TastyTrio

With the abundance of restaurants mushrooming in Cebu, one must be daunted by the task of choosing a place to dine.

Let's look at some of the island’s no frills dining restaurants that have captured the Cebuano taste buds with consistently delicious and mouth watering dishes, leaving them craving for more.

With 20 years in the business and more than 30 outlets in Manila, Tapa King finally opened its first branch in Cebu, located in Banilad Town Center.  

There is a variety of premium tapa choices such as the tapa king which is the house specialty, the tapa queen which is sweet and spicy and the tapa prince which is simply sweet. The dishes are served with garlic rice and egg, a perfect Filipino meal to be had anytime of the day.

Other best sellers include tocino, crispy liempo, bangus, porckchops and pancit palabok. Completing the menu are popular desserts such as flanna banana, mais con hielo, sago’t gulaman and the sinfully moist home made chocolate cake.

May Ann Benedicto of Benedict Ventures manages the newly opened dining outlet.

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Another interesting and innovative spot that has become a popular choice  for people with things to do and places to go is  the Kublai Khan's Mongolian Eat-All-you-Can dining nook which has been around since 1999. Now at its new location at the second level of Ayala Food and Entertainment Center, and  managed by sisters Marilen Jarque and Joyce Chiongbian, the Kublai Khan provides value for money quality food and service. An extensive training and development program has been established to satisfactorily offer authentic Mongolian dishes.

What makes this restaurant simply unique is the fact that one has the choice of selecting  and mixing the ingredients  such as beef, chicken, pork, squid, fish balls,  and combining them with a variety of sauces from chili and barbeque,  to teriyaki and   Szechuan   and lastly topping the bowl with either garlic, sesame oil, ginger, onions, and peanuts. 

The challenge is for you to apply your culinary talents and blend the taste perfect for you. 

It may take a couple of times to create your very own special recipe but its fun and worth the effort when you achieve the right combination.

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It is always nice to go out with a  group of  people for Chinese food as we get to try various dishes all at the same time.

One of the most popular Asian fast food restaurants in the Philippines must be ChowKing that opened another branch in Cebu located just a stone’s throw away  from the Redemptorist Church. It manages to sling out a variation of mami noodle soup, fried noodles and rice bowls with an array of toppings.

Chowking Halo Halo is simply the best in town. Not only is it affordable but the servings are generous with a wide variety of ingredients that include red and kidney beans, sugar palm fruit, coconut sport (macapuno) and plantains. Other components include jackfruit, star apple, tapioca or sago, nata de coco, purple yam (ube) or sweet potato, sweetened corn kernels, pounded crushed rice, flan or custard and gelatin.

Chowking Redemptorist-Cebu is open from 7:00 AM until 9:00 PM to accommodate breakfast-seekers, churchgoers, and parent of students in the nearby schools. It also has a well-appointed function room to host special occasions and events and is offering fast delivery services to the surrounding area.

This outlet which is under the Jollibee Group of Companies is a franchise owned by young, enterprising brothers Ian Irving and Allen Arvin Tan.

I have been to these places a number of times and have not been disappointed. It was always an enjoyable experience with food that do not seem to be fast food at all.

Try them and you will know what I mean.