Cebu Secret Chow: Kiss of An Ox

    I've actually only noticed this small unseeming restaurant at a glance when I ate at Doming's two years ago on a lunch break from culinary school. I liked how mysterious the facade was and it lingered at the back of my head. I just never thought of going there since no one really reminded me of it and I transferred residence which was too far from this location already. So introducing my first feature of Cebu's Secret Dining Spots from A-Z, Arano.

    Arano is located at Guadalupe, Cebu City. I don't really know the specific details of the address but if you know where Doming's (another secret dining spot!) is, it's situated right beside it. The most details I could give you are landmarks like, Guadalupe Elementary School and San Jose Bakeshop. Enter the road right across the school. This road has San Jose Bakeshop beside it and a signboard that says "Fairlane Village". Just go inside then turn right and follow the road til you see a low green gate (that's Doming's). Arano is located right beside that green gate. 

     It's actually one of those house-turned-restaurant dining hideaways. I chose to pop by for dinner to see the ambience at night. I believe that the entrance of a restaurant always makes the first impression for any guest. I liked the entrance because it is unique to find a door with a door knob right along the road. The fact that this was the setting actually made it inviting to open the door and see what's inside (Narnia-ish? lol). The walls are also covered with vines and there you find their signage, carved on wood. As i opened the door, it led me to a small room which was the bar. It was exclusively reserved that night so we proceeded to the actual dining area which was led by another door. The dining area was in a garden setting, generally outdoor and partly sheltered by an extended roof. It was a rainy night but if it weren't, I can imagine that it would have been a romantic night with a cool breeze at the garden. So anyway, I'm here for the food. My friend (the photographer for this feature) who has dined here several times recommended their lengua. We were all hungry and quickly ordered our menu choices. Of course, I went for the lengua. 

lengua @ 120 php

If you've never tasted or heard of this, or you have and just didn't know exactly what it was, this is actually braised ox tongue. Ooh la la. Some people shudder at the thought of ingesting such a thing but this is one Spanish delicacy I truly enjoy. Not too much, of course. There are various recipes for this but I don't have a specific preference as long as it pleases my taste buds. The lengua I had here was served with a mushroom gravy sauce. Tender, yes, but in terms of taste quality, it still had that odor that shouldn't be there so it was not perfectly prepared or spiced. The sauce was a little salty, too. I prefer the lengua of Montebello Villa Hotel. For the price, it's not a very generous serving. The slices were quite thin.       

porkchop @ 110 php

     My friends, on the other hand, had the porkchop. It smelled and looked palatable. It was topped with fried garlic and butter, and accompanied with a chunky mashed potato (not bad). I liked how chunky it was. It was a little dry though. I was actually quite jealous of this. This is definitely way better than Mother's Fried Chicken's famed porkchops (my dad was obsessed with this before).  

       Unfortunately, for this gig, I had to "eat and run" because my family wanted to go home early together. So overall, this is a conducive date spot with reasonable prices and menu and ambience is alright and casual whether for lunch or dinner. I would go back for the porkchop and their steaks are at most 350 php! I'd also want to try their callos next time. 

    I'd like to thank my dear friends who came along and Raymond "Momon" Racoma for taking me there. :D

clockwise from left: Kirby, me, Momon, Paolo, Issa, Kentoi

good food, good company

Photo credits to: Issa Perez http://littleblacksheepfashion.blogspot.com

                        Momon Racoma http://momonracoma.tumblr.com 

LIVE, LOVE, EAT! - Wolfgang Puck  

Til the next gig,

Justinne <3

  

Cebu's SECRET Dining Spots from A-Z!

Hey, guys! ;p   

     Like i promised, here's my list of Cebu's unassuming dining spots which I will be exploring or re-visiting (since I've already dined in some of the spots listed) along with my foodie friends and foodie photogs. This is one LOOOONG exciting adventure I can't wait to take on. I dream of doing this all over the world! But to be realistic, one of my goals would be to do this all over the Philippines first. HAHAHA. Unfortunately, my list is still incomplete because I have yet to find out about more qualifying secret dining spots that begin with the missing letters. Feel free to contribute though, I'd love for you guys to participate and share with me your discoveries, too.

     Heads up, the dining spots listed are not necessarily all affordable or have excellent dish quality but I think most are reasonably priced. The list does not adhere to any specific menu service or cuisine and budget as well so it's quite random (which makes it more fun, right?! :D). I will enumerate my suggested qualifications for a dining spot to be considered 'secret'. These would generally be establishments that conform to either or all of the ff.:

- barely do any marketing (newspaper ads, billboard ads, flyers, etc.)

- rely solely on 'word-of-mouth'

- are not located in any mall

- do not have clear signages

     Now let's get on with the list, shall we? I do not have limits for the number of establishments I can enumerate for each corresponding letter as long as they pass the qualifications. So go ahead and help me complete the list so we can see how many of these hole-in-the-walls we can find. :)

Legend: 

red font - been there, done that
* - featured

A - Abaseria Deli & Restaurant
     Arano*
     Ambassador's Cafe
     ATF (All-Time-Favorites) 
     Alejandro's

B - Busy Bee Blue Bayou

C - Cul de Sac

     Corner Bakery*
     Coriander
D - Dong Juan
     Doming's

E - Elysa Cafe*

F - Front Gate

     Fudge

G -

H - Han Guk Kwan

I - ICAAC
J - Joed's Lutong Hapon
    Julia's

K - Kandingan sa SRP

L - La Buona Forchetta di Paolo

     La Bella Napoli*
M - Matias
     Mr. A
     Mae Krua
     Michaelangelo*
     Mama Gie

     Micky's Japanese Cakes

     MB's Tavern

N - Nonki

O -

P - Paolito's STK
     Parrt Ebelle

Q -

R - Ryan's Pizarelli*
     Rica's
S - Simply J's*
T - Tagala's
     Ten Dove St.

     Thirty Kitchen

     The Ranch 

U -

V - Vibes

W - Wakamatsu Yakiniku

X -

Y - Yumeya Kihei

Z - Zayka
     Zao
 
    As much as I want to write about all the places on the list as soon as possible, I regret to tell you that I think it would take me more or less 6 months because... I'm not a walking bank. Hehe. But I would also welcome anyone who would want to invite me on a food trip if they're visiting any of the places I listed. So just leave a comment if you have plans! 

Babe for Food -- your new BFF in Cebu dining. ;) 

Vanille's Macarons and New Flavors

the luscious macarons in new flavors! (forgive some pics with irregular shapes. editing is not my thing. lol.)

MY FIRST FEATURE!!! :D

Macarons - those delicate, luscious almond meringue cookies that sandwich a cream filling (love the liqueur-infused ones) that melt in your mouth with every bite and come in every imaginable flavor and color! Who can't love (eating) these?! I can be obsessed with these but they tend to be pricey for their size. Well, you can't blame something that's made of ground almond and meringue and whatever wonderful things you can think of. But actually, aside from the ingredients that make these luxurious cookies quite pricey, the production cost is a big factor. Making these will always incur a reject/s because this recipe tends to be generally inconsistent. Every baker or pastry chef knows this. I'm not much of a baker or patissier? (did i get that right?) so I prefer to eat these. But don't get me wrong, I'd love to try making some by myself someday. After all, being well-rounded is a great advantage for any chef. ;)

      

      Vanille Cafe and Patisserie is a French cafe at the 2nd floor of the Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu that sells macarons at an individual price. They were one of the first tenants of the Terraces so they've been around since October 2008. They're macarons caught my eye and I still crave for them from time to time. The only flavors they had back then were chocolate and vanilla. But two weeks ago, approximately the first week of May, they launched 8 new flavors! I discovered these just two days ago. The new flavors are, espresso, caramel, tableya, kalamansi, orange, coconut, hazelnut praline, peppermint. The cost per piece is just 35 php. My personal favorites are the peppermint and hazelnut praline. The peppermint macaron is perfect to flush away that savory residue after a meal. I'm glad the attendant was accommodating enough to arrange each available flavor on a plate for photo courtesy. 

Along with these adorable and tasty treats is an ambience with an air of French sophistication in a cafe setting. Purple plush seats that are comfortable even for considerably long hours of coffee and wifi is available as well, free with any purchase in the cafe. Aside from decadent pastries, a full course menu is served including selections of quiche lorraine. So whenever you want to have a quick, guiltless dessert, keep Vanille on top of the list.

Special thanks to Issa Perez and her hubby Paolo Climaco for supporting me on my first feature! I forever love you both! <3

 

photos by: issa perez - follow her on http://littleblacksheepfashion.blogspot.com

Goodbye, Tumblr :)

   Okay, so I quit Tumblr cuz I didn't get good reviews about it as a blogging site and blogspot was recommended to me. So here I am, and I'll be posting my previous posts from Tumblr just to keep you on track. I officially started blogging on 16 May. Cheers! :)

Watch For It!

    Just a preview of what I will be posting by next week: Cebu’s Secret Food Spots from A-Z! Hope you’d look forward to this, because I am! It’s gonna be an awesome gig! Something I’ve always wanted to do and wished that I had my own show about. I will be taking along friends who are into culinary and photography to contribute their thoughts and help document the trips, and of course, my fellow foodies who wanna join in the fun. Of course, this gig doesn’t transpire in just a whole day. In fact, it will go on for months along with other features of exciting agendas on the list. Can't wait!

Live. Love. Eat. - Wolfgang Puck

Yours truly,

babe for food <3

Here I Am. What Now?

   So. I FINALLY started a blog page with the hope of sharing my love for the magical world of food. I enjoy sharing to anyone about good food and where to get them. And I’ve always dreamed of being a food columnist and food critic (since the day I learned what these meant). And yes, Gael Greene is the queen. Oh, how I’d love to be her.

   So anyway, as much as I’d love to post something of more sense right now, I’ve got more important matters to attend to. I have to finish this 30-page internship report for school that’s actually long overdue (get this, due 2009. gah.) and I’m taking the IELTS exam this week so just lemme get through this hell and I’ll get right on with my food blogging.

Til the soonest,

Justinne 

a.k.a.

babe for food <3