Eye-Opener: Memo

Cebu: A Restaurant Review

Yesterday, after my friend and I watched "Miss Potter" at the Ritz Bourse in Center City Philadelphia, we walked two blocks to the Olde City district and ate dinner in this posh Filipino-Spanish restaurant called Cebu (named after one of the islands in the Philippines). We've been eating mostly sushi and other Asian and world cuisines lately and we wanted try something else. I have been exposed to Filipino food all my life, and I wanted to see how this restaurant presented Filipino cuisine.

Before entering, we checked the menu for the prices and what they served. They served mostly Filipino food with some Spanish cuisine. Their motto is Filipino cuisine with a Spanish flair. The appetizers started at $7 per entree (this was reasonable considering its location (prestigious Olde City= high rent, tax, license), service, public image etc.). The main meals started as low as $25. Good thing this was not the first time I've eaten in such a restaurant, I knew that the $25 meal was served in a large quantity. So I rationalized that several appetizers would probably suffice me and my friend (we get full easily).

We came in -it wasn't too busy, (maybe it was still early) and saw some people at the bar- and were seated. We were greeted with "Mabuhay" (which is similar to "Aloha"- multiple meanings- one such translation is "to live"). I think the woman who greeted us was Latina (I definitely sense a different accent when she said "Mabuhay"). I asked her if she was Filipina. She misinterpreted my question and replied that the owner and the chef are Filipinos.

The place looked awesome. It had high ceilings, which had trompe l'oiel drawings of clouds and something mechanical (like the insides of a clock). It had weird lamps that were sinuous and some looked like Dandelions/NY New Year's Eve Spikey ball. It was sort of dim and black lights highlighted parts of the wall creating dimensions and exciting diagonals in the air and on the walls.

Then comes the food. We ordered four appetizers, a sidedish of rice and I got water with lemon to drink (figuring that my money should go to the food instead), and they gave us a small basket with bread and butter. I started worrying about the size of the appetizers (different restaurants have their own concept of appetizers- to some, they are little snacks and to others they can be large enough to be an actual meal) Fearing that they might be as small as two slices of emaciated carrots on a large white plate drizzled with caramel and parsley and baby's breath on the side, I loaded up on my carbs and ate most of the delicious bread and butter.

I was half right. They served us two Shanghai Lumpia (Filipino eggrolls with meat and vegetables) with three sauces, Adobo Pork (Pork marinated in Garlic and soy sauce with vegetables), and Tokwa (Fried Tofu with Barbeque) and Tuna Kinilaw (Tuna with Vinegarette made of mangoes, coconut and other Filipino ingredients) for $33. The side of rice cost $2, and the waitress was surprised that it was just for me (she thought that the tiny bowl of rice was for me and my friend- she kept asking us earlier if we needed another one).

The Lumpia and Tuna were served in tiny amounts but the Adobo Pork and Tokwa were not. The two 2.5 inches Lumpia were overprice (my aunt in CA makes the same size and sells them for a dollar a piece), and there were only three slices of tuna. The Lumpias weren't golden browm instead a little pale even in the dim light. The Tokwa didn't have enough fried tofus. Nonetheless all the food were delicious and good quality.

Bonus points for their cooking and presentation. I was impress with the Pork Adobo and the vinegarette in the Tuna Kinilaw. The pork was tender and moist (wasn't dry or overcooked), and the adobo sauce was right (didn't have too much garlic or soy sauce). It was very flavorful, I tasted all the ingredients and nothing was overpowering- all in harmony with the tastebuds. The vinegarette opened my senses to possibilities I've never considered before. It was a good blend of the sweet and the pungent. They used top quality, fresh sweet soft Philippine mangoes (not hard unripe Indian mangoes), sugar palm candy and coconut to sweeten the vinegerette.

For presententaion, they cut the Lumpias in diagonal to make it look like there are many pieces. They used angular banana leaves as a matt on top of the plates and purple orchids (however unlike icing on cake they were too pretty too eat). They served the Tuna Kinilaw on a lopsided/asymetrical bowl.

We had turon (fried sweetened bananas wrapped in Shanghai wrappers) for $6. The bananas were too mushy like baby food, and there were more wrappers than banana. The turon was served with a perfect single-scoop of vanilla icecream on top of caramelized chocolate syrup with a sliced strawberry fanning out. The dessert was nicely presented, but wasn't as tasteful as the appetizers.

Cebu Restaurant lost points for courtesy. They were nice, but I felt that I was rushed (this might appear so because we were the only customer eating at the time- so they weren't busy with other diners). I don't know if this is a restaurant custom or not but everytime we finished a plate, the waiters removed it immediately. At times I felt that this was disruptive (I understand if we had extra food coming or if our table was really cluttered).

They lost points for downplaying the uniqueness of the Philippines. The only thing Filipino is the food. Instead of playing a mix of Tagalog and Spanish songs in the background, they played all Spanish songs. The decor was very trendy, modern, something one will find in New York (but not memorable). It looked like every hot shot restaurant out there. I sort of understand the logic behind this marketing scheme- exotic enough to attract attention at the same time with a familiar and upscale feeling. Filipinos (Fil-Am) who know how to cook this food already may be intrigued (like me) to check it out and support it. Others totally unfamiliar with Filipino culture may be lured by its Spanish charm and "flair" (or vice-versa). They downplayed in order to suit their constituents, which was very reasonable for this type of business (nonetheless they still lose points for it).

Overall, eating at Cebu was excellent. It was pricey (comes with the territory), the service was good, and the food was scrumptious!

Posted by Michael Diezmos at January 6, 2007 4:50 PM