Banca cruise in Cebu

For all the trips that we have made to Cebu, it was only very recently that we discovered the Islands Banca Cruises offered by the company of young, award-winning entrepreneur Jay Aldeguer. A friend suggested we take one of these and with our sister Mila, we hied off to Mactan to the loading pier right after the Movenpick Hotel.

It was a lovely day and we had the gracious Cebuano greetings from the staff who helped us board the immaculate white banca (boat). It was going to be a leisurely sail, the better to relax and de-stress, as we settled on the matrimonial-size lounging bed. The rest comfortably sat on the sofas and the bean bag, also white. Off on our cruise we went, to the roar of the engines, along the island of Olango, one of five docks visitors can choose from to stop, swim, and simply enjoy the breeze and picturesque landscape.

Half an hour later we stopped for lunch at one of the many restaurants-on-stilts called Cao-Uy, where we were served fresh seafood – oysters, clams, crabs and some rare shells – the cone and the 5-finger species. Depending on the time you have to spare, these cruises can last from 1 to 5 hours. Stops can be made for guests to swim or enjoy the marvelous sight of flying fish and dolphins. Banca rentals range from P6,000 to P8,000. It can accommodate up to 20 guests. It is a “cooling” experience, especially coming from the city, which these days is starting to become very warm. That’s one activity a lot will enjoy.

Back in our base, our attention was caught by signs of “Casino” at Shopwise, Alabang. No, they were not promoting gambling but rather introducing a line of imported French products labelled Casino Famili. The store has devoted a section where the whole selection is displayed. We checked the collection and found some very enticing stuff – puff rice with honey, P170; white chocolate tablets; cereals for kids and adults from P107 per.

Tour les Jours has bottled pasta sauces and canned vegetables from P80. There are patés (paté de foie, champagne and salmon) at P107 each, as well as biscuits and juices. For the health conscious, the Bio line includes organic cane sugar and digestive infusion tea. Look it up and pick your faves, there are lots more on the shelves.

The BF Homes wet market, on a Monday, is a lonely place. Having been used to the very busy market of years past, that day it was dark, quiet and stalls were half-filled. Vilma, our suki for seafood, was not there. She comes only on weekends when business picks up. Otherwise, matumal (slow).

Instead we found her sister and an assistant anxiously calling to the buyers. We got fresh lapu-lapu for P380 a kilo and prawns for our Chinese recipe with chili and vermicelli for P500 a kilo, after we haggled rather vigorously. We hopped over to the fruit stalls across and bought big mangoes, kalabao, for P90 a kilo and cantaloupe at P50 each. Good prices, really.

We had to maximize the use of our car, petrol-wise, so we drove to our favorite cake shop Conti’s and got our usual chocolate chip brownies and ensaymaditas. We found new items – the swirls, small loaf-size bread from P65 to P75 per. They are very good dipped in a mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, perfect breakfast fare. They come in three flavors – cinnamon, raisin and cheese. Pasta sauces, salmon pomodoro, salmon speziato and salmon belly in olive oil are at P260/P270 a bottle. Mini bottles of mango jam are also available. From their freezer, there are the usual ready-to-heat food plus frozen beef rib eye steak at P235 per 100 gms.

Moving back to our area, we spotted Korean Home Plus, Inc. on Aguirre and could not resist going in. It is a huge store of all-Korean products from kitchenware to shampoos and creams. The one thing that we appreciate is the English translation of the labels on each container. Thus everybody can get the right mix for Korean dishes like kalbi and bulgogi, without having to bother the store assistant, in this case looking rather lost in translation. Everything in the store is imported from Korea, including the sukiyaki beef at P500 for half a kilo and a longish fish similar to seabass at P400. The only home-made items are the fresh sushi and sticky rice with toppings at P100 per.

Choose your store this weekend and enjoy your shopping.

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