Kalami Cebu! - A Gastronomic Guide to Cebu

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.