A blog about food, places to eat, and recipes that are relevant to Cebu and Cebuanos. The best restaurants in Cebu, one place at a time.
Kalaminions #MeetEatRepeat: St. Mark Hotel's Crispy Pata Buffet
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A couple of months ago I have been raving about St. Mark Hotel's Rico's Lechon Buffet. I enjoy it so much because it was affordable and it featured many dishes that I loved eating growing up. My only beef was that the buffet was only available 3 times a week. Well, my prayers have been answered as the hotel recently launched their Crispy Pata Buffet featuring Alejandro's Crispy Pata. Last week, I brought my "Kalaminions" from the Cebu Blogging Community (CBC) to feast on the latest All-You-Can-Eat Buffet sensation in Cebu.
Alejandro's Restaurant's version of the crispy pata has always been dubbed as the best in Cebu. When I learned that St. Mark is featuring it in their lunch buffet, I wanted to go to Queens Road immediately. After talking to their lovely GM +Gieselle Abinales, I was able to book a #MeetEatRepeat session with my Kalaminion buddies from CBC. Kalaminions is the term I use for people who follow my Kalami Cebu blog and page. I credit Janine Ella Anongos of http://wanderingella.com/ and Chanel Imperial of chanelmarie.com in helping me coin that term.
My 5 Favorite Dishes at St. Mark's Crispy Pata Buffet
Alejandro's Crispy Pata- I love crispy pata or anything crispy and salty. Well, when it comes to crispy pata, will you never go wrong with Alejandro's. They are absolutely the best. They are a restaurant built from Crispy Pata. The skin is so crispy, the meat is succulent and everything just tastes so good. Adjectives are not really enough, you better try it yourself.
Escabeche - It was a pleasant surprise to see this dish. I do not think any other buffet would serve this simple but super yummy comfort food. It is basically fish fried to a crisp then bathed with a soy based sauce. It maybe the poor man's sweet and sour fish but it brings a lot of memories. I am sure many balikbayans would love this too.
Kaldereta - Their goat Caldereta has been a favorite since I had their Rico's Lechon Buffet. I am glad that it is available in the Alejandro's Crispy Pata buffet too. They just know how to make a tasty Caldereta. Kudos to the chef!
Ginabot - This is the Cebuano's term for Chicharon Bulaklak (fried intestines). I was happy to see some crunchy ginabot in the appetizer station. If I am going to have a beer drinking blowout, it might just bring my friends here because it is like having unlimited pulutan.
Halo Halo - Isn't it great to finish a meal with something cold and sweet? For me it is and St. Mark has some Halo-Halo to offer to people like me. Aside from this pinoy favorite, the restaurant also serves Mango crepe and other desserts.
3 Awesome Reasons to try St. Mark's Crispy Pata Buffet
Crispy Pata all You Can!- A serving of crispy pata is around 200-400 pesos in restaurants all over the city. Well for only 348 pesos, you can have as much crispy pata as you want. Crispy pata goes so well with beer and it is truly a great alternative to lechon. St. Mark picked Cebu's best Alejandro'sRestaurant as their supplier. The crispy pata buffet is just a no-brainer if you are really hungry.
Cebuano Dishes - During our visit, St. Mark Hotel served Kalderetang Kanding (Goat Caldereta), Escabeche, Tinolang Manok, Dilis (Fried Dried anchovies), Mangang Hilaw and more. The buffet highlights the cuisine that I have grown up loving. It is really rare to find a buffet that puts Cebuano cuisine front and center.
Price - Php348 is less than $7. If you are a balikbayan and you want to binge on Filipino/Cebuano dishes then head down to Halo Restaurant at the 2nd Floor of the St. Mark Hotel in Queens Road adjacent to the Redemptorist Church. Peso-for-Peso, this is one of the best buffets in town.
There are so many restaurants now in Cebu that is serving buffet. What I love about St. Mark Hotel is that they co-branded with some of Cebu's best suppliers of specialty food. They partnered with Rico's in their Lechon Buffet and now they are featuring Alejandro's in their Crispy Pata Buffet. It is like saying to us foodies that they always want to offer the best for us and the Kalaminions and I really appreciate it and St. Mark Hotel Crispy Pata Buffet definitely earned the Kalami Cebu Seal of Approval!
Special Thanks to Ms. Gieselle and Ms. Kressa of St. Mark Hotel
Kalaminions #MeetEatRepeat is a weekly feature here at Kalami Cebu that will highlight the best restaurant and dining options in Cebu or other islands in the Philippines. It will also feature bloggers and foodies who are loyal "Kalaminions". If you want your restaurant to be our next destination hit me up with an email at calolano911@gmail.com or send a PM on our Facebook page.
For those who want to be a Kalamion, please LIKE Kalami Cebu on Facebook and follow @kalamicebu at Instagram and PM me.
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