Kalami Cebu! - A Gastronomic Guide to Cebu

Way back in the early 90's when I was still in high school there was a pizza parlour that was popular with Cebuanos. JCA Pizza was an instant hit back then because of their affordable and delicious pizzas.

Mooon Cafe is arguably the No.1 Mexican Restaurant in Cebu.  The restaurant is known is for its Mexican dishes sold at affordable prices.  Mooon Cafe was a small restaurant in Guadalupe years ago and since it was near my Aunt's house, our family go there when we crave for some tacos and other delicious Mexican dishes. From a popular small restaurant, Mooon Cafe has grown into one of Cebu's most popular restaurants with several branches in the island.  Mooon Cafe has also expanded its operations to other cities in the Visayas and Mindanao.

There are now so many interesting Cafes in Cebu.  While driving to Ayala, I passed by this new coffeeshop in F. Cabahug Street with a tarpaulin that said, "Hello Cebu! Welcome to Ironbound Coffee". 

Last year, I went to Manila with some friends and in one of our food trips we went to Dad's.  I miss Dad's, it was like my favourite eat all you can buffet when I was in college.  The food trip there brought me back to the time when I was still 50 lbs lighter.  The first time, I ate at Dad's were with my college buddies at SM Megamall. I also remembered our family in Cebu goes to Dad's in SM City Cebu but their branch in Cebu has closed down almost a decade ago.  In the past few years, there were many eat all you can restaurants in Cebu that started operations but none can compare with the variety that the Triple V Group offers.  Here are some of the dishes that I love when I was there recently: Local kakanin or desserts were really enjoyable. There is turon, kutsinta, puto bongbong and many more.

What's the best value eat-all-you-can restaurant in Cebu? One of my high school buddies celebrated his birthday recently and he wanted to meet some of the boys of our high school batch. We all wanted to eat something that reminded us of high school. Something we call "old school".  Way back in the 1990's, one of the most popular restaurants that we frequently ate at during the weekends was  Ding Qua Qua .  Ding Qua Qua's location then was beside Rustan's in Mango Avenue.  The place was known for its dim sum.  The most popular dishes were steamed rice, siomai, lumpia shanghai (spring rolls), and hakaw. Steamed Rice is not your ordinary rice, this is a specialty. E very Cebuano knows what steamed rice means.

Olio has been my favourite steakhouse in Cebu.  I really like their location and always enjoy their promos.  It has been a while since I ate there so, a few weeks ago I decided to have lunch there with my Aunt.   The first time that I ever ate at this steakhouse is way back when they had an all-you-can eat rib eye promo .  I was wondering what their current promo is. The current promo for their steaks is Buy 1 Take 1 U.S.D.A. Angus Rib Eye Steak at 1,599 pesos. The 200 gram Angus Rib Eye is good enough for one person.  It goes so well with their Mashed Potatoes.  I had my steak cooked at  medium rare and I really enjoyed eating it. It was well seasoned and the meat is of excellent quality.  

Cafes are usually known to be the best places to enjoy some coffee and sweets in a very relaxing setting. This is actually bad for people who are at risk of diabetes or tooth decay. One café in Lahug is making it harder for the sweet tooth to resist as they offer 1-Peso desserts.   1 Peso as in? When was the last time you can buy a delicious cake at 1 peso? To avail of this wonderful deal, all you have to do is buy 1 meal plus a beverage then the dessert is practically FREE.      I accidentally bumped into this promo when I was looking for a decent internet connection because I needed to contact someone via Viber. I ended up at Tazza Cafe and Patisserie in Lahug. Well, it was lunch time anyway so I ordered a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich and iced coffee.   I was able to enjoy a delicious carrot cake for just 1 peso.

If you ask Cebuanos, what is their favourite dessert shop? Many will consider La Marea is the home of the best desserts in Cebu.  One of the famous creations by La Marea is the Warm Brownie Cup.  A few days ago, I had dinner at Alejandro's at Crossroads.  After a filling meal of the house specialty Crispy Pata, my companions wanted to have a dessert. We decided to go to La Marea because it was just a few steps away.  We then ordered some of their best dessert creations. The classic blueberry cheesecake was expectedly good.  The slice is quite generous and it was oozing  with blueberry toppings.  This the famous warm brownie cup.  This La Marea's signature dessert.  The warm brownie cup was such a big hit that other cafes even get from La Marea just to offer this enjoyable treat. This dessert will bring joy to kids and adults. If it is your first time at La Marea, do not forget to order this.  The classic version of the dessert is  made of warm fudge brownie topp

I was asking people around over ask.fm about cafes in Cebu.  Someone suggested Treat Street Cafe in the New Wing of Ayala Center Cebu.  The suggestion made me realize that I have not really explored the food choices in the mall that I go to everyday.  Last Sunday, I checked out the new Group Exercise Programs of Gold's Gym Ayala Center Cebu  and I was starving after almost 3 hours of cardio exercises.  It was a perfect time to go to this place.  When I saw the stall, I was like saying to myself, "Thank God I worked out. Now, I can eat all these carb rich offerings".

Can you imagine eating crepes and pies for dinner? Not as dessert but we are talking about these "dessert" items as main courses. Well, this French Bistro in Maria Luisa Road has somehow surprised me. Tymad Bistro which means Good House in Celtic is a French-owned restaurant that prides itself on making the best crepes and  galettes  in Cebu.  Crepes are the typical desert pancakes that we are all used to while a galette is its savory sister that mainly use buckwheat.  The galettes are filled with ingredients used more in sandwiches than in crepes like ham, mushrooms, egg, cheese, ratatouille, or any other protein.

One fine day last year, my sales team was looking for a place for a meeting. We ended up in Baseline Residences since we went to the Redemptorist Church before our meeting.  At Baseline, our choice was between Bo's Coffee and this other cafe called Sprocketeer. Bo's was a bit crowded then so I decided we just check the other place out.

A lot of people love Italian cuisine . Pizza and pasta are very popular among Filipinos.  I checked out TripAdvisor and one of the top ten restaurants in Cebu is an Italian place in Lahug. After reading the reviews, I decided to check the place out.  La Buona Forchetta Da Paolo is restaurant located at 139 Acacia Street in Lahug.  Translated to English, La Bouna Forchetta means The Good Fork.  I actually accidentally found this place when I was checking a subdivision developer who happened to have an office in the nearby building.  At the outside, I was not expecting too much but once I got inside it was way different. The furniture looks great and it feels really homey and intimate.  I was pretty sure that I will have one heck of a lunch. It was only me and a friend that went there on that Saturday morning.  We were quite early as we arrived at La Buona Forchetta da Paolo a quarter past eleven. When I checked the menu,  I noticed that it was really an authentic Italian rest

A few days ago, I had a relative who got confined at the Cebu Doctor's University Hospital.   It is really hard to find a good parking spot in the area and I usually ended up parking a few blocks away from the hospital.   One day, I ended up parking near Captain A's Restaurant and I saw a nice looking building that looks like one of those cafes that are popping up around Metro Cebu. I told myself that I am going to have dinner there. When I went back, I thought it was your typical dessert place that serves coffee and a variety of sweet offerings. Good thing, they also serve rice meals. What was most interesting was that they serve Ostrich meat . I made my orders and proceeded upstairs. The dining area really looks good.  The designs are slick and the colors are really pleasant to the eye.  There are also several colorful paintings hanging on the walls. 

It was February 15, Sunday and our family decided to just have burgers for dinner.  It was a bit strange but it was somehow fitting because a new burger place opened near our subdivision.  I decided to experiment and see the difference between the two drive through burger establishments in F. Cabahug Street (Panagdait). For the past couple of years, Jollibee was the only major fast-food restaurant in the area. It has a good customer traffic because their location is near schools, offices, and residential areas. Just last week, Burger King opened its first drive through branch in Cebu and the new burger joint was built right beside the Jollibee branch that also happened to have a drive through service. I wanted to know which establishment has a better drive though service. Expectations: 1.  Burger King will have long lines. 2. Jollibee will be a breeze. 3. BK will offer something different Here some photos I took from my drive through adventure: We first went to BK a

Off the coast of Olango Island, there are several stilt restaurants that offer fresh seafoods for lunch.  Although a bit expensive, these restaurants offer a different kind of dining experience. You can reach these unique restaurants via banca and it is a great stopover while having an island hopping adventure in Cebu. At the stilt restaurant, you can pick your desired seafood from several choices. They have shells, fish, squid, shrimps, lobsters, and other edible seafoods.  One you made your choices they are going to weigh it and then ask you how you want it cooked. You can have it grilled, fried, sautéed, or made into a delicious soup. Stilt restaurants is another reason why it is more fun eating in Cebu. posted from Bloggeroid Related articles New Restaurant: Cafe Racer Diner Ginza Shabu Shabu And Seafood Buffet Launch Greek Fisherman Favorite Pinoy Dishes at AA Barbecue Newly Opened Restaurant: Burger King F. Cabahug