AS RICH as Cebu's history is, its food scene is also rich in history and flavors.
On September 5 to 9, Marco Polo Hotels in Cebu and Davao came together to stage the Flavours of Cebu to bring to Dabawenyos the culinary delights of Cebu. This comes after the successful Independencia: Flavours of Mindanao food festival last June where Marco Polo Davao Executive Chef Alex Destriza and Chef James Tinio highlighted the 11 tribes of Davao in Cebu.
"We are happy to feature in our culinary journey some favorite dishes from the Queen City of the South with no other than Marco Polo Plaza Cebu’s Executive Chef Juanito Abangan and Chef Macario Escora who are masters of Cebuano flavors. We believe there is no authority better than a Cebuano chef and Cebuano banquet master who flew in with them actual Cebuano delicacies for Davaoenos to enjoy," Rene Gargallo said Marco Polo Hotel Davao Restaurant, Bars and Events Manager.
During the launch at Café Marco we enjoyed a delicious buffet of favorite Filipino dishes that are popular in Cebu like Cebu lechon, humba, chicharon, Larsian barbecue, chorizo, otap, and ampao.
The food we had was really good overall. Personally, I kept on coming back for the humba, Larsian barbecue, and chorizo. The chorizo was my favorite overall. It had a really great balance of sweetness and saltiness.
A simple as it is, I enjoyed the otap for dessert. Though I did keep on coming back for the cassava cakes too.
In the evening, the hotel held a Not-So-Serious Wine Dinner together with Titania Wine Cellar as the wine sponsor.
Held at Marco Polo Davao’s Polo Bistro at The Deck, the casual dinner also featured similar dishes from lunch but at smaller portions. Guests enjoyed Cebu lechon together with specialty wines such as Langhorne Creek Sauvignon Blanc (white), Great Tail Cabernet Sauvignon (red), and Prospero Rosato Secco. Who would have thought that traditional Filipino dishes would work well with some really good wine?
It was truly an adventure into the complexities of the Filipino flavors during the Flavors of Cebu earlier this month.