Cebu: Food Trip

I haven't been able to post as often as I wanted to because of the crazy few months that I've had but anyway, to cap off my Cebu trip, I'm posting food photos.

Our first meal is at Cafe Cesario, the restaurant at the domestic airport with insanely priced meals.

P100 beef rice and it might look big in the photo but this is one small cup, just about three large spoonfuls

P280+ for half a bangus and rice

A Cebu trip wouldn't be complete without trying their famous Cebu Lechon which we immediately had as soon as Ayala Mall opened. 

CNT's Lechon (I was surprised that there's no Mang Tomas but the meat was tender and very flavorful, you can totally do away with the sauce)

Affordable grilled meats and seafood for dinner at AA BBQ. Great value for money! Everything was priced just right and they were all very satisfying.

To cap off the night, we headed to Ilaputi. The restaurant had cool interiors, a live band, alcohol, affordable dishes (although with quite small portions) and they're open 24 hours! What's not to like?

The next day is a visit to another Cebu icon, Casa Verde. Home to their famous humongous ribs. Do stick to the ribs when paying a visit there as our other orders were mostly misses. 

"Huge ribs"

"The steak was tough, dry and really bloody in the middle while burnt outside"

"Melted cheese slices on top of chicken fajitas"

We then had desserts at La Marea, famous for their brownie cups. Pretty okay stuff and I do like how they serve their coffee. 

We also discovered a great tasting lechon at one of the small night markets there. I daresay it's even better than CNT's, Seven's Boneless Inasal Lechon.

Our last meal would be lunch at Quest's Puso Bistro and Bar. The buffet is value for money, we got dining credits for our overnight stay there so we ended up paying just about P500 for 3 buffet meals. 

The spread is quite generous as well so make sure to check it out if you're in Cebu. 

Cafe Cesario

Mactan Airport, Cebu City

The Original AA BBQ

Salinas Drive, Cebu City

Ilaputi

IT Park, Lahug, Cebu City

info@ilaputi.com.ph

Casa Verde

The Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu

IT Park, Lahug, Cebu City

info@casaverdecebu.com

La Marea

IT Park, Lahug, Cebu City

lamarea_itpark@ymail.com

Puso Bistro & Bar

Quest Hotel

Archbishop Reyes Ave, Cebu City

cebuinfo@quest-hotels.com

Crown Regency Hotel and Towers, Cebu

I chose Crown Regency Hotel and Towers in Cebu for only one reason and that is the Extreme Adventures that they have. I didn't even bother to read reviews of the hotel so I wasn't expecting much when we got there.

I didn't do a lot of research on the hotel but by the looks of it, it appears that the property acquired the building beside it and turned it into the hotel's extension. If this is true, this would explain why the elevators are confusing as you have to make certain transfers to get to the other parts of the hotel and why the floors are not level.

Lobby

The lobby is quite small for such a big hotel and it does get very crowded especially as they "park" all the luggages of guests there and also since wifi is only available there. 

Room

The room is a surprise as it is very spacious, even the toilet gives you plenty of space.

If you need an ironing board, you need to call housekeeping to see if there's any available, which we did. We were informed that they'll send one up but it never came. There are no bathrobes and sockets are quite few as well.

Their towels are also old and are in dire need of replacing. 

Breakfast

What I was most disappointed about with my stay here would be breakfast. You need to wake up a bit early as the restaurant can't handle the capacity of the guests staying at the hotel. There are queues snaking and there can be quite a bit of a wait to get seated unless you come in really early or quite late.

There's a row of dirty tables when we got there and not one of them got cleaned during the entire time that we were having breakfast.

Food is also just so so and I have to point out the bananas that they were serving the the fruit station. Really sad.

Pool and Gym

They have several pools, the 9th floor has 2 pools, a lap pool and one free form. They have an aqua fitness pool on the 17th floor similar to ACE Water Spa but the hydrojets were no longer working.

The gym is quite big and is well equipped.

Other Hotel Facilities

The hotel's main draw is, of course, the Extreme Adventures from the 37th to the 42nd floor - The Edge Coaster, Skywalk Extreme, Zipline, Wall Climbing and the Cliffhanger.

Apart from those mentioned above, the hotel also has other interesting attractions such as the Dimension, a disco cafe at the 43rd floor, a 4D theater and playzone for kids and a "theme" restaurant.

Location

The hotel is located right beside a Robinson's mall and is a few steps away Fuente Circle. Jeepneys outside take you directly to Ayala Center Cebu and the other tourist spots are less than 15 minutes away by cab.

Overall, the hotel feels a bit chaotic. I can recommend this hotel to families with kids or if you are traveling with a big group, otherwise, you'd be better off staying elsewhere.

Crown Regency Hotel and Towers

Tower 1, Fuente Towers, Osmena Blvd

Cebu City

+6332 418-8888

reservations@crownregency.com

Hello, Cebu!

We arrived in Cebu early in the morning and what greeted us is Mactan airport's clean and well-kept arrival area.
We booked a hotel near Fuente Circle in the city which was quite convenient since it's near the tourist spots and malls. Do consider staying in any of the hotels within the Fuente Circle vicinity (Crown Regency Tower, Summit Circle Cebu, Gran Prix Econotel). A cab ride to SM, Ayala, Magellan's Cross, Cebu's IT Park wouldn't set you back more than a hundred pesos. A Robinson's Mall is also walking distance to the above mentioned hotels.

Cebu City has a lot of interesting things to offer but we took it slow during our first day. Our first and the most important thing on our agenda is to eat the famous CnT Lechon so we headed to Ayala and the lechon didn't disappoint. (CnT Lechon can be found at Ayala Center's Food Choices right beside the cinemas. )

After having our fill, we decided to have our haircut. Here we are looking dapper.



We also paid the famous tourist spots a visit on our 2nd day.

Magellan's Cross

Sto. Nino Church

Plaza Independencia


Fort San Pedro



Analyn also chanced upon an S&R on our way to the hotel. It is quite near Magellan's Cross and Fort San Pedro so that's where we headed next.

We went crazy. There's a huge teddy bear and huge Pop Tarts!



Affordable Cheetos Jalapenos

Cherry Cokes! 

For interesting food choices, we went to Cebu IT Park. The place looked a lot like BGC in Manila.



My friends and I had a lot of fun in Cebu, I was initially worried that there would be nothing to do but I was wrong. Check out Things to do in Cebu here: WhenInManila: Things To Do When in Cebu

Here we are posing for the camera:

Planning your Cebu itinerary? Again, here's the link to help you out:  http://www.wheninmanila.com/things-to-do-when-in-cebu/