Cebu, B! As in BBQ.

Queen City of the South

If you are from Mayordoma's generation, you would probably always associate "Cebu" with the PLDT commercial wherein two kids were pretending to be a caller and an operator.  The caller requests to be connected to Cebu then the operator says the famous line, "Cebu, B!"

Cebu has been known to be the Queen City of the South with its bustling economy, beautiful beaches, and historical sites.  Of course, one should never forget the pasalubongs - Danggit, Pusit, Dried Mangoes and Otap!

Last week Yaya and Mayordoma took a much needed break in Cebu and Bohol with family and friends.  Aside from doing the usual touristy stuff, they came with the mission to experience Cebu dining.  Being "somehow" adventurous, Yaya, Mayordoma and their friends M&M veered away from the usual dining spots (actually, no Lechon Cebu while in Cebu!).  With the group being billeted in Downtown Cebu City, they ventured into "BBQ sa Colon".  Please take note that Colon starts with a capital C, therefore, read it as a proper name and not as an anatomical part!  Actually, Colon is considered as the oldest street in the Philippines.  How's that for some history lesson?

BBQ sa Colon is a compound with its inner perimeter lined with stalls selling different kinds of ihaw-ihaw with videoke on the side (really, each stall has a videoke!).  The tables are set up in the middle of the area.  Soon as you enter the place, food attendants from the stalls will try to convince you to eat at their place, even offering you with free "sabaw" to entice you.  Honestly, all the stalls offer the same fare so the group decided to dine where there was less noise and usok - at EMM Z GRELL BARBECUE.

This is where the adventure begins.  For starters, you don't order rice by the cup, you order Puso or hanging rice. It consists of rice wrapped in coconut leaves which is then boiled. It's cut in half when served.  Think of suman but in small triangles.  Then the group ordered several types of BBQ - Chicken, Pork, Longganisa and Chorizo.  The other half of M&M swears that the Chorizo was just the Longganisa tied in smaller in pieces to give it its marble-like shape.

After placing their orders, the gang sat at their appointed table.  They were given the puso served on native plates wrapped in plastic.  One of the first things they noticed were the plastics bags stacked on a bottle.  Their first impression was - the place must be semi self-busing, you wrap your food waste in the plastic bag.  Mayordoma then asked the food server to give each of them a set of spoon and fork. With an amazed look on her face, she asked if indeed each member of the group would like to have his/her own set of utensils.  Mayordoma was actually tempted to tell the food server that they will just share a set, of course she did not say that and just said, yes.

When the orders arrived, it was time to dig into the feast.  The BBQ Chorizo was the best!  Since the puso is like a suman, you can just imagine how solid it is.  Instead of the usual practice of putting sabaw on your rice, Yaya was dipping her rice in the sabaw! As Mayordoma, Yaya and M&M get finished with one stick, they would diligently put their food waste in the plastic to make sure that their table was kept clean.  However, just as about they were to be finished with their meal, they discovered the mystery behind the food server's surprised look on the utensils request and the stack of plastic bags on the table.  Well, since the puso is like a suman which you can eat from the wrapper and the BBQ are on sticks, there wasn't really a need for utensils.  You can eat them with just your hands.  And if you would like to eat that way, use the plastic so you don't have to touch the food with your bare hands.  Probably, the food server must have thought the group was odd with that they've done with the plastic bags!

http://www.albertospizzacebu.com/

After dinner, Yaya and M&M went to the mall across BBQ sa Colon to buy some stuff.  Mayordoma on the other hand stayed and checked out the pizza place in the area.  ALBERTO's PIZZA was a gem of a find! They offer the usual and not so usual pizza toppings - from ham, pepperoni, beef & mushroom to ham & egg, spanish sardines, tuna garlic, sisig twist, taco and beef shawarma to name some.  One can opt to have Parmesan or Mozzarella for their cheese topping.  But it's really their crust that spells the difference.  It was thin with a hint of saltiness and sweetness. It's like you can eat it on its own. If you are familiar with the Persian "naan bread" it has a similar taste to it, just on the thinner and crunchier side.  For an 11-inch Ground Beef & Mushroom with Mozzarella Cheese, Mayordoma only shelled out Php144! And it was big enough for the group to share.  Beat that! They (or the Colon Branch) are open 24 hours and they deliver.  The group is looking forward to the time when this pizza becomes available in their locality.

One of the lessons learned by Mayordoma on this food trip, if you will order pizza with lots of onions, eat it in the restaurant or somewhere there is good ventilation.  She spent the night trying to get rid of the smell from her hotel room. Well, nothing that an open door and several sprays of Downy Innocence couldn't handle!

Travel Side-Tips:

1.  If you intend to spend most of your time outside and the hotel is just a place to crash, look for a "business hotel".  These are hotels of choice of people who are long-staying. Think of it as an upgraded boarding house. The group stayed at Cebu Century Hotel in Colon.  The rate for a Twin Room was Php740 per night.   It can accommodate 3 people. It has the usual hotel features of A/C, hot & cold shower, cable tv.  They also have a cafeteria as well as room service.  A breakfast composed of fried rice, egg, danggit, coffee/tea and fresh fruits costs only Php85. But of course it's not new but their able attendants will always help you if you want to get your room cleaned.  Their front desk attendants will help you out in getting directions for the places you need to visit as well as the codes of the jeepneys you need to take. If you're thinking of a Hilton, go somewhere else.  We don't see the sense in splurging on a hotel room when all you will do is sleep and take a bath!

2.  Again if you intend to stay outside most of the time and don't mind the noise, look for a hotel downtown. At the hotel where we stayed, transportation was accessible.  Some of the sites were walking distance. And there were malls outside.  We arrived late and hungry but all we have to do was walk across the street and straight to the mall where several food chains were available.  We needed to buy pasalubongs, the supermarket was just at the corner.  We wanted to take a jeepney/taxi, all routes pass by the street where we stayed.  Unless you are on a retreat, its best to stay downtown!

3.  If you want to take a trip a day trip to Bohol from Cebu, your best option is a fast craft via Tubigon. You can get your tickets either at Pier 1 or Pier 3.  We took the MV Starcraft. If you get your tickets at Pier 3, they have a van to take you to Pier 1 where you will board the fast craft.  Cebu to Tubigon is just an hour trip and business class ticket is only Php280 + Php10 terminal fee (one-way).  If you're traveling with a child, the rate is only Php140 and not subject to terminal fee. The fast craft is air conditioned and in business class, you have bigger and more comfortable chairs and you have cable tv or dvd. The people at MV Starcraft also helped arrange our van who took us around Bohol.  Our driver, Mang Loloy was already waiting for us at the port when we arrived. We were even able to negotiate for a lower rent, from Php3,500 to Php3,000 only. Tubigon is the best point of entry.  Not only is the trip shorter but it is also cheaper and you can start your sight-seeing with Chocolate Hills which is the farthest.  If your point of entry is Tagbilaran, travel time is two hours and an economy ticket costs at least Php500 one-way. If this is your route, Chocolate Hills will be last.  So you can either enter via Tubigon and exit via Tabilaran or vice versa.  For our part, we did not want to spend much time on water and on ticket cost so our entry and exit were both through Tubigon.  We were business class all the way for Php580!

4.  Though we did not eat Lechon Cebu in Cebu we still brought home some lechon.  We got ours at the airport.  Zubuchon can be bought either fresh or frozen.  The fresh lechon needs to be eaten right away while the frozen one has a lifespan of one month. You can buy it for Php490/pack.  They will pack it well for you so can you take them with your carry-on hassle-free!

5.  For pasalubongs, Tabo-an market is the best choice for bulk-buying of danggit, dried pusit and dried mangoes.  Just be prepared for the smell.  It sticks.  Even your undies will smell like danggit!  But if you need to give out loads of pasalubongs, this is your best bet.  You can buy in bulk and just repack.  If you prefer to buy pre-packed dried mangoes, we found the Profoods Cebu Dried Mangoes to be the best tasting. For Otap, most people like the ones from Shamrock but we liked Conching's and Sugbu better. They're more toasted and less commercial tasting. And, they are cheaper!!!

'Till our next food and travel adventure!