Tin Gow Chinese Restaurant

By Bert Mendoza

When you talk about “siopao”, “siomai”, or steamed rice, they are Chinese foods that are the most common and affordable. Almost all restaurants in the malls have these food in their menus. No wonder, they are also very famous and well liked. There is this one restaurant at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, which serves Chinese food that are cooked with mastery and great style. I am talking about Tin Gow. The Chinese restaurant, which caters to mostly the rich and can-afford guests of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel. If you are the type of customer, who is particular of good service and nice ambiance, then this is the place for you to go. They also have private rooms if you want exclusiveness because of some confidential topics to discuss.

Upon entering the restaurant’s premises, you will be greeted by their friendly and accommodating staff in traditional Chinese costumes. You can also hear Chinese music in the background, which can make you feel more relaxed. Hearing this music and seeing their staff in their colorful costumes will make you feel that you are inside China’s best restaurants. The dominant color of the restaurant is red, which is also a very important color in Chinese culture. Images of dragons and other Chinese characters are also predominant inside the restaurant’s premises. You can’t wait until the first menu you have ordered is served.

I like their shark’s fin soup. The best I have tasted so far. They serve it before the main course to open up your appetite. When served very hot, the soup tastes excellently. Of course they also serve other soups like the bird’s nest soup with quail egg. The vegetable soup, which is also very healthy tastes good too. Don’t forget to order also their “Peking Duck.” I really like it roasted and you should taste it yourself too. They serve the best of that kind in the city. Indulge yourself to their “Pata Tim” which is perfect in combination with their Chinese bread. Of course their special “Yang Chow” fried rice is already a main course itself. Tasting it will already satisfy your hunger and you will no longer look for other menus.

After a hearty meal, don’t forget to order a Chinese tea to clean all toxins in your stomach. It is important that there should be a tea for you to be able to prepare yourself for another meal without too much load in your stomach. Consider the idea of visiting Tin Gow Chinese Restaurant and see for yourself what this restaurant has to offer. However, be sure to bring extra budget with you for you might order more if you will see the foods listed in their menu. They are simply irresistible!

Saang

by Bingo Gonzalez


It’s a little hard to find. You’d have to go up to the hills, around half a kilometer from the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, and turn left on a dirt road leading to the Holy Family Retreat House.
But when the craving for fresh sea food cooked to perfection gnaws at your being, there just isn’t anywhere to go but to Saang.
Fresh crabs, fish, clams, shrimps, squid and seaweed are hauled in everyday from Bantayan Island, where it seems the ocean bounty is at its best. Even the common “calamare” or squid rings dipped in batter and deep fried, takes on an extraordinary flair, a mixture of tastes and textures absolutely divine. The sweet –salty meld that only comes from fresh seafood combines with the crispiness of the batter giving a full bite. The chef certainly knows his squid, none of that rubbery chewing gum texture.

Saang is one of the rare places where the Bantayan delicacy called “labtingaw” is available. This is fresh fish, softly sun-dried with only sea water providing the salt. It is a delicate process where the natural juices of the fish are preserved, retaining the softness of the flesh, with the delecate saltiness of the sea.
On can choose from live alimango, or fresh water crabs or deep-sea crabs. You can have these simply steamed or cooked in a spicy sauce of garlic, ginger and tomatoes.
The restaurant is named after the big ocean clams locally known as saang. Here you can get clams and mussels cooked in several delicious ways. The baked scallops are especially good and the clam in oyster and pepper sauce is heavenly.
Cebu has a way of making a fish soup called “tinuwa.” It’s a no-nonsense soup which largely depends on the freshness of the fish for its flavor. While Tagalogs put “sampalok” or tamarind fruit to provide the tang, it is mostly tomatoes, spring onions, ginger and lemongrass that spice up the “tinuwa.” The simplicity of this soup is what emphasizes that distinctive fresh fish flavor. It is clean and light to the tastebuds.
For the meat eaters, there is a good choice of Filipino specialties like adobo, which is pork meat gently cooked to tender perfection in soy and vinegar or crispy pata, which is ham boiled, air-dried then deep=fried for crispy skin and tender meat.
Saang not only provides the most delicious seafood dishes in town, it also offers a fantastic view of the city. Nestled at a hillside, the twinkling city lights and the gentle breezes that waft in and out of the terrace-like setting whets the appetite and relaxes the spirit.

Chez Lucie French Restaurant

By Bert Mendoza

I have been writing about Asian restaurants and cuisines in my previous blogs. Except for La Gondola and Lemon Grass, most of my blogs were about Japanese and Chinese culinary masterpieces. It is because most of the restaurants I visited were Oriental and not to mention that they are also my all time favorite. For the past eight years of my career as a pharmaceutical executive, I have been holding functions with healthcare professionals in different venues around Cebu City, so I was quite exposed to most of the city’s best restaurants. The doctors are one of the most particular groups of customers when it comes to restaurant choices. They are well traveled themselves and have been to the world’s best restaurants. The pressure is upon me to choose the restaurants to suit their distinctive tastes. This is the reason why I am constantly updating myself with the best restaurants in town.



There is one French restaurant in Cebu City and probably the only one of its kind here. The name of the restaurant is Chez Lucie. It is located right across the Gaisano Country Mall in Banilad Cebu City. It is only a small restaurant. Only a few people are dining there because they are catering mostly to can afford class A and B crowd. Although their prices are quite expensive, their services compensate for it. The restaurant’s ambiance and service is good. You get your money’s worth for their foods and services. They serve European dishes particularly French. I am not really familiar with French dishes but I can associate it with Italian dishes. I have tasted their pasta dishes and they taste good. They also serve steaks cooked in French style. I highly recommend that you order one if you happen to visit Chez Lucie.



Another fine attraction of the restaurant is their acoustic band, which entertains customer dining there. You can also sing with them if you are game and talented enough to join them onstage. They play good music and very relaxing ones. Each dining experience at Chez Lucie is truly a memorable one. However, I am not sure if their acoustic band plays nightly. We were there on a Friday so they might be playing only during weekends. But whether there’s a band or not, the atmosphere of Chez Lucie is already enough to make you feel more comfortable and at home.