Metro Cebu is a dwarf compared to the colossal minotaur that is Metro Manila. But are all big things better? Not every time. Even with all the bells and whistles of global food and fashion brand pop-ups or boutiques in the north, the quality of life can still be restrictive rather than restorative.
So when The Pig & Palm opened in Cebu back in 2016, it was definitely a sign of good things to come, at least, from an optimist’s point of view. The pessimist probably saw it as some litmus test: “How long will it last in Cebu City?”
For context, The Pig & Palm is probably one of, if not, the first restaurant that opened in the Queen City with roots to the highly elusive Michelin Star. In the gastronomic universe, a restaurant getting a Michelin star is the ultimate sign of culinary excellence.
It’s basically like the Oscars, and Cebu then was like Leonardo DiCaprio before “The Revenant” came out. So finally in 2016, Cebu got a taste of what it was like to dine in a Michelin-starred caliber food place.
It manages to blend simplicity with sophistication: The food and drinks at their core are pure, precise and pretty.
“The Pig & Palm is the 16th restaurant worldwide for the Athertons’ critically acclaimed restaurant group, The Social Company, which holds four Michelin stars and spans London, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai and Sydney,” stated the restaurant on its website.
This is why lineage matters. History matters. Amid The Great Lockdown, The Pig & Palm has managed to stand tall against the winds of economic uncertainty. It knows what it wants and sticks to it. Fans will be fans. Haters will be haters.
It made for a fitting venue then, when homegrown jewelry brand Oro China hosted an exclusive dinner to mark its 55th anniversary on Aug. 25.
Led by Oro China Group of Companies’ chief operating officer Jennifer Ty, the company brought in social media influencer and Oro China brand ambassador Chesca Garcia-Kramer to grace the two-day celebration in Cebu (a fashion show featuring Cebu’s international beauty queens was held the following day).
The guests celebrated over good food and fine wine; a fine curation of the restaurant’s best-sellers: pulled pork and smoked red pepper Tagliatelle with confit egg; poached grouper, gruyere crust, parsley adlai with balsamic caviar; confit pork belly, apple caramel served with mashed potato and broccoli; and its premium ribeye, grass fed MB3.
Should one drop by for lunch or dinner, make sure to order its cocktails. The Pig & Palm has some of the best in town.
Cheers for six and 55. Its brands like The Pig & Palm and Oro China that empower Cebu with a whopping undercut that could take down the tallest of giants.