Sinulog Specials

One of the celebrations Cebuanos look forward to is the annual Sinulog festival. Meant to honor the Santo Nino, the image of the Christ child, the Sinulog festival is a spectacle that draws thousands of people. Involving themselves in the festivities are not just the Cebuanos, but people from all over the world. With all that celebrating, people can, and will definitely get hungry, and while there is no shortage of eating-places in Cebu City, it’s always a good idea to dine at restaurants that offer not only great tasting food, but also great value for money.

The Port Seafood Restaurant

Located inside the Waterfront Hotel complex in Lahug, The Port Seafood Restaurant offers both a lunch and dinner buffet. Touted as “Cebu’s favorite buffet”, The Port gives customers a wide selection of native and international dishes. The buffet at The Port is not limited to seafood, though. It also features salads, meat dishes, pasta, soup and desserts. Noteworthy items in the buffet are the native salads like the mango salad and the puso ng saging salad. The baked mussels make for great appetizers, as well as the crispy Teriyaki dilis. On your “to taste” list should be the sizzling bangus. Milkfish in coconut milk, garnished with sliced peppers, topped with bagoong (a pungent shrimp paste), and served on a sizzling plate, this is one delicacy diners will surely enjoy. Evening patrons have the added bonus of the tasty lechon Cebu is famous for. A short presentation of the Sinulog dance ritual will also be held during lunch and dinner for the month of January.

Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant

Tourists looking for an authentic Filipino dining experience, complete with eating off a banana leaf, should head over to Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant along Salinas Drive in Lahug. Among the dishes that stand out is the adobong kangkong, a leafy vine sautéed with onions and garlic and seasoned with a little soy sauce and vinegar. Golden Cowrie’s version differs slightly from the usual with the addition of a little bagoong, considered by some to be an important part of Filipino cuisine. Another dish to try out is the adobong talong, an eggplant-based dish that’s slightly sweet, really tasty, and truly Pinoy. Of course, Golden Cowrie would not be as popular as it is today without their crispy pata. A deep-fried thigh of a young pig, the crispy pata, as the name implies, is crisp, golden, and very succulent.

Chika-an sa Cebu

Another iconic restaurant, Chika-an sa Cebu, also along Salinas Drive, offers a menu that features a variety of Cebuano dishes and desserts. A definite “must try” is their crab with garlic. A huge crab, steamed and sprinkled liberally with garlic and curry powder, it will give seafood lovers something to smile about. For a taste that’s truly Cebuano, be sure to try Chika-an’s ampalaya with dilis salad. The bitterness of the ampalaya, or bittermelon, is offset (or is it enhanced?) by the flavor of the dilis, a tiny fish deep-fried to a crisp, and gives diners a crunchy, crispy and flavorful experience. As meal enders, the bico, or sticky rice cakes drenched in a sweet brown sauce called latik are definitely tops, as well as the turron with latik, which can be likened to deep-fried banana and jackfruit crepes.

Café Marco at the Marco Polo Plaza

From Salinas Drive, take a short trip up to Nivel Hills to the Marco Polo Plaza, and indulge in Café Marco’s Cebuano Foodfest. Dubbed “Cebuano Cuisine at Café Marco”, it’s ongoing up to the 27^th of January. The buffet features a wide variety of traditional Cebuano delicacies, from salads to main courses, as well as a nice assortment of international dishes, plus a well-stocked dessert station complete with a chocolate fountain and ice cream. One of the highlights of the buffet is balbacua, or oxtail stew with vegetables and peanuts. Beefy and very filling, meat and stew lovers would probably give this one a thumbs-up. Adobo, a traditional Filipino dish, usually present in a Pinoy feast, appears in the buffet in the form of adobong nukos, sautéed squid in vinegar and garlic. Tangy and tasty, this dish shouldn’t be missed. The ubiquitous bagoong makes an appearance once again in the hinipunan nga baboy, or sautéed pork in salted shrimp paste. Café Marco’s take on this Pinoy favorite is excellent, with the bagoong (lacking the distinctive offensive smell) adding a vitality that’s not usually found in pork.