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For the foodies
1
In the downtown area, in the Pari-an district — once
the chicest address in the Spanish era — Cafe Elysa
(30-
A
Zamora St, Parian; tel +63 32 414 9265)
serves heirloom
dishes from the guarded recipes of the old families of the
area. Try the Pancit Parian and
humba
(
sweet pork hock
stew) with
buwad
(
dried fish) flakes.
2
Kusina ni Nasing
(
English, V. Rama Ave; +63 32 255
4213)
is a hole-in-the-wall eatery with not more than 10 items
on the menu. But what it lacks in ambiance, it makes up in
spades with flavor. Must-try: pork
liempo
(
grilled marinated
pork belly), creamy dory (fish steamed inside banana leaves
with Asian herbs) or boneless
lechon
(
spit-roasted pork belly).
3
Little Saigon Big Bangkok
(
Andres Abellana Extension,
near Guadalupe City Hall; tel: +63 32 415 0228,
littlesaigonbigbangkok.com)
is a pain to find but well worth
the trouble. Le Cordon Bleu Dusit-trained chef Carmel (a
Cebuana) and her husband Mark started the Thai-Viet street-
food joint in the garage of their home barely a year ago.
Order from a bulletin board, as they change the menu daily
to accommodate only what’s fresh. Go for the
Mieng kham
,
a
“
leaf snack” that bursts with flavor to open the palate.
4
Feria, the buffet outlet of the Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu
(
Serging Osmeña Ave; tel: +63 32 402 9900,
radissonblu.com),
with its seven kitchens, is creating quite a
buzz with its food promos, slashing the prices of its expansive
buffet to 50% off on three days: Tuesday (regular buffet),
Thursday (Italian cuisine) and Saturday (Chinese lauriat).
5
For a taste of the homegrown in a well-designed space,
Manggahan Bar and Grill
(
Wilson St, Lahug; tel: +63 922
893 6123)
offers Cebuano favorites like
nilarang nga rompe
de candado
(
soured barracuda soup),
kiampao
(
stingray) and
bakasi
(
moray eel) at
carinderia
prices.
6
Dinner with a view? Try these two spots: Lantaw
(
Cebuano for “overlook”) has a floating native restaurant
on a raft at Day-as, Córdova on Mactan Island
(
tel: +63 32
514 2959)
with a view of mainland Cebu and the Mactan
Channel; and a month-old upland branch
(
tel: +63 32 511
0379)
nestled on the hills of Sitio Garahe, Barangay Busay,
with the perfect view of nighttime Cebu and neighboring
Bohol in the distance.
C I T Y T R I P P E R S
North Reclamation Area
Mandaue City
Mactan Island
Downtown Cebu
Cebu Strait
For the
foodies
Barangay Lahug
