6/28/11

It's L.A. Time!!! #3

      The weekend has passed but I won't let  this week pass without an L.A. time! What has Chef Manolo got for us this time? :)



       Ok, today i actually let some of you know i was coming to this place tonight, so i dont feel that bad about coming. Wurstkuche in the art distict of DT LA. I had the Rattlesnake & Rabbit with Jalapeño peppers sauage! I picked caramelized onions and spicy peppers as my toppings (on the side). La Trappe, trappist quadruple beer and a St. Bernardus ABT 12. My friend had the Rabbit, Veal & Pork seasoned with white wine. She had the same toppings i did but on top :)


     We shared an order of their large double dipped belgian fries with the curry ketchup and chipotle aoili as our sauces. As soon as we walked through the doors we were asked if we had a menu and if we're ready to start ordering drinks. I ordered my La Trappe first, it was very good and had this sweet after taste and it was one of the ones with the higher alcohol percentage :) <3

     Ten minutes after i got my beer we finally got to the where you order your food. The guy was awesomely nice, cant remember his name though he helped me with my beer/hot dog pairing and helped me pick the best toppings and sauces. We got our food about 15 minutes after we ordered it and sat down.
It did not disappoint!!!

     My bratwurst tasted like nothing i have ever had before, like straight out of the jungle?? It was meaty, buttery, spicy and just plain good..sooo good. There was soo much meatiness, but it was undescribable. I was in heaven. I felt the butteriness of the sausage in my mouth for a bit after my last bite I have no explanation for it yet. This has to be the best one here.

     I had my toppings on the side, so i piled a bit with every bite. My favorite mustard was their whole grain mustard..soooo good! Each bite was a little bite of heaven going into my mind.

     My friends sausage was a little too dry, maybe that's why they add the wine to the sausage. She added tons of ketchup so i really cannot describe it... FRIES- HOLY SH**!! white truffle oil glaze, double dipped fries! They are more like wedges, a little crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, perfectly seasoned. Curry ketchup was exactly that, perfectly balanced. No overpowering from either the curry, or the ketchup. PERFECTION.

     Chipote Aoili was alright, just alright... I ordered my second beer halfway through my hot dog and it was a little malty but sat so well with the heaviness of the food.

I would totally come back to this place at least twice a month :)


 Babe for Food
your new BFF in Cebu dining!
 

6/26/11

Prelude

Hey, foodies!

     I just want to announce that I will finally be VIDEO BLOGGING or VLOGGING! :) It's gonna be exciting because... it's about CEBU STREET FOODS! I have become good friends with an American classmate in college and since he's only stayed in Cebu for barely a month, I thought of getting him around and tasting our culture! Which is something I AM proud of! He's not exactly an adventurous eater though so I'm giving him an easy round, then a medium, then a difficult round. Let's see how he fares. So I hope you'd look forward to this as much as I am! First episode comes out this week! Watch for it!


Live. Love. Eat.

Babe for Food
your new BFF in Cebu Dining :)

6/23/11

Cebu Secret Chows: At The Street of Priests

       One of my first culinary inspirations is my Tita Issa Cusi, my dad's best friend's wife. Actually, both she and her husband (Tito Mark) have always been foodies and they both cook really well. I visited her lately and we just went on and on about food and all these places to eat in Cebu. She's been to most of the places on my "Cebu's Secret Dining Spots from A-Z" list. For someone who's not originally from Cebu, she knows a lot about the good eats in our city. Don't you envy her? Haha. 

     So since we couldn't stop talking about food, we planned to go on a food trip together soon after that. She introduced me to Cafe Elysa, one of the places on my Cebu's Secret Dining Spots list. Elysa Cafe is located at Pari-an, (thus, "street of priests") Zamora St., right around the corner of the police station. I really wasn't familiar with this place and I was really interested in what they offered considering their location.

    
       Set for lunch, we headed to Cafe Elysa on a scorching hot day but I was so hyped. Parking was just by the roadside and I couldn't wait to get out of the car and get in those doors. The facade of the cafe matched its surroundings and had an inviting aura to it. I loved the stained glass windows and the old Spanish-inspired ambience. As I stepped inside, I was greeted by a simple, clean interior. I really don't have any problem with restaurants that keep their setting simple as long as they focus on the quality of their food and service. Their walls were also adorned with beautiful local artworks! It gives an air of pride in local talent. And i love that smell. Or is it just the good food from the kitchen? Haha. :)




portrait of the owner and her direct family
i love the interior of their comfort room: warm and comforting indeed
their counter with the kitchen behind it and a huge blackboard where the daily/weekly (not sure which) specials are written on
their hand washing area
a wall of local artworks by Cebuano artist Undo Alcoseba
             
      The Aznar's are originally from Pari-an and  Elysa Cafe is an original property of the Aznar's. The owner studied culinary in New York and brought home the knowledge and skills he gained. The menu offers local classics such as Kinilaw, Kalderetang Kanding, Dinuguan to name a few and Mediterranean-Asian dishes. Browsing the menu, I was quite apalled that it was pricey and when this is the case, my expectations tend to rise so I expected quality food.

      I do admire the comfort room because it was adequately spacious, very clean and accommodating. One thing people should know about assessing a restaurant is also the set up of the restroom because it reflects the cleanliness of the restaurant. 

      By the way, my little sister tagged along on this trip because, well, she loves being with me. She's not much of a foodie though. Tita and I ordered a soup from the specials on the board. Here's a list of what we ordered:
  • Potato and Mushroom Soup with Tarragon (special)
  • Creamy Tomato Mint Soup
  • Spaghettini with Tomato and Basil
  • Elysa Spring Rolls
  • Fish in Banana Leaf with Seafood Sambal and Lemon Basil 
  • Banana Fritters with Local Lime and Caramel Sauce
potato and mushroom soup w/ tarragon






I loved this soup. It was taken from the specials board menu. The consistency, texture and flavor were delicately pleasant. Fresh mushrooms were used and the tarragon did not overpower the other flavors. The soup was not purely smooth either, there were fine chunks of potato which gave it a pleasing texture. 

creamy tomato mint soup

This soup had a very mild hint of mint and it was not a heavy cream soup. We actually paired it with the pasta and it worked well together. 

Elysa Spring Rolls
 These were luscious! I loved that the vermicelli/crystal noodles weren't overcooked, it was moist inside, the wrapper was not too thick and it was served crisp and hot. This dish is known to be one of Cafe Elysa's specialties.

Spaghettini with Tomato and Basil
 
Tita Issa likes her pasta simple. She loves pomodoro. This order was impressive. The serving was hefty which justified the price and we loved that this wasn't saturated with any sauce yet it wasn't dry at all. Amplified with fresh tomatoes and fresh basil, this was such a palate tickler. We could also tell that they used freshly grated parmesan cheese. TWINNER!

Fish in Banana Leaf with Seafood Sambal and Lemon Basil     


The fish used for this dish was Red Snapper. We noticed that it was a fleshy meat, almost similar to crab meat but more compact. Sambal is an Asian chili-based sauce which is normally used as a condiment. This dish was not spicy at all though. It may look small but the texture quality of the fish actually makes you realize along your bites that the portion is quite heavy.

Banana Fritters with Local Lime and Caramel Sauce
 I'm particularly not a fan of breaded or fried items but Tita Issa was craving for fried bananas somehow so she ordered this for our dessert. I was expecting something like pinaypay or battered bananas so this surprised me when it was served. The breading was actually dessicated coconut and I love how they used the local lime (calamansi) as the garnish. The banana was soft and naturally sweet on the inside and the crisp coco exterior gave an interesting tropical flavor to this dish. The caramel sauce had a light consistency and had a zest to it. I'm guessing it was infused with local lime zest or rinds which gave it an interesting twist. So this dessert impressed and pleased me. And I love when desserts make the happy ending to my meal. 

my sister, Joanna :)
Joanna, Me, Tita Issa and Ms. Joy Uy (standing)

      So I recommend Elysa Cafe to gourmets who are in for an adventure beginning with the directions to the location until the actual service and quality of the food. This was a small place having a seating capacity of about 25-30 people. The menu offers common local fare but do expect quality upon service and it's worth your money. 

Price Ranges:
appetizers - 85 - 195 php
main course - 295 - 495 php
dessert - 45 - 145 php
 
Photos courtesy of Ms. Joy UyTita Issa Cusi and yours truly. 

You may also like Elysa Cafe's page on facebook. click here

Thank you so much for this lunch, Tita! 




by:

Babe for Food
your new BFF in Cebu dining!

6/20/11

Cebu Secret Chows: The Quaint Little White House

     I only get rare opportunities to mingle with my high school classmates because most of us are scattered to different schools, a valuable number in Manila, and we all have different schedules. But as usual, whenever the Manila friends are around, someone would organize a reunion. This particular gathering was special to me because it would be the last time we all see each other for summer and we were going to dine in one of the places on my list of Cebu's Secret Dining Spots. Thanks to Steven Ling!

      I was just so excited! I have been dying to dine here and now was finally my chance. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to bring my camera but credits to my classmates for helping me document all the amazingly tasty dishes we had.
     
  
   This quaint little white house called Simply J's  is along the Escario road, beside Diamond Suites and Residences. It is near Parklane International Hotel. I heard of this little restaurant even before they had put up their signage. So my classmates and I headed here for dinner. I just love the concept of the place, ornamented with novelty and antique items all for sale. It really is just a tiny place, with a seating capacity of 30-35 people. Therefore, reservation is a must. Quite an intimate, cozy place. 


      The specialties here are Osso Bucco, Grilled Pork Ribs and Kalderetang Kanding. I decided to have the ribs because I wanted to compare it to Casa Verde's (don't we all when it comes to ribs? Casa Verde has now become the mode of standard for grilled pork ribs.) and my own recipe (ehem!). We all ordered different items from the menu to have a little taste of what they offered. The menu was considerably extensive for the accommodating capacity of the restaurant. 

      Though there was only one server, our orders did not take long to be served which amazed me because it was quite a busy night. The restaurant was fully reserved and the turnover of customers was also considerably quick. 
Here are sneak peeks of some of the dishes we had:

Cream Dory Salsa: pan-fried cream dory fillet with tomato cucumber salsa
Osso Bucco @ 200 php

     All the pics were taken by phone only and we didn't really take much pictures of this night for some reason. I wasn't able to take a photo of my ribs as well! Sorry. :(

from left: Tiffany, Hennessy, Nikki
Tifaine and Kiara

my plate says it all :)

     Overall, I would rate the food a perfect 10 for value and quality. I enjoyed every dish we had. The osso bucco was tender, my ribs with the honey mustard sauce was delightful to the bones, even our appetizer of chicken fingers w/ bbq sauce was tender and the fish! Oh, the fish was just lovely. Crisp on the outside and the meat was juicy and tender. The salsa melded perfectly. Their bolognese pasta was good too. My ribs pleased my standard for sauce consistency. It was not too thick, tangy and sweet but not too sweet and the meat just fell off the bones.    

Price range: 130-200 php

Photos by Edsel Tan and Liezl Jao. Thank you so much! :)

6/19/11

It's L.A. Time!!! #2


Hey, guys! It's L.A. time again with Chef Manolo Acha! What's he got for us today?


Cream of Mushroom Soup

prep time: 20 mins
cook time: 20 mins
serves 6

ingredients:

5 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/8 teaspoon fresh thyme
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon sherry

directions:
  1. In a large heavy saucepan, cook mushrooms in the broth with onion and thyme until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
  2. In blender or food processor, puree the mixture, leaving some chunks of vegetable in it. Set aside.               
  3. In the saucepan, melt the butter, whisk in the flour until smooth. Add the salt, pepper, half and half and vegetable puree. Stirring constantly, bring soup to a boil and cook until thickened. Adjust seasonings to taste, and add sherry.               
  4. Add desired garnish such as parsley, garlic bread, or sauted mushrooms for more depth
Hints and tips:

- If fresh button mushrooms are not avaible, canned mushrooms can be used but flavor will be sacrificed.

- If so fresh thyme is also not available then dried thyme is ok but be careful because dried herbs are stronger. So be minimal when using such product.

- Half-&-half means half milk and half cream, but if you want the soup to be richer you could always use full heavy cream

- I tend to add a tablespoon or two of butter when finishing the soup to make it look glossier and flavorful. Just swirl it in the pot once soup is in its final minute of cooking time
  
Chef Manolo says:

      As simple as it gets, cream of mushroom had always been my favorite soup since childhood. This dish is creamy, hearty, rich, and comforting once you have that nice porcelain bowl full of mushroomy goodness. Have this on a rainy day or cold weather, or better yet, whenever you feel like it because cravings can always be quenched. Just remember that making this with love and time, you can always make a perfect dish that worth savoring for. ENJOY!!!

6/18/11

When Food and Fashion Meet

       Last weekend, Babe for Food was invited by Eden Villarba of Chic in the Tropics to an assembly of some of Cebu’s most stylish young personalities at the Veranda. It is located at Parkmall, beside Dimsum Break. This was to be the first meeting of Cebu’s fashion bloggers. I actually wondered (yet was flattered as much) why I was invited to this event because I would be the odd one among the group. You know, me being the only food blogger around all these fashion bloggers. But anyways, of course I would never miss out on anything that involves food, dining and friends. I love meeting people and making new friends as well.

       So, agenda was at 7 p.m. F.Y.I, I actually do not indulge in fashion as much as I do food. Not that I don’t “like” fashion, I do adore it but I don’t think I can compare myself to these guys I was meeting. Lol. My style is more of simple and comfortable. You can say I’m a minimalist. Actually, more of lazy. Haha. I chose to wear a maxi dress (see? Lazy.) to this dinner because it would be my last summer weekend since school would start next week (June 13) and I just love this dress. Here' a sneak peek:


       Veranda is a restobar that serves Spanish cuisine. I have already dined here previously and I loved the generous serving and quality of their lengua paired with a serving of smooth mashed potatoes. So this time, I wanted to try something else. I opted for the callos which happened to be one of my childhood favorites. I remember hogging this dish whenever my mom cooked it. When my order arrived the table, I couldn’t wait to dig in. It was in a tomato sauce and had some slices of Hungarian sausage, sliced black olives and chickpeas. It was good but I think there was too much Hungarian sausage. I’d have to say mom’s was better. She hasn’t cooked any for years now though; makes me miss it. Veranda’s callos had a serving reasonably proportion to the price though I’d still prefer their lengua. The other girls had the baked pasta  which was too sweet to my liking. 
     
my callos @ 180 php w/ fries or rice

baked pasta
that's my face when my rice is consumed earlier than my main course

We were more or less 15 people, majority of ladies and much to our surprise, one of the bloggers who was supposedly invited but had to decline the invitation because of an immersion, happened to have his immersion at the same venue! This fashion and food blogger (double talented) is Paolo Berdin. He is currently a student in Academy of International Culinary Arts, a Manila-based culinary school that opened here in Cebu last year at The Gallery, Mabolo. I can really see the passion this guy has for food. I think he has as much passion for eating as I do. I’d love to go on a food trip with him sometime. And of course, do check out his tongue-whetting and entertaining blogs What Paolo Writes  and What Paolo Eats. After reading his blog and finally following it, he's one of the food bloggers in Cebu I look up to most. Who wouldn't? He was one of the top 20 bloggers in the Cebu last year yet still is very much down to earth. "Paoie" was like the head chef of Veranda this night, entertaining his guests. What a pleasant surprise indeed! Of course, I wouldn't miss a picture with the head chef of Veranda for the night. ;) 




i'd love to have him on a food trip with me :)
As usual, I could not stay as long as most of the people did since my curfew is earlier than Cinderella’s. But this night was a memorable and enjoyable one, thanks to Eden and Veranda. It was exciting to meet all these amazing women and a handful of men who do Cebu fashion proud with their sense of style and their wit to match. Oh, and guess what? I just met another “Babe for Food”, a possible food blogger soon, Dale Brigoli. Beauty and braun (-y appetite). Like me! She had a serving of Cerdo Asado for her main course and had Hot Wings for her appetizer. I was disappointed with the mashed potato this time because it was dry. I loved the fries though, I think it was sprinkled with paprika.        

Dale Brigoli
hot wings
Cerdo Asado @ 200 php

A night of good food, good music, and good company. That was a great way to end my summer. I love Veranda’s Saturday Sessions! Acoustic for dinner and alternative rock for the late night. Awesome! Hope there would be more of these meetings soon. 

from right: Eden, me, Aoi (a model), Andrew Singco
Kristine Roa of InStyle Cebu and Yves Camingue of Yvestyle
fashion bloggers galore
from left below: Gizelle Faye of Vanilla Ice Cream, Toni Pino of Perfumed Red Shoes, Gillian Uang of by details, Neil San Pedro of .N.
 from left standing: Babe for Food, Eden Villarba of Chic In The Tropics and Vannessa East of one frozen margarita

me with Dale Brigoli and Issa Perez of Little Black Sheep Fashion 

Photos by Eden Villarba and just a handful by me. :)

Thank you again for this awesome night, Eden. And it was great meeting you all.

























6/13/11

Cebu Secret Chows: Pizza Marathon

time start: 12:30 p.m.
time finish: 5:00 p.m.

I noticed that my list of Cebu’s Secret Dining Spots from A-Z contained several pizza places so I decided to cram it all up in one day. I figured this would be quite a challenge because I would be eating pizza ALL DAY (well, all afternoon) but the thought of hopping from one pizza place to another amused me. This wouldn’t have been a challenge if I had more than one friend with me but, yeah, I only had my foodie photographer friend, Momon Racoma, to help me eat these. So anyway, the pizza places on the itinerary were La Bella Napoli, Michaelangelo, Corner Bakery and Ryan’s Pizzarelli. The only place I’ve already visited and dined in among these is Corner Bakery.

Stop #1: La Bella Napoli – Authentic Wood-fired Pizza 

So we started around half past 12 and headed to Talamban’s Piazza Elesia the new branch of La Bella Napoli. I heard that the owner previously worked for or with Michaelangelo’s so the pizza taste and quality was practically the same. I still wanted to taste it and find out for myself. We arrived at high noon heat, greeted by a wood-fired oven (yeah baby! That’s HOT! But seriously, it couldn’t get any hotter than this) and an outdoor dining setting. 
We ordered half the Quattro Formaggi and half the Cappricciosa, as recommended by the staff to be their best sellers. Fresh pizza dough was being kneaded manually while we watched our pizza being assembled and cooked (all the while, drooling with hunger and lust for this treat; we both didn’t have breakfast so go figure). The wood used to fire the oven was padre de cacao. Watching this scenery reminded me of my internship days in Marco Polo where I learned to bake pizza in a wood-fired oven.  I actually missed it. So anyway, our pizza didn’t take long at all. It was cooked in less than 10 mins. and we were just so ready to gobble it up. I admire that it was rolled out manually so it had an irregular shape after cooking, contrary to the usual perfect round pizza. Imperfection is beauty
      
The nice thing about freshly baked pizza from a wood-fired oven is that the heat of the pizza is retained longer compared to reheated pizza. I loved that their tomato sauce was homemade and chunky. It smelled so heavenly and the crust was bubbly and chewy. The Quattro Formaggi was so good! It had blue cheese, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, and cheddar cheese. Compared to Marco Polo’s, the crust was just a tad bit thicker and chewier but for the price and quality, you should think of nothing else but this if you’re craving for affordable authentic Italian pizza. They have delivery service so if you wish to try these without leaving home, just contact their delivery hotlines. Their original branch is actually located in Gorordo and they’ve been around for almost 2 years now. Don’t you wonder why you never noticed this? Well, I have noticed this at Gorordo but never got to drop by because it’s not one of those locations we’d normally stop by. I did notice the wood-fired oven and always wondered if it was real. And it is! 

more pics of the action:

fresh dough kneaded manually
homemade tomato sauce!
1/2 Cappricciosa and 1/2 Quattro Formaggi
this made me so happy :)
Location: click for link
Price range: 150-300 php
Contact nos. : 418 0539 (Talamban)
                     412 2046 (Gorordo)

Stop #2: Michaelangelo’s

Michaelangelo’s is located in Banilad, beside The Tap Room, going to Maria Luisa Village. The ambience was lovely and simple, conducive for family dining, casual chic dates and then later at night, I could picture this place turning into a nice, cozy place for some drinks with friends. Ah, beer and pizza. The inseparable tandem.

As we entered, I felt that we were transported to a pleasant, little café in Italy. There were these 2 Italian guys talking to the staff so I’m guessing they were the owners. On one side of the wall were shelves of wine and the kitchen was a show kitchen. True enough, Michaelangelo’s and La Bella Napoli’s pizza menu were barely different from each other. The catch is, I don’t think Michaelangelo’s pizzas are baked in a wood-fired oven. Ha! Nonetheless, the pizza was still of excellent quality. The crust was crisper and thinner, and the toppings were evidently of high quality. I love arugula on pizza and their specialty here was called the Robertino which supposedly had arugula. Unfortunately, they ran out of arugula that day. So we had half the Robertino and half the Diavola. Robertino had bacon and eggs on it (breakfast pizza?) and the Diavola had just the heat I wanted. 

Overall, the ambience and the pizza were commendable but it's quite pricey. Service was not so attentive and had poor menu knowledge. 
   
picchio pacchio :))

1/2 Robertino and 1/2 Diavola
Location: link here
Price range: 220-550 php
Contact nos.: 236 4297

Stop #3: Corner Bakery

      Surprisingly, Dad was the one who discovered this place even before they put out a signage at the corner of the road. He always raved about their Spaghetti Bolognese. So the first thing I loved about this place was their Bolognese. I never bothered to try their pizza though because I thought it was quite pricey until a friend of mine told me it was his family's favorite pizza, that they'd always order a takeout. So before I went on this pizza marathon, I happened to be playing tennis nearby and decided to try it. Indeed, it pleased me well. 

     Their pizza specialty here is their Diavolo. I love spicy food so this appealed to me. By this time, being halfway through the marathon, Momon and I were sick of pizza already. We declared that we wouldn't want to eat pizza for another few months. Hahaha. Anyway, so their version was different from Michaelangelo's but it was still good. It was not greasy at all, the crust had a good texture and quality for the price, and their recipe had Hungarian sausage. Taking pictures of the food here was supposedly prohibited but sneaky Momon stole a shot with his iPhone. Lol. Another thing to love about this place is also their pastries. I love their mango creme pie, smores cupcake and cookies.
 

it's like being in a room full of tempting goodies!
160 php
Villa Aurora, Mabolo
Location: link here
Price range: 160-350 php
Contact nos.: 238 3508

Stop #4: Ryan's Pizzarelli


     Finally, the last stop. Whew! I felt like I was climbing Mt. Everest. I didn't expect eating tasty pizzas would be this much of a struggle. Lol. I actually wanted to include Handuraw but it wasn't part of Cebu's Secret because it is already located in a mall (Mango Square).

     I've actually read about Ryan's Pizzarelli on the newspaper. My friend suggested I try their Choco Banana Pizza which would have been appropriate since this was the last stop. A dessert pizza would have been interesting but it was unavailable because they did not have bananas. Why??? Momon didn't like the idea so it was to his advantage. I would have really wanted to try it though. I wouldn't have wanted to order anything else but Momon already ordered their specialty which I'll have to apologize for forgetting the name. They only have one size for their pizzas but it's value for money because it's really big. I prefer this over Calda.

      This venue fitted my Cebu's Secret list perfectly because they did not do any marketing and I love that finding it is part of the adventure. Even the entrance was very unseeming. As we entered, I was amused by the collage of pictures posted all over the walls and even the ceiling. The proprietor of Ryan's is also a photography enthusiast and he enjoys taking pictures of every new customer he notices. And yes, he did take our picture. Now it makes me want to go back to see where it's posted. Highly recommended for delivery!
"wall of fame": a collage collection of random customers pictured by the proprietor
real or not? haha. this is how they serve the bill. :D
HUGE 14"

181-D Ma. Christina Ext., Capitol
Location: link here
Price range: 250-450 php
Contact nos.: +63 922 947 3910
                       +63 922 762 7990


     So as a conclusion, I deem La Bella Napoli as the winner! All the pizzas we tasted were very satisfactory but I love how reasonably priced their pizza is for the quality although take out or pick up is highly recommended since it's located by the roadside and it only offers outdoor dining. You wouldn't want dust on your pizza and to smell the pollution from the street. But yes, I would crave for their pizza if I long for Marco Polo pizza's more affordable version. Hope you enjoyed this LOOONG segment!

THANK YOU, MOMON RACOMA, for the photos and for driving me around. :)


Til the next dining adventure,


Babe for Food -- your new BFF in Cebu dining! :)