a little bit about travel, a little bit about food, a lot of everything in between; as seen, tasted and experienced by different points of view..
At first I thought of this place as something like the typical food stops beside UP (Royal Cafe and Brown Gate to name a few) but I was proven wrong when we finally visited this place after watching The Hobbit at Ayala Cinemas. The place …
One of the newer restaurants in Ayala is Planet Grapes, located at the 4th floor of the establishment just beyond the automatic sliding doors beyond Burger King. Or if you’re entering through the new section, at the top of the waiting escalators. Planet Grapes, in …
Located within walking distance from JY Square mall, Pino is a spacious restaurant in its third incarnation as an all-you-can-eat hub. We visited this place as we were heading home and we were not disappointed by what we saw. The place was refitted with new fixtures to make the old house look better and modern. There were chandeliers and mirrors and light all over the place. Not to mention the comfort rooms were fitted with modern equipment to better serve the needs of their patrons.
I have heard that the previous revivals of this restaurant were disagreeable: the first being too expensive and the second being too cheap. Apparently, this time around is the best of the three. The ambiance was just right and the appeal of the place had a hint of class and a bit of old refinement. Folk songs played in the background of this homey restaurant that gave extra points for the ambiance.
I was surprised when I found out that the buffet here is more affordable than many others in Cebu within its price range. The taste was nothing to scoff at, each dish offering a unique modern taste on a traditional Pinoy fare. There was Lechon, Ham, Fresh Oysters, Lomi, Laing, Siomai, Kare Kare and many more.
They have soup and salad for appetizer and not to mention a good selection of filipino desserts that range from banana-flan tart, Maja Blanca, bibingka, pichi pichi, and puto among others.
Pino
Lahug, Cebu
Verdict:
A: 4.75/5
Pino is great for its price of 399 per person. The food is delicious and interesting, and there will never be a boring moment. They have unlimited rounds of Iced Tea for their patrons to go with the meal. Majority of their food are addicting, all of which will make you come back for more. Their service is top notch too, so I don’t think you’ll go wrong here.
If you’re looking for a place to unwind, socialize with fellow sports enthusiasts, and meet new people, there’s only one spot in Ayala where you should frequent. Located at the fourth floor of Ayala Center Cebu, The Social sits right across Seafood Island at The …
It was one hectic morning, with so many things to do and traffic running heavily in the background, when we decided to stop by Marina mall to visit a specific branch of Zubuchon near the airport. This particular branch, unlike its brothers and sisters, serve seafood freshly caught from the ports and delivered on the day it was taken.
Of course, what is a Zubuchon branch without its trademark Zubulechon? Yup, the crackling roast pig is still part of its ever expanding range of dishes MarketMan has in store for his customers even for this joint.
We visited this place a little close to twelve o’clock and were surprised that there was a “fish bar” north of the main door. That said, the management mentioned that it’s there to showcase the fresh catch of the day. Curious, we were seated and decided to buy our usual order of seaweed platter and a kilo of boneless roast pig belly. To add to that, we also had ourselves a seafood platter and a serving of salmon sashimi.
The seafood platter arrived in a timely manner and there was scallops, tanigue, shrimp. squid and fried fish skin. The squid and the shrimp seemed to be overcooked, and so are the scallops, but the fish and the fish skin was just right.
For once, the seaweed platter that we ordered had the complete set (guso, lukot, lato) as compared to other branches of this restaurant.
The sashimi plate seemed a bit disappointing because of the ginger that was placed under the fish, which ruined the taste of the salmon. In Japanese restaurants, they add pickled ginger sparingly to the dish as a means to cleanse your palate. The ginger placed seemed to overdo it altogether.
Zubuchon
Marina Mall
Verdict:
A: 3.75/5
The food is satisfactory, save for the overcooked seafood and the sashimi plate. It’s too far from Cebu city though, for us to go back to this place.
As soon as we were finished with our meal, we visited this place for a few good reasons. One, someone was blocking the driveway of our park. Two, it was one of the neighboring establishments. Three, My sister wanted to try it out there. What …
As soon as I finished the last class of the day, my sister picked me up from school in and had us both visit this fairly new restaurant located within walking distance from Cebu Doctors’ Hospital. It was an open-air restaurant with several tables and chairs for their patrons.
Interestingly, aside from selling fresh frozen meat of specialized slices, the place also caters to patrons who would like to grab a bite of their offered products. They sell what most Korean grill shops usually sell, thinly slices pork and beef. 
However, unlike the traditional Korean grill shops that we go to, this restaurant demands that the patrons should be limited to the amount of meat that they purchased. Say, for example you ordered one serving of bacon slices that amounts to only 160 grams, you could no longer ask for another refill of meat.
The side dishes that they serve are also limited to very few choices: sautéed vegetable, kimchi, a bowl of soup, and some fresh lettuce for the grilled meat.
With several banners advertising its opening to the public, the gang and I decided to give this place a visit because we’ve been hoping to try it since its conceptualization stage. There weren’t a lot of customers so we were happily seated on a couch …
We visited this restaurant after remembering that Grand Convention Center has once again opened its door to the locals after its very busy renovation that lasted for a few months. The new place had a contemporary new look updated to the times, with several lighting fixtures and a spacious parking lot.
We arrived here just in time before the throng of families arrived to dine at this place. Our timely arrival got us a comfortable couch seat facing most of the tables and a strategic view of the buffet arrangement by the northeast. They had a wide variety of dishes ranging from European, Chinese, and Japanese.
Compelled to sample each dish available at the present, it took me several trips to finally collect a tiny bit of each dish but giving particular attention to the sashimi bar where they serve thick tuna and salmon slices for those who requested.
I could definitely say that i was impressed by their Chinese fare as they had very exquisite tastes that were definitely true to their origins. Their dimsum were top notch, and so were their noodles that used traditional Asian herbs for spice. Alas, delicious their grub maybe, their international food were below the bar as most of them were too dry or over sauced. The desserts were also below average and tasted too sweet and tasted artificial.
Grand Majestic
Grand Convention Center, Archbishop Reyes
Verdict:
A: 3/5
i think the food was half exceptional, as there were several dishes of Chinese origin available for their guests. The price is a little too high for my tastes, and there are other restaurants that are value for money compared to this restaurant. I think the people who eat here are the loyal patrons of old coming from rich Chinese families who transact business at this place.
