culinary hits and misses
being in a new place gives you plenty of adventures. what better way to get to know a place than trying it's food! here in cebu, there are plenty to choose from. i've enjoyed restaurant hopping (and my body shows how much i've enjoyed!) with kay and trying out everything. here's a list of dishes that i've thoroughly enjoyed, and i've wondered about...
hits:
1) ngohiong
a trip to cebu will not be complete without trying this version of lumpia. it's just like lumpiang ubod but fried with lots and lots of oil! one meal of ngohiong will make you say no to any fried dish for the next 2 weeks. but what makes it so delicious is its sauce!it's salty spicy and will make you want more!the best ngogiong that i've tasted is from AAs grill along andres abellana.
2) puso
puso (pronounced with a hard o!) is commonly found being sold with barbeque. it's call ed the hanging rice. it's prepared by weaving palm strips to make a cone. rice is then put in and the whole cone is boiled until the rice is cooked. the product? rice on the go! that's why it works so well with street food! a complete meal at your friendly corner barbeque stand.
3) krua thai sesame beef
the best thai restaurant in town. and their sesame beef is to die for! it's almost like a jerky but with sweet chilli sauce, its a great appetizer.
4) dessert factory achocolypse now
now this is the mother of all chocolate cakes! it has layers of different chocolate cakes. there's cheesecake, spongecake, dark choloate filling and chocolate panache! if you're a choco addict like me, this is a definite dessert choice!
5) salvaro
when i go into my diet mode, this is what i eat with coffee. it's a biscuit made with flour, egg and coconut bits. it's also great with ice cream.
6) masi
when i first saw masi, i thought it was a mini siopao. i was dead wrong. masi is shaped like siopao but it's filled with a sugary peanut mixture. it's delicious but a challenge to eat because of the sticky rice flour shell.
7) pork humba
man oh man!! this is fat central! it's a lot like pork adobo but sssooooo much better! it's a cross between patatim and paksiw. i can't describe it, you just have to taste it to appreciate!
misses
1) fresh lumpia
i always say that what makes great fresh lumpia is its sauce. so you can just imagine my surprise when i ordered lumpia and saw that the sauce was white! the sauce here is just a cornstarch mixture with a hint of garlic. i like my sauce with lots of peanuts and garlic!! it's just not the same without them.
2) lechon
i know that a lot of people like cebu lechon. i've even seen it being sold at the saturday market in salcedo. and yes, the lechon here is very tastey. but i still like it with mang tomas. here, i think they get offended when you ask for sarsa. :(
3) tinola
when i hear tinola, i think chicken with papaya and ginger. here, tinola pertains to fish in broth with minimal vegetables. what's the fun in that?
4) barbeque here, barbeque there, BARBEQUE EVERYWHERE!!
cebuanos love their barbeque. this is the food of choice here. every few meters, you'll see a barbeque stand or restaurant. don't get me wrong, i love my pork liempo. but after a while, you get so sick and tired of smelling grilled pork.
hits:
1) ngohiong
a trip to cebu will not be complete without trying this version of lumpia. it's just like lumpiang ubod but fried with lots and lots of oil! one meal of ngohiong will make you say no to any fried dish for the next 2 weeks. but what makes it so delicious is its sauce!it's salty spicy and will make you want more!the best ngogiong that i've tasted is from AAs grill along andres abellana.
2) puso
puso (pronounced with a hard o!) is commonly found being sold with barbeque. it's call ed the hanging rice. it's prepared by weaving palm strips to make a cone. rice is then put in and the whole cone is boiled until the rice is cooked. the product? rice on the go! that's why it works so well with street food! a complete meal at your friendly corner barbeque stand.
3) krua thai sesame beef
the best thai restaurant in town. and their sesame beef is to die for! it's almost like a jerky but with sweet chilli sauce, its a great appetizer.
4) dessert factory achocolypse now
now this is the mother of all chocolate cakes! it has layers of different chocolate cakes. there's cheesecake, spongecake, dark choloate filling and chocolate panache! if you're a choco addict like me, this is a definite dessert choice!
5) salvaro
when i go into my diet mode, this is what i eat with coffee. it's a biscuit made with flour, egg and coconut bits. it's also great with ice cream.
6) masi
when i first saw masi, i thought it was a mini siopao. i was dead wrong. masi is shaped like siopao but it's filled with a sugary peanut mixture. it's delicious but a challenge to eat because of the sticky rice flour shell.
7) pork humba
man oh man!! this is fat central! it's a lot like pork adobo but sssooooo much better! it's a cross between patatim and paksiw. i can't describe it, you just have to taste it to appreciate!
misses
1) fresh lumpia
i always say that what makes great fresh lumpia is its sauce. so you can just imagine my surprise when i ordered lumpia and saw that the sauce was white! the sauce here is just a cornstarch mixture with a hint of garlic. i like my sauce with lots of peanuts and garlic!! it's just not the same without them.
2) lechon
i know that a lot of people like cebu lechon. i've even seen it being sold at the saturday market in salcedo. and yes, the lechon here is very tastey. but i still like it with mang tomas. here, i think they get offended when you ask for sarsa. :(
3) tinola
when i hear tinola, i think chicken with papaya and ginger. here, tinola pertains to fish in broth with minimal vegetables. what's the fun in that?
4) barbeque here, barbeque there, BARBEQUE EVERYWHERE!!
cebuanos love their barbeque. this is the food of choice here. every few meters, you'll see a barbeque stand or restaurant. don't get me wrong, i love my pork liempo. but after a while, you get so sick and tired of smelling grilled pork.