, and value that Tokyo Table offers. I have eaten at this buffet restaurant several times and each time, I always discover a new favorite dish.  Tokyo Table never ceases to amaze me.  This is one of the restaurants that I can truly say to my friends and #kalaminions as a must-try.

It has been weeks, but I am still raving about the awesome dinner that I had when I attended the "JPark at 6" party. The buffet was great and the selection was really awesome, but my attention was on the different delectable options at the carving stations. My #happytummy that night was filled roast beef, lechon, and Peking duck. It was just a good start of a very lucky night for me.

Would you exchange your relaxing Sunday evening with your family for a crispy pata dinner with Jericho Rosales ? Your answers may be varied, but yes, I did it once and it went well. Jericho Rosales is now the new face of homegrown Kuya J Restaurant.   The Cebuano restaurant brand is setting its sights to become of the dominant Filipino restaurants in the country.

Last Saturday, I tried out Diamond  Suites Cebu's Saturday dinner buffet dubbed as "International Feastival Buffet". All I can is that I was treated to a fantastic feast of delicious dishes from all over the world. At 408 pesos ($9), the eat all you can buffet at Diamond Suites Cebu is one of the best buffets in Cebu priced below 500 pesos.  I am quite sure that I have discovered one of the best places to eat on a Saturday night.

I attended the APEC Forum the other day and listened to Undersecretary Jose Mari M. Oquinena. The more I listened to his speech, the more I realized that APEC has a lot to do with me being a food blogger. We might not all directly see it but every day, Filipinos have been benefiting from the fruits of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation .  Without APEC, I probably not be blogging right now.

Recently, I discovered 9 people that I should make friends with after attending an event at Hukad sa Golden Cowrie at Ayala Center Cebu.  These 9 people are probably kind, generous, attractive, and friendly.  I am not really certain, but there 2 things in common for all of them. One, they are all winners and two, they are going to have a big feast soon of delicious crispy pata, kinilaw, mongos, bulalo, ngohiong, adobong talong, big bangus, and many other Filipino specialties. Don't you want to be in a big feast? Let's find out who are these lucky 9.

When was the last time you ate balut? Do you really eat balut? How about eating a balut in a fancy restaurant? Do you even think that it is possible?  Probably if you live in New York, Paris, or Sydney.  In Cebu, the most unusual place that I tried balut was in Planet Grapes at the new wing of Ayala Center Cebu.

His name is Kenzo and I met him a couple of days ago. He is a good looking guy. He comes from a prominent family here in Cebu.  He could even be the type of guy that you want your sister or daughter to date. He could even be a good buddy of mine, but definitely I am not going to invite him to a fiesta or party if I am serving some hot chicken wings. ;)

I have been a big basketball fan since I was a kid.  I just usually watch important games at home.  Recently, I discovered one great place to watch basketball games on TV.  I never thought that The Social in Ayala Center Cebu New Wing is such an awesome place to have some iced cold beer while cheering for the Gilas Pilipinas.  If you happen to be in Ayala Center tonight, you should cheer on the Gilas Pilipinas in the finals of the FIBA Asia Championships at The Social.

The second dish that former Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña cooked during our dinner with him was what he called "Archival Veggies". This dish is named after Cebu City North District Councilor Nestor Archival who is a frequent visitor of Mayor Tommy and a vegetarian.  In this recipe, the mayor uses okra and sikwa (spounge gourd or patola).   This is a very simple recipe that even beginners can make at their own kitchens.

How big is your appetite for delicious and hot chicken wings? Gibbs' Hot Wings Streetscapes is calling all brave Cebuanos and Cebuanas to join Cebu's First Wing Eating Competition. Be the first ever grand champion and win a 3 months supply of mouthwatering Gibbs' Hot Wings.  The competition will be held this Saturday, October 3 on the Grand Launching of Gibbs' Hot Wings Streetscape.

 I love drinking juice.  I have been drinking it since I was a child. I always go for my favorites like orange, pineapple, mango, and grapes. Recently, I attended a talk organized by the people behind the Old Orchard Juice Brand in the Philippines and I realized many things about juices and the health benefits we get from it.

Last night, I got invited to join the Summer Sunset Cruise aboard the Antipodes today. This nice-looking Trimaran can now be rented for a cruise along the Hilutungan Chanel. I have tried going island hopping in Mactan for several times already, but I never tried it aboard a luxury yacht.  I am very excited for this cruise.  The Antipodes has a total of 8 cabins and it has a capacity of 60 people. The luxury cruise is priced at 1,600 pesos per guest. The fee includes light bites and free flowing wine.  This is another good reason to say "Kalami Cebu!".  Island hopping in Mactan has never been this fun and delicious. Check out my blog post tomorrow to know how my trip went. You may also call 0977-178-6915 to inquire about the Summer Sunset Cruise.  Related articles #summertoremember: Island Hopping with the future doctors via Island Banca Cruises MexiMama Cocina Latina Opens at Mactan Newtown 1BR Unit for Rent at Movenpick Residences Over the Weekend: Shangri-La Mact

In the previous post, I intimated that former Cebu City Mayor Tommy  Osmeña knows his way around the kitchen. Today, I will share with you how to make Mayor Tommy's version of the Cream of Spinach.    Tomas Osmena’s passion for   cooking started when he lived in the United States during the Martial Law era and he got sick tired of eating TV dinners.  He decided to learn how to cook to enjoy better food.  Over the years, his love for cooking grew. He now considers cooking as a form of therapy.   He cooks for his family or friends at least twice a week.

Kalami Cebu started as a hobby blog.  I had so many food and restaurant pictures that I decided to start writing about it. My traffic was just 200 views a month last January then I decided to write more often. As a result, my traffic increased drastically. The average site traffic of this blog is now over 20,000 page views a month for 3 consecutive months already. I never expected the blog to reach these traffic levels. This blog was supposed to be an experiment to see if a FREE blog can generate good traffic through publishing useful content. I decided to end the experiment today. I realized that I have far surpassed my initial objective.  With the advice of some mentors and leads in the Cebu Blogging Community, I decided to buy a domain. Kalamicebu.blogspot.com is now Kalamicebu.com.  The name now sounds more legit and one of the biggest reasons for the change are the readers who regularly checks the posts here in the blog. I want to thank all the readers and I hope you woul

Some bloggers of the Cebu Blogging Community had dinner with former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena a couple of nights ago.  I was fortunate to be one of the few people invited to the dinner and I realized that there was more to the strict and tough person that Tommy Osmena has been portrayed as. That night, I found out that Mayor Tomas was articulate, passionate, and most of all, he loves cooking. The group had an awesome dinner with the former mayor, highlighted with some dishes cooked by him, worthy to be featured in Kalami Cebu.

 A couple of months ago, I was strolling around Ayala mall and I saw that there was a little dessert shop under the escalator in the ground floor of the new wing of Ayala Center Cebu. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was a mini-branch of a popular cake shop in Cebu, Fudge. Lava by Fudge is a place to enjoy some delicious lava cakes, but they also offer many other interesting items for people who are looking to eat some snacks or desserts. I really had a blast on my first visit there.

 It has been a while since I bought some lechon manok and eat it at home.  One of my first options when it comes to lechon manok or roasted chicken is Ang Lechon Manok ni Sr. Pedro.   One time on my way home from Mandaue, I decided to drop by the Sr. Pedro branch at H. Cortez Street and bought one whole chicken for dinner.  

 I have always dreamt of going to Spain and to try out the tapas there ever since I saw it featured in a Food channel. I also heard tales from friends and relatives about how amazing it is to go bar-hopping to different Tapas bars in Madrid.  It was some sort of fantasy that came true when I was recently invited to taste the tapas of Andele Tapas Bar de Cebu at Mango Avenue. On that night, I was transported to Spain and saw a glimpse of the food that my Spanish ancestors were enjoying. Don Carlos Andres Olano tasted 26 different tapas and enjoyed them like a true-blue Spaniard.

 I was recently invited by my "CBKS" friends  +Jephunneh Deon Flores  and  +Marie Imperial  to join them on a food tasting event at Luwag Native Seafood Grill in Gaisano Mactan Island Mall 2, Lapu-Lapu City. I was expecting the restaurant to be just a typical Filipino restaurant that serves favorites like crispy pata, sinigang, sisig, pansit, and kare-kare. After eating at Luwag, I realized that Filipino cuisine is constantly evolving and once in a while we get to try "new" dishes inspired by the food cooked by our grandparents. 

This blog supports the Vispop Music Festival that will be held on September 13, 2015, at the UP Cebu Grounds. I am a big fan of Cebu goods and products and that includes music.  It is about time that we support local artists who are making a living as musicians.  I am very happy that the Vispop Music Festival will include a song that is perfect for this blog and its readers. The song is "Bok Love" written by Felipe Anjelo Calinawan and Therese Marie Villarante, and performed by Therese Marie Villarante and Kurt Fick. 

I am the type of person who likes to try food from other countries. I recently discovered a restaurant at E-Zone Paseo at F. Cabahug Street that serves Korean food. Happy Together is a newly-opened restaurant that offers delicious Korean comfort food at pretty reasonable prices. It is quite fun to eat at this cute Korean resto.

 Last weekend, I was able to taste Da Vinci's Pizza Piccolo. I liked it a lot and I was more than happy to bring a trio of it home. I putted a box in the ref then a couple of days later I decided to eat the pizzas for breakfast. I used a sandwich press to heat it and magic happened. I just discovered a new breakfast favorite.

Kalami Cebu would like to announce and congratulate the winners of its first ever giveaway. The winners were by Rafflecopter by random and due to the success of the first raffle, the blog will be announcing another raffle in the next few days.

Pizza Chain Shakey’s opened up its biggest branch in the Visayas at F. Cabahug Street, Kasambagan, Cebu City. The new Shakey’s branch is a stand-alone branch and it has ample parking spaces for diners. The new pizza parlor is just near my house, which makes it convenient for me during days that I crave for pizza.

Do you want win 10,000 worth of Gift Checks from Hukad or Golden Cowrie or a new IPad Mini? Well, the iconic Cebuano restaurant has a promo that will give you a chance to win those exciting prizes.  It is very easy to join. If you can answer the following questions then you have a big chance to win in their promotion: 1. Do you love eating at Hukad or Golden Cowrie? 2. Do you love taking pictures or videos? 3. Are you willing to share your dining experience at Hukad and Golden Cowrie to people? If your answer is a big YES to all 3 questions then I suggest that you join the "Anong Kwentong Salu-Salo Mo?" contest.

Two weekends ago, my friend Angela Madura was joining her first ever 13K run.   I suggested that a before the race, she should eat a lot of carbs to store lots of glycogen on her body. I told her that one of the best carbo loading meals would be pizza and pasta.   The night before the race, we had dinner at Ryan’s Pizzarelli House.    Eating at a pizza place was indeed a brilliant idea as Angela was able to finish her 13k at a pretty decent pace.

Yesterday was the grand opening of 10 Dove Street Confectionery.   I have eaten at 10 Dove Street several times already and they are known for complete meals or snacks that are capped with some delicious cake. The newly opened cake shop focuses on the last part of the meal or the dessert.   10 Dove Street Confectionery is another heavenly place for the sweet tooth in Cebu.   Cake lovers were united at their grand opening as dozens of people line up to buy cakes and be a rewarded with an awesome gift.

Last Saturday, Kalami Cebu, along with several bloggers from Cebu, attended the brand launch of Cebuano pizza chain Da Vinci's.  Among local brands, Da Vinci's is up there in my personal rankings. I really like their white sauce pizzas.  The Da Vinci's Masterpiece, The Mona Lisa, and Spicy Shawarma Pizza are among my favorites. I was really glad that the company is innovating and moving towards competing against the big boys. I really enjoyed their new offerings and hopefully, Cebuanos will love them as much as I do.

My blogger friends +Jephunneh Deon Flores   of KiatCebu and +Marie Imperial  of   Channelmarie.Com  invited me to an opening of a new pizza place in Mactan. I said yes since my mom was also arriving from Sydney on that same day.  Going to the opening of Pizza 2.Go was a perfect excuse to be early in Mactan. I realize that eating delicious pizza is one of the best things to do while waiting for someone.

Dear Kalami Cebu readers, I was not able to write much last month due to some family commitments.  I had a lot of visitors in August so I was spending more time driving people around.  The good thing about having visitors was that I was able to gather a lot of content to write about.  I have been to several Pizza places lately and I have hundreds of MBs worth of Pizza pictures. To become more productive this month, I divided some of backlogs and schedule similar restaurants on the same week. So to start off this practice, I will make this week as Pizza Week. Pizza Week will about the popular Italian invention that puts cheese, meat, veggies, spices, and fruits on top of a round flat bread . Pizza has been one of my favorite snacks ever.  I love pizza even the cheap ones. I used to consider the Pizza segment as boring and mature.  I felt that there was no more innovation in the segment and it is dominated by the big players like Shakeys, Pizza Hut , and Greenwich .  The last