From the road junction of our hotel, we can see a low building with a banner that says it is an authentic spanish restaurant. We were glad to find out that it opens at 10am as that would mean we can squeeze in a early lunch because we have to be at the airport by 12pm to catch our flight back to Singapore.
Decorations at Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant Cebu
Decoration of Spanish restaurant Ipar’sDecoration of Spanish restaurant Ipar’s CebuDecoration of Spanish restaurant Ipar’s Cebu Philippines
We love everything about Ipar’s! The decoration in the cosy restaurant, the friendly waitress, the delicious food (the garlic bread! Have we mentioned how much we love garlic because of this trip? Hehe.) and the reasonable price.
Although we were quite full from breakfast, we still ordered starters, mains and a carafe of sangria. As with typical KS Singaporeans, we wanted to make the most out of this trip 🙂
What we ate at Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant Cebu
Starters Churizo 200 peso Garlic Bread 120 pesos Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant CebuSangria Carafe 450 pesos Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant CebuBreaded Pork Chop 200 pesos Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant CebuFillet of fish in famous parsley sauce 350 peso Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant Cebu
Initially, we wanted to try out the roasted pork so that we can compare to the one we tried at Serenity Spanish Bar and Restaurant in Singapore. However, due to the time required to prepare it (at least an hour), we did not have enough time to wait due to our impending flight. We even tried to ask if the wait could be half an hour instead of an hour. But due to the emphasis on the quality of the food, the waitress was quite insistent on saying no to our request. Hence, we settled for the above choices. Still, the food took a while to come, which is why we’re glad that we chose these food instead.
The churizo was a little salty. Good thing that we ordered the garlic bread to even out the saltish taste. As for the garlic bread, you usually have the spreads at pizza hut for their garlic bread? Not so at Ipar’s, you can see actual bits of garlic on the bread and there was a nice crunch with every bit. Like this version compared to Pizza Hut’s.
For the pork chop and the fish, they were both good. Especially the pork chop. Crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The fish was good but because of its quantity and the fact that we already had breakfast, it became a little jerlat towards the end. That’s where your sangria comes into the picture. It refreshes your taste buds and provides a great compliment to the dishes as well.
Menu of Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant Cebu
Menu of Ipar’s and the price of the foods we ate…
Tapas Menu Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant CebuMeats Menu Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant CebuFish Menu Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant Cebu
We were sooooooooooo full when we went back to the hotel to get our luggage and checked out. But we did not at all regret having this meal 🙂
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Kate noticed Bo’s Coffee striking logo in the streets of Cebu and decided that we should try the coffee and food there. There is one branch near City Suites Ramos Tower so that was what we had for breakfast on our last day in Cebu. Established in Cebu in 1996, Bo’s Coffee was founded by coffee enthusiast and entrepreneur Steve Benitez. The deco in Bo’s Coffee is warm and inviting; and the selection of food was also fairly extensive. We took some time to decide what to have for breakfast. We were also tempted by the cakes and pastries but unfortunately we were too full after our mains 🙁
Bo’s Coffee
Bo’s Coffee
Bo’s Coffee mushroom and cheese omelette with toast 150 peso
Bo’s Coffee corned beef with scrambled eggs and pancakes 175 peso
Drip Coffee (10 pesos with any order of mains), Mushroom and Cheese Omelette with Toast (150 pesos) & Corned beef with scrambled eggs and pancake (175 pesos)
It was definitely a great place to enjoy coffee and pastries while people-watch as the locals make their way to work and the students heading off to school.
Bo’s Coffee Cebu
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Lechon (pronounced as lay-xi-on) is simply roasted pork and the most famous of them all? CnT Lechon!
Females chopping up whole pigs at CnT Lechon
CnT Lechon – Best Lechon in Cebu
According to locals (including our driver Long), CnT Lechon is arguably one of the best Lechon in the whole of Cebu. When you even mention Lechon, everyone will point you here…
CnT Lechon beside SM Mall. best pig ever according to anthony bourdainOther side dishes at CnT Lechon
For us, it was actually quite surprising to see only ladies at this joint. Have you seen how big the pigs are? They actually start with whole pigs and chopping them up according to the weight that customers want…check out this video of the strong women chopping up the lechon! In the video you may also notice this rather impatient guy standing in front of us whose head kept popping up because he wants to know if his food is ready! 🙂
We decided to go for the half kg (for only 200 pesos – $6 SGD!) for the 3 of us to share (including our driver Long). Not too much else we would have to run many hours on the treadmill to burn off the fats! Worst of all, we may have to rename our site to 2fatbears.com! Haha!
And here’s our half kg of lechon!
Half kg of lechon. crispy skin.juicy meat. 200 peso at CnT Lechon
As the caption says, the skin was so crispy! It’s actually Tom’s favourite part. Crispy and slightly saltish, goes really well with plain rice and a dash of the sauce provided. The meat was also tender and juicy. It was good. However, not the best for us. The best pig? If you’re referring to pork knuckle, it has got to be the pork knuckle from Hofbrauhaus Munich. As for roasted suckling pig, the one at Serenity tops our list.
Nonetheless, for the value and quality, it is still a must try when you’re in Cebu!
What else to eat at CnT Lechon
CnT Lechon mixed veg at 30 peso per servingCnT Lechon Fresh lumpia or popiah at 12 peso each
In addition to the lechon, we also had mixed vegetables (30 pesos per portion) and fresh lumpia (12 pesos each)
The lumpia is a little like our popiah in Singapore. Vegetables wrapped in a fresh flour based sheet. Not too bad.
Receipt for lunch at CnT Lechon
Location and Opening Hours of CnT Lechon
CnT Lechon is located at V. Rama Ave, Cebu City and its opening hours are from 8am to 6pm. Be there early as the lechon often gets sold out by mid-afternoon!
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The sun rises fairly early in Cebu and we were up by 6am. After washing up, we strolled around the neighbourhood to look for breakfast. We wanted something local but weren’t sure what to eat. Not far from Castle Peak Hotel, we chanced upon Alberto’s Pizza. The menu was decent and the price was reasonable. And although it was Alberto’s Pizza, we went for the local breakfasts instead! We choose the Hungarian and Cheese Krainer, each at 75 pesos (about $2!).
Alberto’s Pizza HUngarian and Cheese Krainer with garlic rice and egg for 75 peso each
Breakfast at Alberto’s Pizza Cebu!
Each set came with a sunny-side up and garlic rice! Yum! However, the Hungarian sausage was a little too salty for our taste.
Alberto’s Pizza Breakfast Set
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One of the best restaurants in the Philippines is the Golden Cowrie Restaurant. Known officially as the Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant, it serves up authentic Filipino food at a very reasonable price in a restaurant setting…
Interior of Golden Cowrie
Inside Golden Cowrie Restaurant
Golden Cowrie Restaurant – Best Filipino Restaurant Cebu
Touted as the best Filipino restaurant in Cebu, Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant embodies the pride in filipino cuisine and is one of our must-try when you visit Cebu (pronounced as SEE BOO). The funny thing was that although there was a Golden Cowrie Restaurant at Ayala Mall, we did not know about it at that time (so near and yet so far)! Therefore, we took a 10 minutes taxi ride from Ayala Mall to the Golden Cowrie Lahug @ Salinas Drive…
Our server Precious at Golden Cowrie
As we pulled up at Golden Cowrie, we were ushered by a security guard (meaning its a decent joint) who opened these big wooden doors for us to enter into the restaurant. The deco was nice, warm and inviting. Much like coming home. It has an alfresco dining area outside as well.
After being seated, our server Precious (see inset above), asked us politely if it was our first time here. She was friendly and patient in explaining the various local dishes (some of the dishes had Filipino names) while recommending some of the best sellers. Good service is always a great start to a meal isnt it?
What to eat at Golden Cowrie Restaurant
Precious then recommended for us to have the crispy pata (pork knuckle!!), squid in coco sauce, kang kong and shrimps with garlic. This was accompanied by garlic rice and free flow white rice! Oh, every order of normal rice is free flow. And you know what? We don’t usually eat that much white rice, but surprisingly, the rice was especially fragrant while the texture of grains full of goodness! No wonder even ladies pile up on the rice while eating at Golden Cowrie Restaurant! Yes, even Kate!
Golden Cowrie Squid in coco sauce 179
Crispy pata and Squid in coco sauce – Must try from Golden Cowrie Restaurant!
Golden Cowrie Cebu Kangkong 79
Kang Kong and Shrimps with garlic Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant
Golden Cowrie Cebu Garlic Rice 39Golden Cowrie Cebu Shrimps with garlic 89Golden Cowrie Small crispy pata 295
Guess what? EVERY DISH WAS GOOD!! The serving of the crispy pata was HUGE and when you take in a piece of meat together with the crispy skin, accompanied by the garlic rice? Simply SHIOK! Now we understand why many Filipinos enjoy garlic rice. It’s not only the fried garlicky taste that attracts you. When mixed in, it gives a different mild crunchy texture with every mouth. Yum!
Served sizzling hot, the squid in coco sauce was fresh and succulent, not the rubbery kind but the Q type with a refreshing taste of spices and charred taste. With a little chili on the side (not too much cause their version is actually quite spicy), it was just a perfect combination with the fragrant white rice.
The kang kong and shrimps with garlic also accompanied the rice really well. After typing for the last few paragraphs, we’re starting to wonder if dishes revolve around the rice? Because they complemented each other oh oh oh so well! Haven’t had this much rice in such a long time – SERIOUSLY!
Okok, here comes the best part. Our total damage? Only 824 pesos (including drinks) which is about $25 SGD!! This is less than a third of what you would have paid at a zi char stall in Singapore!
Where to find a Golden Cowrie Restaurant in Cebu
Here is a list of Golden Cowrie Restaurants in Cebu.
Ayala Terraces
Cebu Business Park, Biliran Road
Cebu City
Golden Cowrie Lahug (The one that we went to!)
Salinas Drive, Lahug
Cebu City
6000
Parkmall
Ouano Ave. North Reclamation Area
Mandaue City
Cebu, Central Visayas
Golden Cowrie A.S. Fortuna
A. S. Fortuna St
Mandaue City
Cebu, Central Visayas
Golden Cowrie SM Cebu
Lower Ground Floor, SM City
Cebu
Golden Cowrie Cybergate
Robinsons Cybergate, Fuente
Cebu City
Cebu, Central Visayas
Mactan Marina Mall
Lapu-Lapu City
Cebu
Golden Cowrie Restaurant is opened at lunch from 11am to 2pm and for dinner from 6pm to 10pm.
Golden Cowrie Restaurant
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