Kalami Cebu! - A Gastronomic Guide to Cebu

Cafes are fast becoming the favorite study places for college students here in Cebu. In the Cebu Asiatown I.T. Park, one of the most popular cafes for students is the Bubble Bee Cafe. It's location is very convenient and it has an ample seating to accommodate around 30 people at the same time. 

Last week, I was buying groceries in J Center Mall and I asked my wife if she wanted me to buy something for her.  She told me she wants sweets and the first place I saw was Chewy Junior. I ended up buying a box of 8 cream puffs.

When I go to a mall and suddenly get hungry, I always end up going to a food stall rather than eat at typical fast-food joints. At J-Center Mall, Mandaue, one of my favorite food stall is Masitta food shopped.  It is a Korean-inspired instant noodle place and it serves one of the best instant noodle dishes in Cebu.

If I ended up in the Banilad area during lunchtime, I usually have lunch in one of my favorite eateries in Cebu.  Shalom Judges and Jireh Genesis is usually packed during lunch because of its variety and affordability.  This carenderia offer the best selection of local dishes at very good prices.  It is not a surprise why this is frequented by many workers from nearby offices.  I visited the eatery recently and here some of the delicious dishes that they offer:

Recently, I had a meeting at Bintana at Elizabeth Pond Street. I have always been curious about this coffee shop and I have heard some good reviews from friends. It has been months that place has been on my radar. I finally had a cup of coffee at Bintana and left with some regret that I did not try this place earlier. 

Can you imagine yourself having coffee beside some cute looking cats?  Well, a cafe in Guadalupe is gaining popularity for letting customers mingle with cats, while enjoying some delicious food and drinks.  The Cat Cafe has been featured by a national TV station and I visited the cafe last week to find out how it is like to be in a cafe full of cats.

Our office and one of our main exhibits are located in Robinsons Cybergate Cebu. During lunchtime, my sales team usually head towards the cheaper carenderias in the Capitol Site area.  Summer is starting and we did not go out on this particular day so we decided to eat Hainanese Delights in the food court area of Robinsons Cybergate.  Hainanese Delights specializes in Hainanese Chicken which is very popular in Singapore.  The restaurant also boasts of various chicken, pork, beef, and vegetarian specialties.  Singapore's Hainanese influence dates back during World War II when many residents of Hainan of Southern China emigrated to other countries.  The Hainanese cuisine evolved to suit the taste of Singaporeans and now it has reached Cebu.

We were at Robinsons Cybergate and one of our teammates in Rainmaker's Group closed a sale and she wanted to sponsor a group dinner. Our broker decided that we have dinner at Mooon Cafe which was just steps away from Robinsons Homes exhibit. 

Recently, a friend of mine arrived from Dubai and he said he wanted to eat some seafoods.  Since we did not want to go too far, we decided to eat at STK ta Bay sa Paolito's Seafood House in Capitol Site area.  The restaurant is known for its STK or Sutukil which means in Cebuano, Sugba, Tuwa, Kilaw.  Sugba means grilled. Tuwa means soup/broth. Kilaw means Ceviche. STK ta Bay sa Paolito's Seafood House is one of the most popular seafood restaurants in Cebu.

I went out for lunch with a family friend and her daughter wanted to have some desserts.  We ended going to Tazza Cafe and Patisserie to have some.  The theme of the dessert time became A la Mode Overload because we ended getting 3 kinds a la modes.

I really do not consider myself a coffee person, but lately I have been discovering new things about the world of coffee with the help of the different coffee enthusiasts here in Cebu. After my introduction to the 3rd wave of coffee, when I visited Ironbound Coffee and Bakery, I got a text  from the owner of Boots Coffee Bar. He told me to try his coffee. Boots Coffee Bar is located at the Al Fresco area of Persian Palate in Mango Avenue. It is only open during Fridays and Saturdays. Last weekend, I checked it out.

Recently, I was walking around Mango Avenue and I saw this fishball stall.  I really have a hard time resisting street foods. I have been binging on it since I was in elementary school and it peaked in high school and college.  I end up spending around 20 pesos to eat some kwek kwek and squid balls. My question of the week is : What is your favorite street food?  Comment and let the world know. ;)

A few days ago, I was with the Cebu Blogging Community for our Ultimate Meet-up and Pool Party . It was held at Diamond Suites and Residences . Since they were a major sponsor to our event, they showed us their facilities and told us about their F&B events.  As a food blogger, their Friday Night Pool Party piqued my interest. I decided to check it out a week later.

What is a burgaholic? Well, burgaholic comes from the word burg, which is short for burger and          -aholic, meaning addicted to.  I think I have been a burgaholic since I was around 5 years old when my mom and dad used to bring me to the old Orange Brutus in Fuente Osmena.  Recently, I discovered this new burger place near Sacred Heart Hijas School. It is named Burgaholic. I have seen some good reviews by my friends who ate there and seeing their posts, whet my appetite for hamburgers.

Titay's has been an institution in Liloan, Cebu .  The bakeshop is famous for its Roquillos and other baked goods like Mamon and Torta. Recently, I visited a friend who was living in Liloan.  I asked her what's a good snack in their town and she said Titay's has one of the best meat rolls.  I was a bit puzzled because I never associated Titay's with meat buns.  My curiosity led me to drive to the bakeshop to try it out.

Recently, I was looking for a nearby LBC branch and I found one really close to my place.  I also discovered a new tea place has opened at Ridges Mabolo. Beanleaf is another new player in Cebu Milk Tea market.  I decided to check it out because my wife really love to drink Milk tea.

Every locality has a food that they can call it their own.  We usually miss the food that we eat while growing up. A lot of Cebuanos are now living abroad or at least away from Cebu and there are just days that they miss certain dishes.  These dishes are the ones that remind them of home, or childhood or people they love. Here are recipes for 7 dishes that will delight any Cebuano's heart, tongue, and belly:

A friend of mine gave some fresh live crabs from Surigao.  I love crabs and I know may people do. I just want to know how you want your crabs cooked.  Do you have a recipe for the most delicious crabs ever? Please Comment and Share. ;)

While walking around Ayala Center Cebu New Wing, I passed by Murray's New Orleans and I saw an interesting poster. They are offering a Mardi Gras Shooters and Cocktails promo starting at 49 pesos. This got me really curios so I told my friend that we should check it out.

Desserts and sweets are fast becoming one of the common themes in this food blog. In the coming weeks there will be more posts that would make any sweet tooth drool. There are so many cafes and cake places now in Cebu that it would be so hard for the Kalami Cebu blog to ignore. I made the image above using Canva  as a preview of what's in store in the coming weeks. If you like the image kindly Pin it.  Let me also hear about your newest Cebu food discoveries by using the hashtag #kalamicebu. ;) Related articles Notable Blogs: Pinch of Yum (Food blog) Have you ever been to Cebu? Cebu Cafes: Camia Street Cafe and Resto Cafes in Cebu: 1 Peso Desserts at Tazza Cafe and Patisserie Valentine's Day at Planet Grapes My Food Blog's 10 Best Posts in February 2015

Golden Cowrie, one of Cebu's most popular local restaurants has opened a branch in A.S. Fortuna, Mandaue City. Aside from offering their Filipino cuisine specialties, their branch in Mandaue has a daily Eat-All-You-Can buffet.  Golden Cowrie's Feast-All-You-Can is priced at an affordable 299 pesos for lunch and 399 pesos for dinner.

It was another hot Friday morning and I was looking for a carwash.  I decided to go to Mango Square because I will get Free Parking if I have my car washed.  While waiting, I decided to have lunch nearby.  I saw Persian Palate and I noticed the poster for their Shawarma Bonanza.  Persian Palate has alway been a favorite of mine when it comes to healthy food and vegetarian cuisine. I was amazed at the prices of their promo food items as they are only between 35-75 pesos.  While there are other options in that building for lunch, the decision became a no-brainer after I saw the very enticing Shawarma Bonanza promo.

One of my clients had an early morning appointment with me to go to the office of a condominium developer.  We finished early and she said she want to eat lunch and invite some of her friends to join.  She said she saw my blog and she wanted us to eat at Carnivore Cebu.  We went to The Gallery, but Carnivore will only open at 11:30.  We were 30 minutes too early so we end up looking for an open restaurant at that time.  Good thing, 30 Kitchen + Bar is open.

Can you imagine a foreigner selling his own version of pongko-pongko in Cebu? Well, a video by GMANews is actually going viral because a Japanese man is selling affordable Tonkatsu sandwich and Japanese Rice Ball or Onigiri in the streets of I.T. Park in Cebu.

I remember back when I was a kid and ice cream is too expensive, I always love to eat Ice Candy! It is one of my favorite desserts especially during summer.  There was a time that one piece was sold at 50 centavos.  Recently, I was able to buy some at Isidra Comfort Cantina for 15 pesos each. I was like someone starved for food that I finished the 2 sticks in just a couple of minutes while driving. How about you, when was the last time you had Ice Candy? How much was the cheapest Ice Candy that you ever bought? Related articles Frozen Desserts Are More Than Just Ice Cream - Love Your Freezer Dessert Places: Enjoying the Variety at La Marea Cafes in Cebu: 1 Peso Desserts at Tazza Cafe and Patisserie Valentine's Day at Planet Grapes Cebu Cafes: Camia Street Cafe and Resto Ben & Jerry's To Make Marijuana Infused Ice Cream

I have been passing by Butterbean Desserts・Cafe in Escario and I never really found the time to eat there.  I thought the establishment was all about cookies and brownies. I was wrong. I checked it out last weekend and I ended eating my lunch there. 

It was Friday and I had an appointment at Chong Hua Hospital around 10 am. My appointment ended past 11 am so I was looking for a place to eat lunch.  While driving a long the Capitol site area, I saw a poster about a 149-peso buffet. Really, 149 pesos only? It got me really curious and luckily I found a parking space nearby. 

The best of this Week: Ding Qua Qua's affordable Dimsum Buffet  -  Ding Qua Qua in JY Square Lahug is still one of the best affordable eat all you can buffets in town.

Last year I visited Manila and I made sure that I will eat in one of my favorite restaurants of all time. I love to eat crabs and my favorite crab restaurant is The Red Crab.  When I was still based in Manila, I usually go to the Seafood Club by Red Crab in Greenbelt 3 and feast on crabs in their eat-all-you-can buffet. Drool always comes out of my mouth every time I remember those days.

Does your family like eating out to celebrate a birthday, graduation, anniversary or any other happy occasion? Well, our family is like that and one of our favorite restaurants in Cebu the Laguna Garden Cafe.