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Crunchy, tasty and sinfully addicting. That is the chicharon in Cebu. For those of you who do not eat pork, you better stay away from chicharon is as this dish is made of pork skin and deep fried in lard. Chicharon is not meant to be eaten regularly, unless of course you want to shorten your lifespan. It is high in cholesterol and not exactly the best for people over 40 years old.

It is often packed in thick plastic packaging and sold in 500 grams or 1,000 grams. There are a few standout chicharon brands in Cebu (for me), though:

Cebu City boasts of colourful festivals throughout the year. And what better way to highlight each event than to zoom in on the variety of foods. Probably the most popular event in Cebu, where tourists and overseas Cebuano workers flock to is the Sinulog Festival. During the third Sunday of January, the Sinulog beat can be heard throughout every street in Cebu City. Colourful costumes, extremely loud noises, face paints... these are what you will find in Cebu’s busy streets.

The natives of Cebu City would instantly know what Joven's Grill is or where it is located.  For those of you who don't know, Joven's Grill and Seafood is a popular all-you-can eat restaurant that offers a wide variety of tasty dishes. (They often change the dishes they serve every day).  Their buffet staple?  Seafood and grilled dishes of course!

Pizza Hut used to have quite an elite status in the 1980s. Somehow, by the 1990s, it revamped its brand image, altered its target market and decided to be family-friendly.

Pizza Hut is an American food chain that has branched out to about 34,000 restaurants and kiosks in over 100 countries. Pizza Hut began in 1958 and was established by Dan and Frank Carney. It was actually set up much later than its strongest counterpart, Shakey's.

For every occasion, Red Ribbon has just the cake for you. I am not that fond of cakes, but somehow, if I do have to buy cake, I always end up at Red Ribbon.

Imagine my delight when I saw on their website that they sold sugar-free cakes! I can finally enjoy a piece of chocolate cake without having to worry about spiked blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, not a single Red Ribbon outlet sold any of the sugar-free cakes they boasted about on their website.

There are so many things to love about Japanese foods.  I love the fact that their foods are not often fried and contain so little oil, if any.  I also love that their barbecue is different, and you can grill it

Often times, these Japanese foods are sold at pricey Japanese restaurants.  Yet, there are a few Japanese restaurants in Cebu that will not break the budget.

Don’t you just love its smell?  Its wrapper, its filling, its sauce?

Yes, siomai is that popular here in the Philippines.  In fact, you can spot a good siomai stand a mile away by gauging the crowd of pushers and elbowers, waiting to get their claws on this tasty treat.

The Philippine siomai is actually an unconventional mutation of the Chinese dumpling a.k.a “Shaomai”.  Other than our hot, oily, tasty variant, there are actually a few other variations of this scrumptious dish.

Cantonese Shaomai

Have you ever wondered what a Shabu Shabu is? On my most recent trip to Singapore, nearly every single Japanese restaurant claims that this dish is one of its highlights.  Puzzled, I searched the internet and found a few information about this famous Japanese dish.

Shabu shabu is a Japanese hot pot meal is actually imported from… where else but China.  Figures. Nearly everything is made in China. Hmph.

I’m a self-confessed Bigby’s fan.  If ever there is an occasion, whether it is my birthday, my sibling’s birthday, my cousin’s birthday, my friend’s graduation, my folk’s anniversary or by dog’s baptism (or something), I always insist on going to Bigby’s.  Actually, I am not in any way affiliated to Bigby’s, nor are they paying me to promote them.  I wouldn’t mind a gift certificate there, though. LOL.