Top 10 Local Restaurants

Any trip to a foreign land is devoid of meaning if you won’t try their local fare.  A place’s cuisine is a link to its culture and tradition.  Being the oldest city in the Philippines, Cebu is a treasure trove of heirloom recipes.  This is also one of the best places to get fresh seafood because of the rich marine life in the area.  Here is a list of the Top 10 Local Restaurants for you to try in Cebu:

• Golden Cowrie Restaurant (Salinas Drive, Lahug) – Everything about Golden Cowrie Restaurant screams Filipino: from the ambience to the food to the hospitality of the servers.  This is a favorite of locals and foreigners alike because of the great quality of food at affordable prices.  Best sellers are tahong (mussels) and adobong kangkong (watercress cooked in vinegar and soy sauce).
• Kuya J’s (Capitol Site) – Famous seafood and barbeque site!  This eatery is almost always packed, thanks to the popularity it has gained through word of mouth and through a write-up in a Hong Kong travel magazine.  Best-sellers: tuna belly and grilled scallops topped with cheese, butter and garlic.  On the exotic side, you might want to try their turtle soup.
• CnT Lechon (Rama Ave, Guadalupe) – Cebu is the lechon (roasted pig) capital of the Philippines and the institution in the lechon business is Cnt Lechon.  What started as a home business in the 1980’s became a wide hit that they had to open six outlets in Cebu alone.  The counter showcases glistening lechon that is sure to make guests salivate.  Their claim to fame is that their pig is so tasty there is no need for the sauce!
• Chika-An Restaurant (Osmena St) – This is a famous food haunt because of its reasonable prices.  One of the best sellers is crispy pata, deep-fried pork knuckle that is so tender, the flesh falls off the bone.
• Laguna Garden Café (Biliran Road) – Laguna Garden Café is a fine dining restaurant right in the heart of the city’s business district.  Enjoy traditional Filipino dishes prepared exquisitely at surprisingly low prices.  Must-try is the fresh lumpia (wrapped bamboo shoots, minced pork and vegetables), made even more delectable with its garlic peanut sauce.
• Sutokil restaurants at Mactan Shrine – no trip to Cebu is complete without a taste of their famous sutokil, 3 methods of cooking featured in one masterpiece dish.  The name is a word play on the 3 cooking processes: su – sugba (grill), to – tola (boiled in broth) and kil – kilawin (cooked in the juices of Philippine lime or vinegar).  Guests choose their produce from the fresh markets that line the area and have them prepared according to their preference.
• Maribago Grill (Mactan, Lapu-lapu) – The trees, the open air and the huts make for a great ambience.  It is a great place to chill because the atmosphere is quiet and not hurried.  Specialty is grilled spareribs, marinated ribs grilled to tender perfection.
• Abuhan (F. Ramos St) – People flock to Abuhan for its signature dishes: the traditional Cebuano pochero and sizzling pochero.  The former is a soup dish that requires slow cooking of beef shank and knuckles until tender, then adding cabbage and corn for taste and texture contrast.  The latter is Abuhan’s innovative take on the much revered local dish, very tender beef shank on a hot plate topped with cream sauce.
• Larsian (Fuente Osmena) – Larsian is a 24-hour barbeque market, so popular that you’ll see signs Japanese and Korean translations of the menu.  You’ll find all kinds of barbecue at Larsian, Cebu: chicken parts, pig parts, chorizo, fish, hotdogs and also the staple puso, steamed rice wrapped in coconut leaves.
• Casa Verde (The Terraces at Ayala Center) – The best place to get baby back ribs!  Moist, juicy and succulent ribs for a measly 188 pesos.  Enough said.