Lantaw Restaurant - Cordova

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As if our previous adventure to sample Lantaw at Busay wasn't enough, the whole family decided to ride all the way from the metropolis to the other island to savor a different cuisine from the same-albeit different restaurant.


Lantaw Floating Restaurant is located at the border of Lapu Lapu City with its shoreline facing the other side of the Cebu islands. Interestingly, the place was once used as a docking port for small fishing boats and eventually over time was transformed into a popular restaurant by the sea.

The set-up was the same: a restaurant situated in the middle of nowhere with a stunning view for their patrons to enjoy. The place's specialty was Bakasi, a sea creature that looks like a moray eel and cooked either crisped or simmered in tomato based soup stock with generous amounts of spices.

Late Lunch composed of an assorted array of seafood dishes eventually finished with their carefully hand-made treats like Turon (fried banana fritter with jack fruit) topped with ice cream and drizzles of local dark chocolate sauce. My brother had guinmis, a toned down version of the local halo-halo.

Lantaw Floating Restaurant
Cordova, Cebu





Verdict: 3/5
Getting there takes at 2 hours with moderate traffic. The location of the restaurant is both a boon and a curse for them because heat of the sun during the afternoon is very undesirable.The place's true worth shows itself from sunset to the rest of the evening where light from the city glows bright in the background.

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Lantaw Restaurant - Busay

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Getting to Busay is no easy task.


One has to endure a semi  topsy turvy ride to the mountains with the risk of taking a wrong turn somewhere along the line and entering a completely different restaurant. Maybe even failing to notice the signboard of the restaurant!

Like all victories, our arrival there was one of the sweetest moment of that day. The view was magnificent and the place was cool despite the still awake sun. We had to climb an inclined plane and a few flights of stairs before we could settle in to our seat, with all the glory of Cebu City before us.

To cool off from our journey, we ordered iced tea and a just grilled plate of calamari for starters. Soon enough, chitchat kept us preoccupied as our dinner comprised of baked scallops, sisig, kinilaw, and steamed oysters arrived by threes.

Lantaw Restaurant
Busay, Cebu CIty

Verdict: A: 4/5
The place and the effort to get there is worth it. The ambiance and the view alone makes it a tourist hotspot. The food is above average. The kinilaw is a special mention here. Not too sour and not too milky either. Plus the fish used for it is splendid.  Very fresh ingredients considering its distance from the market.

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Linea

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I never really understood why a lot of people fuss about February 14, or rather, why people think that love is best displayed on one specific day. Why the flowers, why the chocolates, why the expensive dinners, the sweet flattery words exclusively used over and over by a multitude of individuals all over the world. I mean seriously, out of the 365 days in a year, they just had to pick one day out of the many when they could just cherish their love and passion for one another everyday. What screwed logic is that?
Blah. I’m rambling. But hey, I’m not complaining about discounted meals for two, if you ask me. ;)
Linea in IT Park, one of the less packed establishments on this day, had this Valentines’ day promo available for their patrons.  Each meal is comprised of a salad bowl for appetizers and an extravagant main dish of your choice between beef roulade and grilled salmon with a refreshing glass of red or white wine. To top the evening off, you get a dessert plate of cooled fresh fruits with several mounds of ice cream sprinkled with a generous amount of cinnamon.
The appetizer, Linea salad, had greens with an intricate amount of crisp in them in addition to the load of nuts and sweetness of the vinaigrette generously sprinkled on it. The main dish, the beef roulade was cooked just right in contrast to the (overcooked) grilled salmon.  Interestingly, the main dishes had potatoes with them, one served mashed and the other grilled.
In addition to the packaged deal we ordered, we also got a 12-inch vegetarian pizza, something I really didn’t quite like either.  The menu advertised zucchini added into it as well as shiitake mushrooms but both were non-existent!
Dessert was a good return from a disappointing salmon dish (not to mention the pizza!) It was diabetes heaven, but it was well worth it! Two scoops of strawberry ice cream and a centerpiece scoop of cinnamon ice cream! Yum!

Linea
E-bloc, IT Park Lahug

Verdict: 2.5/5
This place is a hit and miss. Sometimes they get the taste while sometimes they don’t. Worth a second visit if you have enough money. This place is pricey,

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Chez Sovan

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we went to this cambodian restaurant for my friend's belated birthday celebration. i confess i have very little exposure to cambodian cuisine so i was so excited to try this place. it was lunch time on a friday and not many customers were there. we ordered the 6 piece vegetarian egg rolls for starter. their service was reasonably fast. their egg rolls were good, not so oily. we ordered "amok" -- fish mixed with coconut milk, collar green, lemongrass, kefir, galangal and fish sauce, steamed in a banana leaf. the presentation was remarkable and the taste was so unexpected for my palate. i liked it but i couldn't eat a lot of it. i paired brown rice with it. i later realized that white rice was better with it. we also had "sam law curry" -- chicken with potatoes, carrots, coconut milk and curry spices. the curry was sweet and didn't really pair well with the "amok". i guess it would have been better if we ordered something fried. for our drinks, we had coconut juice in its shell. the juice was so refreshing although the coconut meat was not that tender like the ones served in philippines. we had so much of left-over we brought home.


Chez Sovan
2425 S. Bascom Ave, San Jose, CA 95128

Verdict:
3/5 (I would still give this place another chance.)

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Marriott Hotel

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One stressful bumper to bumper traffic and a few coupons less, we found ourselves seated in one of better tables at Marriott hotel's restaurant. The place. was. stunning. The ambiance set the mood for a night to remember, a pleasant evening for my siblings and myself with carefully prepared buffet dishes ripe for the picking.

Subtle music wafted in the background as we took our places and found each of our respective seats. It was so easy to get comfortable, as if the place was your own private dining house. The waiters were very attentive to our needs and not to mention that they was not an idle moment for them. If they weren't making sure the tables were in perfect order, they busied themselves with attending to their guests and making sure that the food on the buffet table never ran out.

Idle talk inside the restaurant were down to a minimum, as there was very few people dining inside the premises. Food in abundance, we dug in and gorged ourselves in whatever was available; from Japanese sushi and sashimi to local cuisine and even salads and bread with cold cuts on the side. Although the choices paled in comparison to Marco Polo's assortment of foreign dishes, Mariott, in all its crowning glory, strengthened its quality and service to the point of unbelievable levels. Each dish was given utmost attention to detail down to the last ounce of spice. 

Cebu Marriot Hotel
Cardinal Rosales Avenue, Cebu City 6000 

Verdict: 5/5

Very worth every peso you paid for a meal here. Dinner was well spent. You won't regret the service.

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Wolfgang Puck

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i always have this unexpected appetite for airport dining even after coming from international flights which offer heavy meals. i found myself at Wolfgang Puck after walking around SEA-TAC airport. a football game was playing with a big fan crowd. i ordered four cheese pesto pizza that came with mozzarella, fontina, parmesan, goat cheese and sun-dried and fresh tomatoes. it was a fresh change to the korean meals that i had in the long flights. it was so tasty. the two slices of left-over which i had on the last leg of my trip still tasted good considering it was already cold.

Wolfgang Puck
Seattle Tacoma International Airport

Verdict: 5/5
WOLFGANG PUCK EXPRESS - SEATTLE TACOMA INT'L AIRP

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Seoul Incheon International Airport

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i had a long 12 hour layover from Cebu to US. it is not my first time to have this itinerary but the difference from my first time was it was summer season in Seoul. at that time, i did an impromptu city tour. i'll write a separate post for that interesting experience. this second time around, it's winter in Seoul and it's too cold to do sight-seeing outside. right after landing, i was greeted with beautiful photos of Korea along the walkway to transfer to connecting flight. the images showcase Korea and make me want to come back and visit Korea. after killing the time by sleeping, i got bored and started looking for something to do in the airport. i discovered its food court and had the traditional korean dish bibimbap.  it came with kimchi, quail's egg and squid, egg omelet and seaweed soup on the side. after the satisfying lunch, i walked some more and discovered the prayer room and airport's Korea Traditional Cultural Experience Center. i came across 2 of these centers in my long walk around the airport. this center offers a lot of free activities. i tried their phoenix magnet painting. you can choose painting a male or female phoenix and color it any colors you like. i painted both since i had a lot of time to kill. one can also paint a pencil holder or fan. while painting, live traditional korean performances are also showcased. i saw 3 different shows: 1) lady playing a guitar-like instrument while another lady sings, 2) lady playing a flute-like instrument, 3) walk of the royal family. Incheon has really set the bar for an international airport. it is not only clean and elegantly designed, it has these free Korean activities and shows that are educational and fun which make 12 hour layover feel like a breeze.


Verdict: 5/5

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Miga Korean Restaurant

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After the closure of our favorite all-you-can-eat restaurant at IT Park, my siblings and I decided to visit this quaint restaurant just beside AA's BBQ to see whether the place can live up to our expectations.

The place was packed, noisy, and teeming with Koreans and their dates. Smoke permeated the air as we were being seated at the final vacant booth of the restaurant the moment we arrived. Several waitresses were scurrying to and fro to attend to the needs of their customers, bringing food and drink to the respective tables. We had a few minutes to settle in and get ourselves comfortable after which we had a lovely attendant get us three orders of Chadolbaegi.

The neighboring booth housed several noisy patrons acting like they own the place with their voices at the top of their lungs. Surprisingly, those voices didn't belong to the Koreans in there, but from at least two Filipina women. Anyhow, no surprise there. I'm quite used to dealing with people like that so I shrug it off and avoid it from bothering me and my meal.


Verdict: 2/5


Dinner was okay, sub par for my tastes and the place is bit disorganized. They should install ventilation fans to dispel the smoke from the portable stoves they have or at least have fans all over.

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Tsim Sha Tsui

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Located on the second floor of Ayala Terraces and right in the middle of Mooon Cafe and Hukad, Tsim Sha Tsui is a comfy and well lit dimsum place that offer an assortment of several dishes from dimsum to noodles. For this particular visit, we had to try their all you can eat dimsum buffet on the bar station with a miniature conveyor belt.

The upbeat music in the background was definitely uplifting after it rained the whole morning. While I arrived a little bit later than my companions, service was good enough. The dishes up for grabs are limited to 5 or 6 different kinds and 2 versions of the same dessert. The machang served is no good, while the steamed rice is of so-so quality. I do loved their sweet and sour pork though and the siomai was able to redeem most of the lost quality.

I don't think the staff was doing the best that they could this time around. From what I remember from the past, they had more dishes served on the dock with at least three types of siomai, cabbage rolls, steamed dishes...

Maybe they were trying to cut costs?






Verdict:
2/5

Not so satisfied with the place. Add more choices, maybe? Instead of the repetitive fare being served.

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