Everything except chorizo Bilbao

When we got to Cebu we thought of cooking some of the special dishes that our siblings there would enjoy. Confident the city would have everything we would need, we planned to do Fabada, Cocido and Pastel Alfresco. Each required chorizo Bilbao, which was not easy to find. We finally found what we wanted, although it was a different brand.

Chorizo Bilbao is not actually made in Spain. It is manufactured in the USA, but from the time we became conscious of Spanish food, this has been what the family used for dishes such as Paella. Our driver thought we wanted ordinary pork sausage which abounds in the city. We finally found some Iberian chorizo at The Tinder Box, a store on Archbishop Reyes Road in Banilad, with Santi’s-type items plus some of those found at Terry Selection in Makati. It was Pamplona chorizo, which definitely gave much more flavor to our Fabada than the Purefoods canned sausage. They have ostrich meat at P575 a kilo, calamata olives at P58 for 100 gms, goose liver for more than P2000 a kilo. For an easier method of making pastel, they’ve got Pastry Puffs from Australia. The Tinder Box has a deli and coffee shop at the Mactan airport as well.

Other than not finding chorizo Bilbao, shopping for food stuff is not a disappointment. Cebu now rivals Manila with regard to specialty offerings. At Rustan’s we found the Torrero brand of sweet paprika; at the renovated Fooda (originally Foodarama) are Thai and other Asian spices, even rice paper for rolls, wasabi powder and sashimi sauce. There are some good stuff at JY Square at the busy Gorordo rotunda. Café de France caters to people who love to snack and we give good marks to their chocolate chip cookies and what they call "Truly French" eclairs. Our favorite bake shop in Cebu is Leona, where they are now offering a selection of chewy loaf breads such as almond banana and prunes with nuts. At King’s in the Puente Osmeña circle, you can get hamonado longganiza while at Shamrock are traditional otap and newly baked polvoron, all comparatively cheap.

While supermarkets now carry the popular tiny Cebu longganisa and danggit, the best place to get them is still the Carbon Market.

Eating in Cebu is always fun. There is Laguna Garden Café in Ayala Center for purely Tagalog fare and good puto bumbong. At Khru Thai one gets the delectable Phad Thai done like an omelet; Cowrie Grill’s Ginataang Bangus is still a best seller; Café Georg serves Continental food and King’s on Llorente Street has pancit for two at only P40. At the Llorente Cooperative row of fruit stalls, tropical fruits abound with mangoes going for P50 a kilo. For those craving for sweets, visit Alyssa Caramelle at Ayala Center, where Italian chocolates are sold. They also have an extensive line of sauces and wines.

Back in Manila, we received a complaint from a friend who bought cua pao from Salazar Bakery. They were not stuffed at all. Where are the veggies?

We are happy to note that Harvey Fresh now has lactose-free slim milk. And we were delighted to be served by a very cooperative and charming lady (Jovelyn Briones) at the Bench outlet at Rockwell Center. Snackers would be happy to know that this chain now carries a good selection of chips, etc. under the brand name Bench Bytes. They include soft candies in different flavors (green mango, melon, mint and strawberry) at P35 per pack. Attractively packaged are the peanuts, wasabe flavor at P39.50 a pack, hot chilli and garlic at P22.50 and garlic at P10 per. Chips (Mexican, Sweet & Chilli or Salted Español) at P25 per. For coffee drinkers they have Café Latte at P25 per can or a pack of 5 at P125.

Also at Rockwell, there is this store called Candy Bouquets. It sells arrangements of candies, beautifully done, as alternative to the traditional flowers for birthdays, anniversaries and other occasions.

Be careful about the fish you buy these days. Because of the rains, some may have the taste of mud (what our grandmothers used to call lasang putik). Even the restaurants we had lunch in a few days ago was not exempt.