Cebu Lechon in Cebu!

While planning this trip, I had anticipated at eating lechon would be one of the highlights of visiting Cebu. And, boy, was I right!! Eating lechon goes right up there with snorkeling!

I asked some locals for their advice for where to get some lechon. Right away, they pointed us to CnT Lechon. Thank you for a great recommendation!! We were soo ready to eat lechon that we ordered one kilo (and we were only two small Asians)! And yet, we found a way to finish our plates! It's not just because we were hungry, it's because it was that good!

No wonder Anthony Bourdain proclaimed that his best pig was in the Philippines, specifically Cebu! On our last day, we tried going to Zubuchon where I read Bourdain went, but we ended up at a food stall where they sold take out packages by the kilo. Zubuchon is actually just these food stalls and caters to whole lechon orders, not a restaurant. In any case, it seems as though I really am stalking Bourdain - Cupertino, Bale Dutung, here in Cebu...where to next, Chef?

Here is a slideshow of our Cebu Lechon in Cebu! (Place your cursor above "Notes" for more descriptions)

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Desserts for Dinner

After an afternoon of eating, we decided to have desserts for dinner before heading back to the hotel for the night. On our first night we came across Cafe Laguna in the Ayala Center. The atmosphere looked inviting and clean, and the menu selection was native with plenty of great food photos. Since we chose to eat at Hukad on our first, we decided to try out Cafe Laguna this time around.

We chose a couple of lighter desserts to end our day of eating. Both were fresh tasting and nicely presented. Presentation really enhances the enjoyment of eating.

Here's a slideshow of our desserts:

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Spanish Cuisine in Cebu

After an enjoyable afternoon of snorkeling, we were hungry for dinner! The options at the hotel weren't really too appealing for our stomachs that night. So we ventured across the street and tried out a nice looking Spanish restaurant, Hola Espana. What a nice find! The atmosphere was like a Spanish tapas bar and the food was comforting after a day out.

Here is a slideshow of our meal:

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A Taste of Cebu

Our first meal in Cebu! For an early dinner, we explored the Ayala Center and went around to see which restaurant's menu would win us over. With an appealing menu selection of Cebuano cuisine and with my cousin's recommendation in mind, we decided to try out Hukad.

Hukad was a decent place for a cheap dinner. The menu nicely represented a great selection of Filipino and specifically Cebuano dishes. We were seated when the restaurant was half full and left when the restaurant had a long line out the door. The service was on the slow side, though. Some of the dishes were slightly overcooked, but our stomachs were still pleased at the end of the meal.

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Snorkeling in Cebu!

If you travel out of Manila and to a beach or an island, you have to try out a water activity - even if it's just wading in the warm, crystal clear blue and turquoise waters.

After reading our guide book we saw that our hotel had a dive center, Scotty's Dive Center. We checked it out when it first opened and reserved a banca (a classic white wooden Filipino boat) for the afternoon to head out to Hilutungan Island, about a 20 minute ride from Mactan. The island is a protected marine sanctuary off of Olango Island, where the reefs were once endangered by fishing fleets. What an afternoon! We enjoyed being on the boat, swimming in the warm waters, looking at the coral, and being surrounded by so many fishes!! From a food standpoint, it was fascinating to see some of the fish that I find in the market swimming all around me! The parrot fish had their own unique colors and the pompano were huuge! I'll admit there were a couple times when I had a craving for sashimi for dinner...

Here's a slideshow of pictures taken out on the water:

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Sighting-Seeing Around Cebu

It was our first time visiting Cebu, so sight seeing was mandatory. Cebu is one of the most significant ports in the history of the country. It is where Ferdinand Magellan landed in 1521 to spread his missionary. In 1565, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi claimed Cebu and the Philippines as a colony of Spain. In fact, Cebu City is the first Spanish settlement, in 1575, in the Philippines (Manila was marked seven years later).

So with all this history in mind, we set out to see the major landmarks. But first!..We visited the Alegre Guitar Factory. Cebu is also known for its guitar making. I already have a fantastic rich sounding American-made acoustic guitar, so I wanted a small local guitar to add to my collection. I ended up buying a Lawaan (local Filipino wood) acoustic guitar!
Following our visit to the guitar factory in Mactan, we crossed the bridge and headed to two major sites in Cebu City - Magellan's Cross and the Basilica of Santo Nino.

Here's a slideshow of pictures from our day of sight seeing. Place your cursor about "Notes" to read the captions:

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Note: For my Google Buzz Readers, the slideshows don't work on Buzz. To check out the slideshow, click on the Foodicles link to connect you to the site to see it.

Shangri-La's Mactan Resort & Spa in Cebu

Following our unforgettable and pampered two nights in Boracay, we flew to Cebu to continue our trip! We stayed at Shangri-La's Mactan Resort & Spa. Coming from Boracay, we set our expectations high...and we were disappointed because of that. It was crowded throughout our stay. We waited over two hours to check into our rooms, too. Granted, we arrived early; however we were told our room would be "ready soon." So we waited around and two hours later we were antsy and frustrated. If they had told us we were going to wait two hours, that's fine. We could have used the sunlight to go explore the city. But, no, waited because we relied on their word. Because of our first impression, it took us a gradual few days to enjoy our stay. Overall, the rooms were on the older side and in general the resort wasn't anything too special, especially for being a "five star resort." We eventually enjoyed ourselves at the resort as the crowds died down, especially at night.

The resort, which felt more like a hotel because of the building for the rooms, also had private beaches and a pool area. At night, the beach was so pleasant without the crowd and with the cool night's breeze. On one night, we even caught the last half of their cultural dance show. Ever since college, I love watching Filipino cultural dance performances! It was great seeing foreigners all being entertained, too.

After four nights and on our last morning, we even spent a few hours at the Chi Spa. A nice spacious facility and a great relaxing massage!

Here's a slideshow of the pictures we took during our stay at the hotel:

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