Seaside dining

CEBU, Philippines – A new restaurant has opened at the South Road Properties, at Filinvest Land's Il Corso. It's the latest addition to the Laguna Group - "Parilya." The name comes from the Spanish "parrilla," meaning grill or steakhouse. The word has come to be embraced by both the Tagalogs and the Cebuanos, who use it to mean to grill or cook over a grill.

Parilya serves Filipino-Cebuano dishes in an ambiance of al fresco seaside dining. But for those who prefer to dine in air-condition comfort, there's also good provision for that. There are elements in the sea breeze that stimulates the appetite, the reason why beachfront establishments are a favourite destination during vacation breaks, including the Holy Week which is barely two weeks away. (But it should really be no reason for breaking the tradition of fast and abstinence, excuse me, among devout Christians.)

The restaurant's menu card are divided into sections: Abregana (starters), Higops (soup), Ora-urada (short order), Combos (meals with rice and atsara), Kinilaw (ceviche), Crispy Gana (crispy special) Parilya Special, Sobragana (mains), Sinugba (grilled), Merienda Gana (in-betweens),  Pancit (noodles), Desserts and Drinks. Indeed, this is the first time that I had seen the words "higops", "ora-urada", "sobragana" or "merienda gana" printed in a menu.

Traditional Filipino dishes are served, like baked scallops, lechon, and chicken inasal.

During the opening, on February 8, I tasted the Mangga Hilaw at Bagoong, Pork Barbecue, Crispy Dinuguan, and a new offering - the Chorizo Gourmet Burger. The later dish reminds me of hot-pan-de-sal stores which sprouted like weeds by every street side two decades ago; and the "palaman" (spread or filling) then was a swab of margarine or chorizo from Carbon.

I tried the Crabmeat Salad and a soup, the Parilya Seafood Soup. The food label read "Croatian Seafood Stew." I checked the recipe of the stew called Brudet and found out that it used white wine, tomato paste, olive oil and chopped parsley. The ingredients, like prawns, shellfish and fillets of fish, were placed in layers and it was not stirred during cooking to keep the fish fillets intact. It had very interesting flavours, neither a Tagalog nor Cebuano dish but very delicious.

I learned from the menu that friends of the Laguna Group have added their own interpretations of Filipino dishes. I tasted the Paella Tinta ni Nena and the classic Paella Remedios. I wanted to try Rak's Balbacua, Conrada Batchoy, Akel's Halang Manok Soup and Jude's Kinilaw two Sundays ago, but there was no place to park my car. The main road was an alternate but I did not know whether parking was allowed. (The traffic rules in Cebu City are just changing too fast for comfort.)

I think the restaurant really needs a parking attendant to properly guide the vehicles of its customers for coordinated entry, exit and parking space.