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The Philippines - a country I dreamed of visiting forever. Ever since I moved to Canada in elementary school, I was embraced by countless Filipino friends, who brought me into their homes (and their moms' kitchens) and so I have been trying Chicken Adobo, Halo-Halo, and Pancit since forever. It is engrained into my comfort food psyche. So you already know I had a full list of the type of food I wanted to feast when we were there. Here are my recommendations of where you have to eat when in Cebu, Philippines:
When Jolibee opened its doors in Canada, I promised myself that the first time I would ever eat there would be in the Philippines. The cult-classic quick service restaurant features local favourites fried chicken, rice, sweet spaghetti, peach mango pies. And it also made the perfect birthday meal for me. Verdict: fully worth the wait!
1.
jolibee
local fast food
2.
halo-halo
classic dessert-drink
Think shaved iced, condensed milk, ice cream, fruits, tapioca, pudding; Halo-Halo tastes so good, they named it twice! I've had the pleasure of trying this at all of my friends' family parties many times. So I definitely already had an idea of how good this would be. Its even better in the hot climate of the Philippines, and it's available almost everywhere.
For my birthday dinner, Monika planned something a bit special. This floating restaurant had a long wait time and took no reservations, but it was so fully worth it. All of the local food is available a-la-carte, and you end up dining in the ocean, under the stars. Both delicious and memorable - but the portions are huge! We left super stuffed.
3.
floating restaurant
authentic fare in picturesque setting
4.
soho park cafe
ube-infused dining with a western flair
One of my favourite things about the Philippines is how much they use Ube in their dining and baking. We literally grabbed Ube from the Manila airport before our flight to Cebu, and so we purposely sought out this cafe in the expat area to try their famed Ube Latte. The complimenting menu items are Western-geared, but were a nice change too.
Wandering through the supermarkets in Cebu, there was so many things we wanted to try, and as always, only wished we had more time to properly taste all of the amazing food. We literally became obsessed with the Ube baking, available everywhere and for rock bottom prices.
Have you tried Filipino food? What's your favourite dish?
P.S. You can browse my must-eat in Thailand here.