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Wanna spend it near the beach? Ring in 2019 on 31 December at Ibiza Beach Club. Dine in style amidst a retro-themed setting featuring the golden days of disco. Kick off the celebration with dinner featuring Ibiza’s Balearic-inspired signature 15-course grill, with generous servings of premium meat and seafood. Dance the night away with their back-to-back DJ showcase and live band performances leading to the spectacular fireworks display and countdown at midnight.

Swing into 2019 with the grandest New Year’s celebration at Cebu City as Marco Polo Plaza lights up the sky with Lumière: A New Year’s Eve Countdown Party with a night of great food and live entertainment as they throw an exciting Gala Dinner at the Cebu Grand Ballroom. Buffet dinner and show is at Php 4,750 net per person inclusive of complimentary entrance to the New Year’s Countdown party at the Grand Balcony. Have a more intimate year-end dinner a thousand feet up at Blu Bar & Grill where a special New Year’s Eve set menu awaits you with the top DJs in Cebu to set the mood.

If you want to spend it in the city, come by Harolds Hotel and party the night away at their Ever After New Year’s Eve Countdown at their Highlight Roofdeck. Enojy a scrumptious buffet selection, live performances from the BEIGE BAND and DJ Private Ryan, and spectacular fireworks. You can also check in and start your year right with their brunch buffet.

If you want to start the year classy and luxurious, we’ve got the right place perfect for the whole family. Shangri-La Mactan is offering a whimsical evening under the sea. Starting with celebrating the new years eve with a wondrous feast at any of their restaurants and a countdown party at their Beachfront. Their would be free flowing wines at Tides and dinner buffet, a flash mob and strolling band. You can also enjoy Cowrie’s seafood bar and grill that offers four-course set menu. If you’re checking in, they’re having new year’s yoga by the beach and a wish wall at Tides with activities that can be enjoyed by your kids!

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When our mind travels around the idea of wellness and having to be fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle, what first comes to mind would be no fried food, no soft drinks, and of course, a lot of sweating. With all that’s happening in our daily lives—may it be work, school or travel, it is imperative for us to live well, both physically and spiritually.
Started in the year 2012, a global wellness awareness day entitled Global Wellness Day was made to commemorate a special thing valuable to all—living well. With its slogan, “One day can change your whole life,” it is celebrated every second Saturday of June every year as an international day.
Global Wellness Day is an entirely not-for-profit day, and a social project dedicated to living well. The purpose of Global Wellness Day is to be able to ask the question, even if for just a day, “How can I live a healthier and better life?”. With this one day full of wellness activities and dishes, it aims to direct the thoughts of both individuals and society towards “living well”.
It aims include to break free from the stress of everyday city life as well as the bad habits that go along with it. It also raises awareness about living well and to recognize the value of our lives while pausing to think, even if it would be for just one year.
More than being free from illness, choosing wellness is a dynamic process of change and growth. It’s a satisfactory condition of existence; a state characterized by not only health but also happiness, prosperity and welfare.
Conscious of the development of the whole self, guests started off the day with delectable food choices with food made of seafood, homemade vegan yogurt varieties, a wide selection of fruits, and a sizable amount of greens.

Contrary to the common Filipino breakfast choices, there were no silogs found anywhere near the buffet table. It was either nuts or fruits or bread, with different detox water choices.
Aside from the morning breakfast, guests were welcomed with a taste of the hotel’s Chi Spa through a relaxing morning massage that would make you just want to go back to bed.
Rest and relaxation is a huge part of our everyday wellness. Stress can eat us up from time to time and that’s why in this year’s Global Wellness Day, Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa includes the rest and relaxation the Chi Spa at Shangri-La provides for its guests.
From a variety of body massages, to beauty facials to relaxation treatments, the Chi Spa gives you harmonious comfort right at its garden villas.
Gaining the spotlight was Chi Spa’s Water Shiatsu treatment, a gentle form of body therapy performed in warm water, (around 35°C.). It is a combination of elements such as massage, joint mobilisation, shiatsu, and muscle stretching. The receiver is continuously supported while being floated, cradled, rocked and stretched.
The simulation was done with the receiver rocked just like a baby, for a good 30-40 minutes. The therapist shares that the therapy is for nurturing the emotionally disturbed, releasing them from the the reality’s gravitational prison.
Of all the Shangri-La resorts in the world, only the one in Mactan offers the Water Shiatsu treatment at their Chi Spa. The sensation would be, according to the therapist, as if you were back in the womb of our mother. Doesn’t that just want you to feel like a baby again?

After the tour of the glorious Chi Spa, guests enjoyed a 4-course meal of still, healthy, good food at the hotel’s Acqua restaurant. The meal started off with a seafood-based dish covered in different florals and greens flavored with pesto. The soup was still a seafood dish glazed with a little bit of rum. The pasta, which was handmade, was accompanied by a local favorite in Mactan Island– the Lapu-Lapu Ragout. The dining experience was completed with a still healthy choice, covering up the sweetness of the vanilla ice cream were all sorts of fruits– from the national fruit mango, to ones uncommon such as that of kiwi.
After that one hearty full course lunch, it was time to burn off all the calories, if any, as Shangri-La’s GWD 2018 prepared various exercises for everyone to get them up on their feet. With trainors from Zink PH, the workout Pound was brought to Shangri-La’s outdoors coupled with a variety of dance programs that surely broke sweat for most of the participants.

Following the recreational workouts include an introduction to Arnis training, which is available at the resort during Mondays and Wednesdays in the afternoon. Arnis, dubbed as the national sport and martial art in the Philippines, was formerly called eskrima. Having arnis sessions within the resort is Shangri-La’s way of highlighting Cebuano and Filipino culture, especially for its tourists to know and experience.
To end the wellness exercises on a rocking note, Tae-Bo, an exercise system combining elements of aerobics and kick-boxing, was done by the beach before sunset. Caring for one’s wealth never looked this beautiful and fun, much when you’d have to groove to the latest songs and hits of the season.

The day was capped off with delectable drinks and cocktails which weren’t even the slightest bit unhealthy. Drinks were mixed with fresh fruits and greens and the mini munchers served were a mix of seafood, cheese and a healthy serving of flavored bread with ham bits. Cocktails at the Shangri-La’s Cowrie Cove prove that even grabbing drinks out or spending a fun weekend night can still leave you with a wide array of healthy choices.
With just one day, a healthy choice may change your lifestyle for the better. Whether it may be taking the long way home through walking instead of your daily commute, or choosing water instead of your usual cold carbonated drink, it’s the choices we make in the little things going on around us that promises a lifetime of wellness.
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Fly with Cathay Pacific to selected destinations in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South Africa at exclusive low fares when you book with your Citi credit card. Don’t miss out! Book your flights here.

Check out the Rustan’s Travel Fair 2018 at the Shangri-La Plaza Atrium.

BON ODORI is a traditional Japanese summer festival, hosted by the Japanese Association Cebu Inc. in the spirit of cultural exchange and celebrates the rich Japanese culture. Read more about it here.

Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa hosts the Mascarada Party, the third in its series of chic chill-out events featuring signature cocktails and music by DJ Nish. Click here to know more!
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Then, I hit 30 and getting older hit me like a ton of bricks. Binge drinking on a Friday night now required a whole weekend’s worth of recovery, I found myself wanting to go to bed by 10:00 PM, and a McDonalds cheeseburger for lunch now stays forever on my hips.
Now, the bad habits haunt me like a guilt-tripping poltergeist, and now as my birthday (and the rest of my 30s) reaches out for me with old lady hands, I once again make the resolve to eat and live healthier.

The Israeli salad with roasted sweet potato from the Nourish Cebu lunch delivery
Thankfully, it’s a lot easier to do in Cebu these days. I hope to follow in the lead of Chip Lopez–The Lazy Chef has been advocating plant-based eating in the city for years, and she’s been hosting cooking classes to create a lasting effect in the local lifestyle. And on days when I’m too lazy to cook for myself, I can always get a taste of her dishes via Nourish Cebu’s meal delivery service–the beetroot burger is definitely bomb.
Also taking after Chip’s amazingly holistic healthy lifestyle, a few hours clocked in at Zink Studio every week is something that I have decided to commit to (as opposed to my very casual relationship with spinning right now). Getting hyped up on the bike is really one of the most enjoyable workouts I’ve tried, and maybe I can do well to add some HIIT and dance classes to that repertoire.
A recent weekend in Shangri-la’s Mactan Resort and Spa helped reinforce this notion to integrate health and wellness into our every day life. Celebrating Global Wellness Day, we were treated to a delicious vegetarian dinner, where no one was asking when the pork was arriving, and a healthy breakfast that introduced us to some of the best muesli I’ve ever had. This was interspersed with activities that included an early morning tour of the resort, aqua aerobics and an all-organic beauty session with Racquel Choa of The Chocolate Chamber.

The group at the Global Wellness Day festivities in Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa
In the end, deciding to keep our lechon binges to special occasions might actually be easier to do than we think it is. So, as I venture into this new decade, I am hoping to bring with me a better resolve to be healthy–as long as I get to indulge in dishes like The Weekend’s Fat Bastard pork chops every once in a while. I may want to eat better, but I’m not crazy.
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With the recent opening of its third branch in Cebu, Phat Pho in the Terraces of Ayala Center Cebu keeps the modern street style vibe it is known for. Phat Pho’s authentic, healthy, and quality flavors have satisfied the appetite of the many, easily turning it into the Vietnamese kitchen people can’t get enough. Chicken Satay, Claypot Pork Belly, Crispy Egg Rolls, Fish Sauce Chicken Wings are some of the food we love.
Phat Pho
The Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu
The well-loved pasalubong from Bohol takes a major twist. Topped with real peanuts, it promises to quench thirst brought by the summer.
Amorita Resort
Panglao, Bohol
A Sunday brunch has reached a new level of fun and indulgence, and with Café Marco’s reenergized Sunday Brunch+, a brunch has never been this so good. Experience a smorgasbord for the senses as their Sunday brunch whips up an exciting feast of delectable buffet favorites. Of course, sorry to burst your bubbles, they’ve added some booze—whether it’s sparkling, red, or white wine, beer-below-zero, mimosas or cocktails, they have it.
Marco Polo Plaza Cebu’s Sunday Brunch+ is open every Sundays from 11:30am to 2:30pm.
Nivel Hills, Lahug, Cebu City
Have you ever heard of crocodile tocino? This dish is served at Circa 1900’s Casa Dos, this is part of the restaurant’s breakfast menu. See full story about what breakfast at Circa 1900 looks like here.
Circa 1900
Sanjercasvil Road, Gorordo Ave., Lahug, Cebu City
Breakfast at Quest Hotel’s Puso Bistro and Bar is a great place especially when you are running errand in the city. Of course, they have must-try dishes and bacons to die for. Also, wide selection of pastries is worth to stab.
Quest Hotel Conference Center Cebu
Archbishop Reyes Avenue, Cebu City
Not many would be too keen for its taste and looks, but if there’s one thing you must try, it is this. A common source of protein for many locals in Cebu, sa-ang is an interesting to find in the streets of downtown Cebu. Don’t forget to dunk it in a special spiced vinegar and pair it with puso or hanging rice.
For more streetfoods worthy to try, see here.
Acqua introduces its newest signature dishes in a true Shangri La fashion. Highlighting lobster and veal, diners can enjoy a taste of Italy with every bite. The Spaghetti Aragosta is palatable seafood pasta topped with a whole lobster, isn’t this so good?
Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa
Punta Engano, Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City
The newly opened Pyramid at Cebu Business Park serves variety of food and drinks. What we really love is the macaroons. Like, really!
The Pyramid
Cebu IT Park
Bourbon Bacon Steak
Trust us, if you love bacon, you’ll love this even more. The newest restaurant Weekend serves this; with Bourbon maple-glazed double-double cut bacon, grilled tomatoes, fried eggs, dirty rice, quick pickled onions, you got to surely love this.
Weekend
The Greenery, Mabolo
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“Last year we watched Deadpool and ate at Chicken Deli in Robinsons Galleria. We’ll probably do the same this year: Movie and cheap dinner. Will check what’s showing this week.”
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Virgin Island, Bantayan
“We would probably go to Bantayan. It’s close to the city but far enough from the hustle and bustle. We just love to bike around the island, chill by the beach, and simply enjoy each other’s company. We guess that’s what Valentine’s is all about.”
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“For Valentine’s we like going on road trips to the beach with our daughter or staying home, cooking lots and lots of bacon and watching old movies (like The Princess Bride)”
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“In the nine years we have known each other, I’d say we’ve sort of graduated from the passé Valentine’s date night outs. This year may be different as we are planning to spend that weekend by going out of town at our family’s beach house with our pet Finn, away from the hustle bustles of the city. And since my husband has started to love cooking steaks off the grill, he wants to venture into experimenting with another cooking feat for that weekend. Here’s looking forward to that celebration!”
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“We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, but we always make sure to take spontaneous trips throughout the year. Preferably in the waters since we’re quite fond of freediving. However, for this year’s Valentine’s Day we might spend it at a nearby island.”
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The Henry Hotel
“We’d usually staycation and head out only to try Valentine set menus at different restaurants throughout the weekend. Plantation Bay‘s Romantic Rendezvous proved interesting. The Henry is our perennial favorite and offers a honeymoon/romantic weekend package. Anzani Mediterranean Restaurant is a good bet for a full-course dinner any given day. The Pig & Palm would be, too. We enjoyed their recent tasting dinners tremendously. I’d also suggest the upcoming pop-up Blind Date: Dinner in the Dark at District On 53rd. You don’t have to limit yourself to one. Trying a variety of places makes Valentine’s even more fun and meaningful.”
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“We’re going to Argao Wharf on a pilgrimage of sort. There’s a spot there where we sealed our relationship. We realized we had already done all the crazy things imaginable together, and there was only one crazy thing left to do: get married.”
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Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa
“Our love for Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa goes back to the time we first got together as a couple in high school over 20 years ago and so it has always held a special place in our hearts. From having the best beachfront in Mactan, its amenities and facilities, selection of delectable eats and excellent service that ensures we always feel at home, Shangri-La continues to be our happy place in Cebu. If we had the time, we would love to take a quick break there with our kids. Valentine’s has evolved for us through the years from romantic dates to group dates. We are celebrating Valentine’s at Café Sarree with colleagues and their other halves with a special menu created by Chef Sarree.”
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“We used to eat out in the previous years, but the last 3 years, I cook for her at home. And the last three years, we would be working on the day itself. She would be at Ilaputi, and I would be at Irie—except for 2016 where we both just stayed home.”
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Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton of The Pig & Palm

“We’d love to spend Valentine’s in the beach down south. A quick getaway would be awesome, but Valentine’s Day falls on a Tuesday this year and we have work and appointments. A fancy dinner at The Pig & Palm would be lovely!”
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“Last year, we spent Valentine’s Day in Siargao and it was wonderful! This year, we’re planning to have a quiet and romantic dinner in the mountains, where we can look down at the city lights and see the stars. Mike loves to sing, so I hope to be serenaded!”
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“We don’t over-plan for Valentine’s Day. We just make it a point to do something or go somewhere for the first time together as couple. This year, we’re planning to go to Vine Molave, a beautiful bed and breakfast at Pagadian, Zamboanga Del Sur. Other than being attracted to sleep and food (get it? Bed and breakfast?), we’re planning to go to Puting Balas sand bar and the Dao-Dao Islets there.”
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Abaca Boutique Resort
“We both lead very busy lives so when we do get to spend QT together, we prefer more relaxed environments. This Valentine’s Day, we might head to a more private beach like Abaca. But honestly, it doesn’t really matter where we go as long as we’re together.”
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“Since Jen loves peace and quet places, I’ll probably take her to Maru Restaurant inside J Park since they serve the best Korean food and sulbing. At the same time, only few people go there.”
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What do you have planned? Share your ideas on Facebook and Instagram and tag us!
]]>My sentiments, of course, don’t diminish the quality of the celebrations, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels the same way. Luckily, the Queen City offers a lot of things to do besides partying it up on the streets. Here are some suggestions for when you don’t want to Sinulog this year, whether you just want to avoid the crowds or want a change in scenery.
Cebu is home to a number of beautiful islands, and while on a normal day you’d be competing against eager tourists, Sinulog would be the perfect time to have them all to yourselves (or, okay, at least less people). We highly recommend Nalusuan, Pandanon and Olango Island for their turquoise waters. If you’d like to go a little farther, Sumilon Island in Oslob is worth the two hour trip.
Islands Banca Cruises | Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort
A relatively new attraction, canyoneering in Badian has drawn quite the crowds during peak season. While there’s an influx of tourists in town for Sinulog, you might want to take advantage of everyone hitting the streets instead on Sunday to have your own canyoneering adventure. Drive two hours south to the town of Barili and find your way to Barangay Matutinao.
Cebu takes pride in having beaches 30 minutes away from the city, and while realistically it’s at least an hour because of the traffic, the fact remains you don’t actually have to go far to find yourself at sea. Real estate developer recently opened the Mactan Newtown Beach (née Portofino) to the public, while those more inclined to resorts would love Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa and Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu.
Shangri-La is offering a special rate of Php 2,080 nett for lunch buffet for two at Tides on January 14-15, while Movenpick has their Sinulog Festive buffets on Sinulog Friday (dinner) and Sinulog Sunday (brunch) for Php 1,900 nett per person. There will also be cultural shows throughout the hotel that weekend, while Ibiza Beach Club’s cocktail of the month, Fizz Senor, is a tribute to the festivities.
Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa | Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu
Besides beaches, did you know Cebu has a lot of gorgeous waterfalls also? They may not be as majestic as the more famous ones throughout the country, but they’re breathtaking nonetheless. Head down to the town of Alegria in Cebu for Cambais Falls and Cancalanog Falls, both of which are sure to thrill adventure-seekers, or to the more popular Kawasan Falls in Badian.
Read more:
When you’re not really inclined to bodies of water, Cebu also has a variety of mountains worth climbing. The most famous one is Dalaguete’s Osmena Peak, which resembles the iconic Chocolate Hills of Bohol and gives enviable views of Badian, Pescador and Negros. Other worthwhile peaks include Mount Manunggal in Balamban and Kabankaya in Catmon.
Read more:
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Guests were pampered with beauty treatments from La Mer and MAC throughout the afternoon, until they had to dress up for cocktail hour. A five-course degustation by Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa executive chef Frank Bohdan and a raffle of exciting prizes including round trip tickets to the Maldives with a stay at Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort & Spa preceded the main event of the evening—an exclusive fashion show featuring the A/W 2018 collection of Miranda Konstantinidou. Free flowing champagne, caviar and cheese kept the party going until the early hours of the morning.
The Zee Lifestyle Emerald Ball is presented by Arthaland, in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz Cebu, Rustan’s and Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa, Cebu. Special thanks go out to Dedon Island, La Mer, MAC, and Jo Malone London.
photography Oliver Echevarria and Ezekiel Sullano
]]>The affair also served as the introduction of Chef Daniel Quintero, the resort’s new executive sous chef. The Spanish chef, who has traveled across renowned kitchens around the world, brings his passion and the luster of his incredible Michelin-starred experience to the Philippines.
The subtle sophistication of his creations made the perfect pairings to the wine, all of which were enjoyed by Cebu’s most recognizable personalities.
SHANGRI-LA’S MACTAN RESORT & SPA
Punta Engano Road, Lapu Lapu City
6332. 231 0288 | email
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Zee Lifestyle's 20 Years Exhibit continues today at The Gallery, Ayala Center Cebu. Drop by for some live entertainment by rising stars Juanita and Nico Romualdez, while you browse through our exhibit of magazine covers from the past two decades. Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram and get sweet treats on the spot. Pose for your own magazine cover as well at our photo booth.
Posted by Zee Lifestyle on Sunday, October 9, 2016
Here are five reasons you should drop by:
Zee Lifestyle celebrates 20 years of being Cebu's Premier Lifestyle Bible with its anniversary exhibit happening this…
Posted by Zee Lifestyle on Thursday, October 6, 2016
Did you know that Zee Lifestyle started as Zee Quarterly in 1996? After four years of printing four issues per publication year, it added two copies in 2000, then another two in 2003. It was only as recent as 2012 when the company brought the magazine to its final ten issues per year.
The exhibit shows all these covers in one giant back-to-back wall for your viewing pleasure.
Postcards From Cebu is a rich source of reference for the beautiful island of Cebu. Ten years after its second edition, the book makes a comeback, showcasing photos through the lens of Steffen Billhardt and words by Janet Alfafara.
The 20 Years Exhibit displays a select number of choice photographs from this upcoming book.
Well, you’re reading this on the website, so you know what’s in store for you. Yet the Exhibit also explains—in a nutshell—what the new Zee Lifestyle Online has to offer.
Who doesn’t want to be on the cover of a magazine? You have your chance! Step into our unique photo booth and strike your best pose. Don’t forget to show us your photos by tagging @zeelifestyle on Instagram. And speaking of social media…
Here's a sweet treat for you this rainy Friday afternoon: Like us on Facebook at fb.com/zeelifestylecebu and follow us…
Posted by Zee Lifestyle on Friday, October 7, 2016
That’s right. Show us you’ve Liked our Facebook page and followed us on Instagram, and we’ll give you a bar of chocolate from Lamontagne. Choose from four delectable variants—pure, coconut, almond and caramel. Have we convinced you enough yet?
Zee Lifestyle‘s 20 Years Exhibit is presented by Arthaland, in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz, Rustan’s, Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa, Be Grand Resort Bohol and Ayala Center Cebu. Special thanks to Viva, La Mer, Moët & Chandon, MAC Cosmetics and Jo Malone London.
Zee Lifestyle’s 20 Years Exhibit is located at The Gallery, Ayala Center Cebu New Expansion Wing (in front of Zara and Aéropostale).
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