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Zee’s Pick for the Week

Cebu’s Newest Summer Quencher

Photos by Ephraim Basbas

 

The milk tea drink started its craze in Thailand.  In Thailand it is called Chanom, cha which means tea and Nom which means milk.  Milk tea became popular to the Thais because it lessens the sting of spicy food on the tongue.  Hence, with milk tea as their drink, they can enjoy more of the spicy food.  In the Philippines. milk tea also captured the sweet lovers, especially with their various flavors; not to mention the extreme heat index and humidity, milk tea is every Filipinos perfect comfort drink.

Zee picks an interesting milk tea shop because of their wide array of flavors, and most of all their unique Tablea infused milk tea and their Macha flavored tea.

Tablea is a native chocolate hand made in the Philippines, especially in the northern localities of Cebu.  Here in Bella Tea and Chocoffee House, they served a milk tea that is infused with the traditional handmade tablea.  The Tablea milk tea really brings back memories of childhood and of home in Bantayan Island because it captured the authentic taste of the handmade chocolate drink.

The Japanese Macha tea which was used to balance the sweetness of the Japanese pastries is innovated here in Bella Tea and Chocoffee House with a selection of sugar level from 0% to 100%; allowing drinkers to enjoy the taste of authentic Macha powder and balancing sweetness even without the pastries.

Bella Tea and Chocoffeehouse is at the lower ground floor of the Iconique Mall Colon.

Follow Bella Tea and Chocoffee House on their Instagram and Facebook for promotions.

 

Bella Tea and Chocoffee House’s flavoured milk tea

 

Bella Tea and Chocoffee House’s signature Fruit Tea

 

Bella Tea and Chocoffee House’s summer fresher collection.

 

Black pearls on rich chocolate-cheesecake milk tea.

 

Enjoy the colors of summer!  Have a cup of Bella Tea!

 

Bella Tea and Chocoffeehouse signature slimming fruit tea with 0 sugar.

 

 

Eats

A Moving Feast: Cebu Food and Wine Festival 2024 Opens in NUSTAR Resort

by Kara Mae M. Noveda

Taste Cebu! That is how the invitation goes for the two-day opening salvo of this year’s Cebu Food and Wine Festival (CFWF) held at the NUSTAR Resort Cebu. When the doors opened in the plush ballrooms last June 1, more than a thousand guests were treated to a moving feast for all the senses. Setting this year’s festival apart, the CFWF board of organizers put on a multi-sensory approach. Bringing their vision board to life, the opening gala brought large-scale visuals to complement an array of innovative culinary creations. After all, we also taste with our eyes.

Meticulously prepared local-inspired dishes with overflowing wine and alcoholic drinks filled the three tasting zones: Wave, Peak, and Warmth–with each themed zone serving a taste of a distinct aspect of Cebuano food culture.

Beginning with the Wave Tasting Zone that capitalizes on the coastal freshness of the island of Cebu. The emblematic dishes in this zone are bakasi (saltwater eel) stuffed cornmeal topped with bakasi bones and local sea urchin & tarurot (this is sea urchin blended with deep-fried baby squid floss plated in a sea urchin shell). Chef David Thien and his team also served refreshing cold noodles.

Next, the Peak Tasting Zone highlights the mountainous area west and east of Cebu. From these farm-rich areas, you get good produce transformed into incredible base ingredients for memorable local dishes: manok Bisaya (local chicken) and everyone’s favorite, Cebu Lechon. Crowds flocked into the lechon station manned by Chef Sau del Rosario, known in the culinary world as “The Godfather of Philippine Cuisine.”

Finally, the Warmth Tasting Zone celebrates the exciting city life that Cebu also has to offer. Big cities are a melting pot of different cultures, so you’re right to expect fusion dishes in this zone. Samples of exciting hybrid dishes include the coconut wine-marinated conch shell sisig served in corn tortillas and Chef Lisa Revilla-Thien’s Hamachi salad.

The festival’s honored guest, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco, who walked with the media members for a preview, emphasizes the importance of gastronomy tourism. The DOT is keen on supporting programs that elevate the country’s culinary portfolio.

The Cebu Food and Wine Festival is a month-long June festival featuring over 60 pocket events spread in over 40 participating restaurants and 20 hotels.

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Eats

A Quick Chat with Radisson Blu Cebu’s Kitchen Team at Feria

by MINERVA BC NEWMAN

Cebu is now abuzz with so many activities and events from last month’s Cebu Business Month (CBM) and the Cebu Food and Wine Festival (CFWF) where the food and culinary industry and the hospitality sector are in focus as two of the key developments and growths in the tourism economy.

Radisson Blu Cebu, located at Serging Osmeña Blvd., corner Pope John Paul II Ave. in Cebu City is an imposing hotel building across SM City Mabolo where comfort, unparalleled service and close attention to detail are described as the Radisson Blu Cebu experience.

What catches this writer’s attention is the hotel’s Feria Restaurant, the Lobby Bar and the Pool Bar. Many of my friends here and abroad have shared with me their food and wine dining experience while at Radisson Blu Cebu. I decided to visit and try the buffet spread at Feria and ended up chatting with the chefs, the kitchen team behind Feria’s sumptuous menus and dishes every day.

This writer had a chance to chat with Radisson Blu Cebu’s kitchen team headed by Chef Nicholas van Riemsdijk, Radisson Blu Cebu’s Executive Chef. While last month’s CFWF festival highlighted the various culinary experiences of more than 20 national chefs, Chef Nick wanted to emphasize Radisson Blu Cebu’s kitchen team that consists of 8-10 Indian, Japanese, Filipino and Mediterranean chefs that collaborated and assembled Feria Restaurant’s spread and menus at the Lobby and Pool Bars.

“Radisson Blu Cebu’s Feria is a popular buffet place in Cebu City and I am very proud of my team whipping up authentic food with all our hearts. I want my Team to be in the spotlight for what they’re doing in the kitchen. You see a beautiful buffet arrangement everyday at Feria and that is because of the hard work of my chefs,” Chef Nick told this writer.

During the Cebu Food and Wine Festival, Feria concentrated on local Filipino buffet cuisine because last year, the restaurant had 280 covers in full buffet. “This year, we intended to put out brand new local Cebuano and Pinoy dishes in our buffet to support the CFWF and we wanted to surpass last year’s covers,” Chef Nick added.

Everyday is a different buffet here at Feria, Chef Nick said that the team creates menus based on the best available products and as much as local products; sourced out from local suppliers and farms to support local as much as possible, as responsible business ethics.

“We, my team puts out authentic food each time. The by-word at the kitchen and among the chefs is consistency in tastes of the various menus we put out, because consistency means quality and respect of food and cuisine in the world.  As chefs, we love food and that is true to our profession,” Chef Nick smiled.

According to Chef Nick, the chefs sit as a team to come up with the daily themed menus; changing recipe’s new things for Cebu, what’s here, what’s not and what’s to improve.  Whatever he brings to his team, they learn and they are continuously working, discussing all the time and it’s always a working process, Chef Nick said.

Radisson Blu Cebu’s Feria buffet

Every day is a different buffet at Feria. Feria’s daily themed highlights to accompany its signature international staples of Filipino, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Mediterranean fare:

  • Mondays are American Grill and BBQ buffet: A homage to the beloved Texas BBQ, plus American classics
  • Tuesdays are Asian menus focusing on well-loved recipes from the East and Southeast Asian neighbors including Malaysian, Indonesian, Singaporean, and Korean dishes highlighting refreshingly spicy flavors
  • Wednesdays are European dishes with more on pastas, creamy soups, heavy meat dishes
  • Thursdays are Latin American, highlighting recipes from Mexico to Brazil with spicy flavors
  • Fridays are Seafood galore, finding ways to incorporate the fruits of the sea in pizzas, pasta, fried and grilled dishes
  • Saturdays are for Global street food, elevated versions of easy to eat comfort foods, but not just Filipino street food but also from around the world like noodles from hawker stalls of Singapore and Malaysia; fresh and filling Vietnamese and Thai recipes as well
  • Sundays are Filipino food. There’s nothing like the familiar taste of home

Feria lunch is Php1,488 and dinner is Php1,688 while wine buffet also available at Php1,288 sold separately–just unlimited wine, red or white, the selection available in the buffet area and the servers will assist and can pour when requested.

Let’s meet Radisson Blu’s Chefs

“My team is flexible to the clients, they speak to the guests and talk to them for some with special requests in their dishes, like guests who are vegans or pescatarians. My team of chefs mostly always accommodates special requests,” Chef Nick said

Chef Nicholas van Riemsdijk started working as a chef since he was 16 years and he has lived and worked in many parts of the world, making his international knowledge on food and cuisine incredibly wide and expansive in nature. He brings these experiences in the Feria kitchen as the executive chef of Radisson Blu Cebu.

Chef Leo Montemayor is the Chef de Cuisine, from Canlaon City in Negros Oriental. Chef Leo has been with Radisson Blu Cebu for 10 years now and he is very proud and happy to work at the kitchen with Chef Nick and the other chefs. He said the team can do any kinds of dishes in collaboration with other dishes especially that Feria has a variety of menus.

Chef Arnel Quilestino is the Sous Chef, from Badian, Cebu. Chef Amel has more than 30 years of experience in the kitchen as part of the staff with all the other chefs at Radisson that can do all kinds of signature dishes.

Chef Jyoti Singh is the Indian Chef at Radisson who’s instrumental in winning the SunStar’s Best of Cebu 2022 Best Indian Food for Radisson Blu Cebu. Chef Jyoti is a quite guy with a cool demeanor. He is responsible for all the Indian menus and dishes at the Feria Restaurant in collaboration with the other chefs for unique tastes.

According to these chefs, they help each other and always work as team. Feria has a variety of menus every day and the team always adhere to the consistency of tastes of whatever they put on the buffet table, with the approval from the executive chef.

“There is a recipe card and description of every dish that we do because we work for excellence, quality and consistency of food tastes at Radisson Blu Cebu, and we are all very proud of our profession and our work.  We feed people from the best of our hearts and soul.  We respect food and mindful of food wastage,” they said.

 

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Eats

‘Find Your Shangri-La’ Whimsical Menu at the Shangri-La, Mactan Cebu

A dreamy, indulgent gastronomic heaven awaits in Mactan, Cebu. For the discerning gourmand, our Master Chefs have curated a series of new Whimsical Menus, featuring exquisite culinary creations that shines the spotlight on the freshest locally sourced and sustainable staple ingredients.

Guests are invited to feast their senses on a delightful medley of enticing, exotic flavours, with delectable delights such as Bohol-farmed Prawns & Cebuano Mangoes with Kataifi Noodles, Double-boiled Abalone, Dried Scallop in Coconut Shell, Red Lapu-Lapu Grouper Fillet with daubs of Gold Broth and Smoky A5 Wagyu Cube Roll in Merlot Black Pepper Sauce.

Soup–Double-boiled Abalone and Dried Scallop served in a Coconut Shell

Main Course 3–Smoky A5 Wagyu Cube Roll in Merlot Black Pepper Sauce

Dessert – Mango Passion Fruit, Strawberry Pearls, Peach Gum and Matcha Crumbs

Exclusively available only at Tea of Spring, Shangri-La Mactan, Cebu’s contemporary Chinese restaurant until 13 August 2023.

Making of Daydreamer Cocktail

For bookings and reservations, contact (032)2310288 or email fbreservations@shangri-la.com.

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