Holiday 2007: Places in Cebu - 2 of 2 (album)

Ahem...to continue...

= Casa Verde at Ramos Ext. 
(thanks to Doreen for her correction coz I mistakenly labeled it as Cafe Verde, well at least I got the color right *wink*)

This is near Velez Hospital (uhm..maybe I shouldn't say that) and a Korean restaurant I have been meaning to go to but never had. The prices are reasonable, especially for their pork chop but I noticed that their menu has expanded to include other choices which are given an twist. It is an old Spanish-style house which was renovated and it has a spacious parking space and greenery. Somewhere on this site I posted pics of when I first visited this with my friend Benjie last year.

This time I met up with Louie, who is a pilot in the military and a fellow AIM graduate but who is MDM. Since we Bisaya-speaking dudes and dudettes usually talk around campus it was natural we kept in touch after graduation with other bisdaks. Conversation with Louie is fun...its only with him and Manyx (a college barkada) that I get to go back to the world of planes.

= Bigby's at Ayala Center Cebu 
Ah! one of my favorite places to visit when I am in Ayala Cebu, not only because of their reasonably priced food but because of their very colorful decor. I noticed they have renovated and changed their layout but the decorations like collections of this and that knick-knacks (and this time masks were what I predominantly noticed) are scattered creatively around the venue. I would recommend their Rack-a-Bye-Baby for starters. Their garoupa al fresco is fine too. Then there are their salads and desserts. If memory serves me right, this resto originally opened in Cagayan de Oro. 

= Persian Palate at Ayala Center Cebu
Their first outlet was somewhere near Capital Area. I visited it once and was struck amazed at the numerous exotic rugs on the walls (wish it depicted Kama Sutra though hehehe). They had 2 outlets, one of which was near Mango Avenue but what I frequented was in Ayala (they've moved now to another part of Ayala, the entertainment center). I like their lhassi, beef shwarma and Persian tea amongst other things.

If you're a vegetarian you might enjoy their other dishes, which are now really spanning more than 3 pages of the menu. They don't use MSG and there are no preservatives. I get to see more and more Indian-looking or Middle-eastern looking people here but Pinoys also frequent this place. A recent discovery was malunggay tea and Turkish coffee in my most recent visit.

= Stalls at Abellana, Jones Ave 
You know Sinulog is around the corner when you see these stalls already lining up one side of Jones Avenue. Before it used to be both sides, but I guess the rent has upped. You get all kinds of goods from Zamboanga, Davao and guess what, even Boracay! I usually buy malong, shawls and other souvenir items here.

= Da Vinci's Pizza at Jones Ave 
Walking home from the Abellana stalls, I predictably got hungry. Luckily, strewn across Jones Avenue are not just the ubiquitous McDo and Jollibee but various other eating places which have sprouted like mushrooms considering that more and more foreigners seem to flock to Cebu. This recently discovered eating place was conveniently located to cater to the beer guzzling and pizza drinking tourists not only during Sinulog but any other day or night too.

= IBM Office at IT PARK Asiatown
Well I am not saying you should go to this office, it just so happens that in the building they are located in, aside from Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, there are other restaurants which are huddled on the first floor. I will give you a review next time I get to visit them. 

I was amazed at how many people were flocking to these establishments. Believe me, a couple of years ago, Cebuanos were too "tihik" (read: penny-pinching) to go spend their money on eating out, but now with the building of more and more call centers in this area, its good to see young people spend their money.

An explanation of why I visit this office is that until recently, all of my laptops were IBMs. While it was still under warranty, I used to go to their previous office to have it repaired...one thing led to another, starting with "Sassy Girl' (a Korean movie), and with the cute remark of how dominating the heroine was and how they were reminded of me when they saw her interacting with the hero, another easy friendship was born, compounded by our love of anime. (btw, Rhoda is a whiz at hand-made wedding items like invitations and other accesories hehehe, free plug ini).

Coming back to the places in Cebu...

the nice thing about this little island is that there are a lot of good eating places which are 1) cheap and 2) far from the madding crowd. You suddenly turn a corner and find an old house which serves good baked scallops and other spanish dishes like black paella. Come of to think of it, I visited one such place near Capitol on one of the side streets and I can't remember the name. This was brought home to me when a friend described the place and I distinctly remember bringing my dad there where he discovered that he knew the father of the current owners/managers and they came from Northern Cebu. The establishment has a lot of loyal patrons and more are flocking everyday but they don't advertise, its all word of mouth. You will frequently find the best eating places in Cebu like these when you inquire from the natives.

 - Jan 18, '08 1:43 PM