The Villa Pilipino Restaurant: a new Thai-Filipino restaurant for the masses

When owner Mr. Nelson David decided to come home from abroad, he wanted to bring home with him the taste his customers abroad love to experience again and again from the food prepared in his restaurant in Saudi Arabia. A person who is very particular with his food, he learned from his exposure to different cultures while abroad and for 20 years, his menu just keeps getting better and better incorporating Filipino taste with Asian cuisine influences particularly Thai. His loyal patrons then included non-Filipinos, prominent personalities in Saudi and Cebuano friends.

The Villa Pilipino restaurant (named after the "villas" or apartments which are plenty in Saudi Arabia) is the product of Mr. David's wish to have a Thai-Filipino restaurant na "pangmasa"; to let the Filipino masses dine and taste Thai food as if it is just Filipino food --- affordable and prepared in such as manner to suit a Filipino's taste. He noticed that some customers sometimes are hesitant to enter Thai restaurants because they perceive it to be expensive. Mr. David does not want any of that. The food choices in the Villa are usually priced at 120 PHP (good for 2) or 240 PHP (good for around 5). And he added that you can have the dish made to suit your taste by instructing the staff, for example, to make your dish "medium hot" or "really hot".

Mr. David (standing) with the author and his wife

The Villa Pilipino restaurant in Cebu is the first of many planned by Mr. David. It is flattering to note that he selected Cebu as the first venue for his restaurant in the country, choosing it over his home province in Luzon. And in the process of putting up his restaurant, he is giving hope and helping fresh graduates start their journey.

Why offer Thai food? "Kasi laging fresh", explaining that Thai food is always prepared fresh and therefore less likely to become spoiled as compared to food prepared early in the morning and served at a later time observed in some food establishments. "Kahit konti lang, mabubusog ka at may lasa talaga", he added. But he also elaborated that his Thai food choices are made taking note of Filipino taste preferences. Yours truly with my wife decided to try his Tom Yung Goon (Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup with Lemon Grass) and experienced what he meant by his food being Thai-Filipino.

Tom Yung Goon, medium hot

As you can see in the pic, he was generous in using herbs and spices making sure the soup is full of flavor. It may not appear as rich red in the picture but we did not have the feel that it is diluted. I could say it is a nice mix of mostly Thai flavor with a Filipino touch indeed at an affordable price of 120 PHP.

Another dish ordered by my wife is Stir Fried Chicken in Oyster Sauce also at 120 PHP. It was yummy.

Stir fried chicken in Oyster Sauce

The dish was made of mushrooms, carrots, chicken bits, corn and oyster sauce just made right with some nuts. Not bad! And the food was paired with what Mr. David calls "Cebu Champagne", a drink made to taste like champagne without the alcohol content which he specially formulated to provide an alternative to softdrinks, ice teas and alcoholic beverage.

"Cebu Champagne" with mint leaves and some other fruit bits

In the menu, there are many choices including Filipino favorites like sinigang. I think there's also some Chinese food selections. Looking at the menu, I think I will come back to try the other selections.

Though the owner wants to target the masses, the restaurant is airconditioned and has a neat, elegant look with two floor levels and two separate comfort rooms (one for males and one for females). The plan is also to have wifi access in the near future.

Should you also want to try this new resto, The Villa Pilipino Restaurant Cebu I is located in General Maxilom Avenue across Robinsons Fuente in between Mercury Drug Fuente Osmena and BPI Gen. Maxilom or Mango Avenue branch, Cebu City. It just opened this week.

Merilla's Resto Buffet every Friday

Just near Cebu Doctors' University Hospital, in Avon Building before reaching the capitol, there is a restaurant that offers a varied selection of food with a nice, cool home ambiance and music. It opened last year and has been holding baptism celebrations, company parties and family reunions with about 70 persons capacity along with lunch budget meal sets for officemates and students.(They used to be in Arlington Pond St., so Velezians may be familiar with their food).

This time they are bringing back their Ultimate Buffet every Friday with their topseller pork ribs as one among the constant food items offered. The buffet is worth 230 PHP and consists of not just a few choices. Let me show you what they offered last Friday, their first.

Chicken Bulgogi and another chicken dish

Bestseller ribs with pineapple

chop suey

Apple juice

Merillas cooler which I liked best

So if you are in the vicinity, why not try their buffet?

If you are in Osmena Boulevard, Merilla's is located near the Strip at the Ground Floor of Avon Building. You have to go the back to see it. For those riding the Guadalupe jeepney, it can be seen as you pass by Don Gil Garcia Street, the street next to Osmena Boulevard.

Visit their Facebook page for more details including the map location which is their cover pic.

How Tableya (Native Chocolate) is Traditionally Made

One summer in Argao, I saw some parts of the process of making tableya. During the Gabii sa Kabilin 2013, I was lucky to witness a demonstration of the process of making tableya traditionally.

The photo below shows the plant source.

The Cacao Plant with the fruit below

When the cacao fruit ripens, you have them roasted.

Roasted cacao to be put on the grinder

The roasted cacao is placed in the grinder and the grinder expresses a chocolate colored product which is then molded into round finished products.

The grinding process expressing the tableya

The expressed product

The mold

The final product is the round tableya you see packaged in plastic. You can now make your favorite champorado or tsokolate which you may pair with puto maya.

Boodle Fight at Captain A's Seafood Grill

If you became an ROTC officer way back in college, you might remember having a boodle fight. For those new to boodle fight, it is a fun way of eating where all the food is laid down in front of you on top of banana leaves and everybody eats using their bare hands.

It is this unique experience that one encounters when eating in Captain A's Seafood Grill. You can order from several choices of Boodle Fight menu such as these two below.

The Battle of Mactan

D' Original

Upon serving your meal, the waiters would chant something like, "To the right, To the left...Commence......Boodle Fight!" This adds to  the military boodle fight feel.  By the way, they provide you with improvised gloves made of thin plastic so that you won't worry about the food getting dirty.

Captain A's has branches in  Jose Avila St., Capitol Site near the back of Cebu Doctor's Hospital and also in IT Park. 

The one I visited was the one in Capitol Site. It is spacious and the design of the place was made to give the customers the feel of dining inside a ship since their specialty is Seafoods apparently. I think there is a function room for meetings and also a videoke room although I have not tried it.

Back to the food, the Boodle set meals are good for five with drinks also served good for five persons. The price is just about right. Among the food i sampled, I liked the taste of the shrimps, the kare-kare, adobong manok and baboy mix and the crabs.

The choices are not all set in a Boodle Set Meal. You can order your favorite Filipino dish including Crispy Pata, Kinilaw, Scallops and many others individually. The place is great for barkadas eating and it is this nice barkada atmosphere that makes Captain A's a favorite destination.

Food and Fun with Friends and Fishes at Co Jordan

When you want to take a break from city life, enjoy fresh food and at the same time have clean fun, a visit to this eatery might be refreshing especially if you enjoy...FISHING!

Co Jordan Talaba Bangus Eatery is located in Tayud, Consolacion. It is very easy to locate. Just ride a jeepney to SM Consolacion. Just across SM is where tricycles await plying the route passing Co Jordan. It may be dusty going there though so bring your handkerchiefs.

So here we are.

Don't you love the view?

For an affordable amount (pardon me forgetting the exact amount), you will be given a makeshift rod 9Do not expect a real professional fishing rod) made of what seems to be bamboo, a net for putting your catch and I think, some bait. Even with this, you can actually catch fish with it.

Just choose an area where you want to position yourself, throw in some fish food, then start to fish. When the milkfish (bangus) pulls the bait, pull up and the fun begins! It is because the fish is slippery...jumping and jumping. In my case, I use the net to finally get hold of the fish.

Yay! My first fish catched in my entire life!

Enough of the fishing. I know you want to see the food! By the way, you can have your catch cooked the way you want it. Of course, you pay for it separately. But there are other items in the menu. Here they are:

You can also choose a particular "cottage" or hut where you will have your meal. There is a big one with a karaoke and there are smaller ones, all affordable. Pang-masa na presyo.

For those who cannot live without Facebook, there is wifi!

If you do not have your own vehicle, going home may be a challenge because the tricycle's going back are full but who cares? Busog na man. Hehe. Just sit and relax and wait for a ride.

Banana Leaf at the Ayala Terraces in Cebu

In one events I attended, I got  to taste an interesting mix of modern Malaysian, Thai, Singaporean, Indian, Vietnamese and Indonesian cuisine. An Asian fusion. Feast your eyes on some of the dishes I tried and maybe you want to try it out and be the judge.

Banana Leaf is located at the Ground Level of the Terraces at Ayala Center Cebu, Cebu City. Their contact number is (032) 233-3321.

McDonalds Mactan Newtown opening this January

You have already heard of Megaworld's new township in Mactan, right? The Mactan Newtown? Considered the Eastwood in Mactan. Well, the Mactan Newtown will open this January a very big McDo branch ahead of the other establishments that will rise in the area. This will be known as the McDonald's the Mactan Newtown branch.

This McDo branch will also have a drive-thru and PlayPlace areas children will love. The opening of McDonald's Newtown will pave the way for the launch of other commercial spaces to look forward to. This aside from the fact that luxury condominiums, world-class hotels and high-end retail shops as well as BPO offices are slated to rise in the coming months.

"McDonald's will undoubtedly be a key lifestyle component in the Mactan Newtwon township, since both residents and employees now have an easily accessible branch in this part of Mactan Island, " shares Jericho Go, Megaworld's first vice-president for Business Development and Leasing group (BDLG).

Yes indeed. So pay McDo the Mactan Newtown branch a visit sometime this month. Surprises await the customers this month which may include a nighttime firworks display.