CEBU had a grand time last July 13 at the Pacific Grand Ballroom of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino during the fifth SunStar Best of Cebu party presented by Organique and AirAsia. These parties are celebrated annually following the release of the Best of Cebu issue every December. During these parties, the most recent Best of Cebu winners are invited to showcase their stuff whether these are juicy burgers and hot wings or a back massage or haircut. The best part of all, those who are invited to the party get to try these food items and lifestyle services for free.
Every year, the event only gets bigger than ever. This year, here were the top five highlights during that grand night.
Grand, colorful mural
Making for a fantastic background for photo opportunities, the mural by the students of Southwestern University Phinma’s School of Design + Communications wowed party-goers. This year’s theme was celebrating the “Pop Culture of Cebu” and the artwork just showed it perfectly in vivid color, capturing the essence of Cebu and its people. People were busy having their pictures taken with it before and after the event.
That fancy opening ceremony
A few minutes past six, SunStar Cebu marketing head Bayani L. Garcia spray-painted what appeared to be a blank yellow seal. Voila, greeting the anticipation of about 500 people who were already in line, the doors of the grand ballroom slid open revealing the freshly painted SunStar Best of Cebu seal. People gamely entered the venue and enjoyed the display of food and drinks. A few minutes after, guests were treated to a bombastic opening dance presentation on stage that involved actual skateboarders doing flips on actual skating ramps custom-made for the event.
SunStar’s Best of Cebu mobile app
In tune with the times, SunStar president and general manager Jayjay Neri revealed during his welcome remarks the upcoming Best of Cebu mobile app soon to be launched for Android and iOS users. The app will bring the Best of Cebu brand closer not only for Cebuanos but for everyone wanting to taste, see and experience the best of what Cebu has to offer. The app will be online sometime late 2018.
Grand Slam winners recognized
Congratulations to the following brands: Crimson Resort & Spa (Best Resort, Best Resort Hotel), Ibiza Beach Club at Movenpick Resort (Best Outdoor Dining Experience), Feria at Radisson Blu Cebu (Best Dinner Buffet, Best Buffet and Best Premium Buffet), Isla Sugbo Seafood Restaurant (Best Seafood Restaurant), Rustan’s Fresh (Best Gourmet Supermarket), Everything Yummy (Best Pork Chop), Shabu-Shabu Red Taiwan (Best Shabu-Shabu), Yoga Hub (Best Yoga Place), Mooshi (Best Juice Bar) and Big Toto (Best Gadget Repair Shop).
A happy place
With over 60 exhibitors ranging from lifestyle malls and international hotel chains to homegrown favorites and hole-in-the-wall discoveries, guests were treated to overflowing food and drinks the entire night. As if that weren’t enough, a flurry of raffle prizes were given away, with the major prizes seeing two people winning free airline tickets from Cebu to international destinations proudly sponsored by AirAsia.
To know more about the next Best of Cebu issue and events, visit and like facebook.com/sunstarbestofcebu.