Tavolata Restaurant: Italian Gastronomy in Mandaue City (Cebu)

Tavolata. Italian for "table". Lunch. Getting there was tricky because not a lot of people from central Cebu City would make their way to Mandaue City just for a leisurely lunch. The 4th taxi I flagged finally had an idea, but even his knowledge was sketchy at best. It was like driving from Makati to Las Pinas for a meal. It doesn’t help that Cebu’s traffic has mimicked Manila. 

I hopped in. Told him it’s where I’d meet friends, because having lunch alone in a strange place draws more questions. “Layo ng kainan nyo, sir,” he said, then started talking about a neighbour who got shot by tandem bikers. I refuse to get roped into that conversation. Not right now or I’d get upset. As if that wasn't enough, the Black-Eyed Peas were singing on the radio: "People killing, people dying; children hurt, and then they're cryin'." Pang-asar. Can we change stations please?

Tavolata is the Abaca group’s latest up-market restaurant, serving Italian cuisine. For two years, I’ve had Maya Restaurant (which serves Mexican) in my mind, but is yet to make it there. Same issue: the relative distance from Cebu City. Beqaa, that serves Mediterranean and middle eastern cuisine, is just next door. The restaurant didn’t even have a sign visible in daytime.

I loved the design, which makes use of available light filtering into every crevice of the joint; very energy efficient. In the evening, the interior lighting makes its magic.

At 11 AM, I was the only customer. So I was treated warmly by a chatty waitress. I was tentative at first. I thought of their sea bass putanesca (P900, like Anzani's) or a risotto. Gnocchi pomodoro with gorgonzola walnut (P495) sounded inviting too. Eventually, I got around to ordering Pappardelle pasta that has veal ragu, wild mushrooms and parmesan at P600. Soup for the day was creamy water cress with pancetta at P200. My mind drew blank. My friend Chiqui would have explained to me every single ingredient, the cono girl that she is (and violently refuse the reference). But I’m better with eating than pedantically knowing the nature of the ingredients enumerated in the menu. I am cool with that. 

Tavolata Restaurant is located near Gaisano Country Mall so you'll probably take the AS Fortuna Road to get there. Along the way, you'll pass through Oakridge Business Park in Banilad so you'll know you're close by. Address: 880 AS Fortuna corner Remedio in the Design Center of Cebu Complex in Mandaue City, Cebu. Telephone number (032) 505-6211, It opens at 11:30 AM, closes at 2:30 PM; reopens at 5:30 PM to 10 PM. Taxi from Fuente Osmena will probably take 40 minutes or so, but with traffic, good luck. 

This is the Eye in the Sky!

#tavolata #cebucity

Pappardelle pasta has veal ragu, wild mushrooms and parmesan.

Creamy water cress soup with pancetta.

Terminology:

Ragu - In Italian cooking, it refers to a sauce typically made with ground meat, onion, tomato puree and red wine, and served with pasta.

Scam Alert: Club Chaos Gift Certificates at the Red Ginger (City of Dreams)

I was going to just let this slide, but something about inaction bothers me, particularly when my party has been wronged. But I am getting ahead of myself, am I not?

CHARLATANS IN LUXURY RESORT HOTELS

There are charlatans even in luxury resort hotels and casinos. What am I talking about? A few days before the Christmas holiday, my brother, who's section editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer handed me a gift certificate from Club Chaos for an obscure restaurant called "Red Ginger" situated at the City of Dreams luxury resort and casino. Due to his job, he would get these random gift certificates (GC's) from companies and throw them my way, which in turn, get swept under my pillow. I am uncomfortable using these GC's, to be honest. I am perfectly capable of paying for anything by myself, and I prefer it this way. If you've been following this blog, my lifestyle would hint of a lifestyle that doesn't necessarily froth in the mouth at the sight of gift certificates. Since I am an eye surgeon, and my family is a family of physicians, there really is no desperate need to use giveaway from strangers. 

Every Christmastide (that long season of holidays from Christmas until the New Year), I would personally plan activities for my family because it's the only time our small family becomes complete. 

LAST CHRISTMAS ALONE

Last year, we spent our Christmas holiday hopping from one hotel buffet to the next - Laiya Batangas' "Acuatico Resort", Shangri-La Makati's "Circles", Crowne Plaza Galleria's "Seven Corners Restaurant", Solaire's "Fresh Restaurant" and City of Dreams' "Cafe at the Hyatt", all in a span of 2 weeks. We like our buffets, and most of these are documented here in this blog.

This Christmas season, we went to Shangri-La at the Fort's "High Street Cafe", Subic Bay's "Meat-Plus Cafe" and "Pirate's Bistro" and for New Year, I was considering this new hotel restaurant, also at The Fort. 

By some twist of fate, I treaded on misfortune and decided to consider using this Gift Certificate given by Club Chaos for City of Dream's "Red Ginger Restaurant". I read the reviews: many of the comments weren't exactly flattering, but I thought, it's probably a good idea to check it out since their gastronomy is Southeast Asian cuisine, a region I have traveled far and wide. 

It would be nice to revisit the region's culinary jewels. Otherwise, this gift certificate would get thrown into the trash bin - all PhP3,500 of it. When a huge chunk of the population of the country's 103 million people is still starving, it would be sinful and wasteful to throw away an unsolicited "gift".

ASSURANCE FROM BERNA

I read the card carefully. It says "Food and Beverage". I don't want to embarrass myself not knowing the rules under which this card was meant to be used. I rang the restaurant a day before the date. A certain Berna was on the line. I asked her if they honor gift certificates for January 1st. The card says there are restrictions for special days and blackout dates. I reminded her this, just to make sure there are no misunderstandings. Is January 1st a "blackout date"? If not, can I reserve a table for New Year? Berna, after excusing herself to refer the matter to a superior, assured me that they indeed accept gift certificates for January 1. I asked her again if she was sure. Affirmative. So I booked for an 8:30 PM.

PROFESSIONAL SCAMMING

New Year's Day. My family of 6 met at the restaurant 10 minutes before schedule. There was a long waiting list (17 names were on queue) but a table was reserved for us. Everything was running very professionally and we were lead to our table. Before ordering, I handed the gift certificate to the waiter who accepted it, left for a couple of minutes, then came back and handed the GC. "No problem, sir", he said and continued, "just give it later upon billing." 

So I ordered the food items posted here. I made sure that we'd be ordering double the gift certificate's value. Total bill was almost P8,000. When I handed the GC, the manager came back saying he was "sorry". There was misunderstanding and that they in fact do not accept GC's of such nature. Remember this was a GC for "food and beverage". What kind of GC was being accepted in this restaurant?

MOMENTS 

Everything was done on my part to verify that we could, in fact, use this gift certificate without a hitch, right? If they said "no" when I inquired, I had so many other options in mind. But what if I didn't bring enough cash - or credit card - to pay post-dinner after the gift certificate was refused? How could I have avoided this potentially embarrassing predicament?

1. I rang them a day before January 1 to ask if they accept GCs on the aforementioned date. I was assured I could.

2. I specifically asked Berna if January 1 was a blackout date. She said no it wasn't. She has cleared this with a superior. 

3. Upon arrival, just before ordering, I handed Club Chaos' GC and reminded the waiter that we were going to avail of the gift certificate. Our server took the "card" but handed it back to us. No problem regarding use of the GC. I can give it to them upon payment.

The manager, Anselmo Buen Jr., said it was misunderstanding, but I did everything I could to avoid such incident. He ventured into this gibberish about having "two kinds of cards", yada yada yada. If there's anyone confused, it's the management of Red Ginger and Club Chaos for giving away useless GC's.

NOT ABOUT THE MONEY

The issue is not about the amount of cash I was shelling out. Heck, I paid more than P15,000 less than a week ago at the High Street Cafe (Shangri-La at the Fort). The almost-P8000 bill was money I was very capable of disposing without breaking the bank. But these people mislead us despite several efforts to double check.

NEW YEAR SCAM

Talk about New Year Scamming, right? I have never been scammed on a New Year's Day. This was something new and unexpected from a luxury establishment in one of Metro Manila's posh entertainment and casino resort hotels - the City of Dreams! How could I have avoided this debacle? It felt like a trap. Lesson to be learned: Do not use gift certificates you do not need! I shouldn't have used it. Period! It was so unnecessary. It almost spoiled my family's New Year's Day celebration.

VERY CHEAP

Isn't it very cheap to give away gift certificates that aren't honored? Such shameful stunt to actually expose people to impending embarrassment. If this is a PR job, then whoever arranged this should dig herself a hole, flagellate herself for 6 months or migrate to Timbuktu.

A WARNING

I am writing this to warn people. If you get gift certificates (GC's) from Club Chaos, City of Dreams and Red Ginger Restaurant, exercise caution before using them. There is something gravely dubious about their business practices. They even have the gall to distribute these spurious gift certificates to Inquirer editors as Christmas gifts. Relentlessly fearless, right? Even luxurious resort casinos run scams in their premises.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

15 oz angus beef satay at P510 per order

Honey and tamarind glazed pork belly at P450 per order. I ordered 5.

Spicy chicken wings

Singaporean crispy grouper - a big disappointment since this plate costs almost P900.

The Peanut (an ice cream variety) at about P400 a piece. I ordered 3.

Popiah (crispy fried barbecued duck spring rolls with iceberg lettuce and chili garlic dipping sauce at P360 per order - I got 3).

Complimentary cake. 

City of Dreams

Shangri-La at the Fort's High Street Cafe - Great Food, Modern Posh and Fine Dine

Every Christmas, I take my family to a special place. This year, I decided it was going to be at the High Street Cafe in Shangri-La at the Fort in Bonifacio Global City. 

The term "cafe" seems to be a misnomer here. After all, the term refers to "a small restaurant serving coffee, beverages, and light meals". But use of the term has evolved. Posh hotels now use this as a more welcoming name. Cafe, after all, is "less intimidating" for some people. But take Manila Hotel's "Cafe Ilang Ilang" or New World Hotel's "Cafe 1228". Nothing about these places are small, average or light weight, right?

The place must have been conceived to accommodate a limited crowd, even on special dates like Christmas, New Year. It also follows two dining shifts for night  diners: the first set starts at 6:30 PM and should wrap up at 8:30 PM, which is the start of the second set that wraps up at 10:30 PM (the official closing time). Having said this, reservations are necessary (63-2- 264-9069 extension 213). 

As a result, the dining experience doesn't seem like one big fiesta. Personally, I do not like clutter, manual or otherwise. Here, there's no chaos to speak of unlike in Circles Restaurant in their Ayala branch. More importantly, there's no ridiculous rule to actually go to their branch on the morning of the booked date just to pay for a reservation fee - the most ludicrous practice I have ever encountered in my life. Just call, book your seats and show up. Just as they do in the modern, civilized world!

High Street Cafe doesn't disappoint! 

The place is cozy, employing a palette of muted colors and home-style interiors. It has this very comfortable vibe. There are huge shelves all around and 9 kitchen stations (buffet stations) serving mostly Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian (laksa), Filipino cuisine. There's a table for frozen shrimps, lobsters, crabs, mussels, oysters and a variety of fish; another for desserts and fruits, 2 choices of drinks (lemon iced tea and fruit drink), and another table for breads and cheeses.

Take your crabs and shrimps and have them grilled or cooked with butter garlic - or however you want them done.

Their lechon (suckling roast pig) is constantly replenished and, more importantly, fresh, tasty and succulent. So is their lechon paksiw, which is among my favorites. I was looking for the "mango crab" which was recommended by someone, but it wasn't being served. No tempura either. I was also looking for their Dong Bao Claypot Rice which was nowhere to be found either. This must signify that menu changes every so often - for variety, which is a good thing.

TO HEAVEN AND BACK

Among the desserts, I loved their "Burnt Rice" Ice Cream (which smelled like pinipig or burnt rice) and their Molten Lava Cake which will send you to heaven and back. This should not be missed. Just proceed to the dessert table and order one. They'll prepare it and you can pick it up in 7 minutes. Have a slice of their bread pudding - it is delicious! 

The atmosphere in High Street Cafe is laidback. The crowd isn't rowdy or noisy so you can enjoy your conversations and light banter with friends or family. A senior among your crowd? Use their senior citizen card for a big discount. Mind you, the cut is considerable.

Shangri-La at the Fort is located at 30th Street, corner 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City. They've adequate parking (5-level basement parking) within the premises - so don't look elsewhere. I paid PhP100 for our 2.5 hours parking. 

Don't forget to look up the ceiling at the lobby to check out their gorgeous and grand chandelier set! Sia would be proud to have sung for it. 

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Brazo de Mercedes (left), cashew tart, bread pudding.

Break that upper crust for your sinful Molten Lava Cake

The grand chandelier at the lobby

#highstreetcafe   #shangrilaatthefort   #finedining   #manila

Mesmerizing Culinary Show at Cebu City's Anzani Restaurant

One lazy night in Cebu, I suddenly had the urge to try something different. I debated if I go to a Spanish restaurant called Arana (recommended by a friend) or an Italian restaurant called Anzani (mostly because I had a problem with Arana's location). After checking out directions, I decided with Anzani. Like the previous restaurant, Anzani is urban chic and ultra modern, with a tablet used as a menu. What's with Cebu and all these modern trappings? I haven't even encountered a tablet-wielding restaurant in Manila yet here I am experiencing tablet-ordering twice in Cebu. I badgered the waitress to help me out with my full course. I mean, If I was gonna pay an arm and a leg, I might as well make it right and not leave it to chance. The choice was either a halibut or a sea bass, each one an obscure concept for me - so I went with the price.

STEPS IN SEA BASS DINING

1. A sous chef brings a table filled with culinary gadgets and a huge bandehado of fish sitting on the platter - all COVERED WITH ROCK SALT! So it's a fish that looked like it's wrapped in icing!

2. Sous chef takes the mallet handed over to him. I was wide-eyed with amazement. This was a show right in front of me. Then he hammers the salt-covered fish until it breaks into crumbs.

3. Out pops the sea bass. He skins it, then pours lemonade and olive oil over the fish meat.

4. He carefully slices through its length, then debones in exquisite fashion.

5. Then he cuts the meat into pieces and puts them on my plate cluttered with salad.

6. If it were malansa, then there'd be injustice in the world to pay a thousand bucks for this fish alone, right?

7. Masticate, swallow, then sip a glass of chianti, imagining this was Villa Raiano Fiano di Avellino. But heck, I'd also settle for a coca cola.

SOUP CHOREOGRAPHY

The soup was choreographed too. An empty plate had a mound of cappuccino at its center, with bits of tendrils of whathaveyous, then the waitress carefully pours the mushroom soup around and around the cappuccino island until its full. I was hypnotized. The end.

I liked how everything turned out... like going out for a night at the theatre, Only it was performing "food preparation". I had to consciously shut down my jaw. Sorry po, taga Maynila lang. ;)

Anzani is a bit pricey. Let's say Seychelles-dining caliber. Mario Anzani is the Italian chef and owner. One can choose to dine inside (like me) or outside overlooking Nivel Hills, still in Cebu City. Next door is the more laidback Champagne Room.

Anzani Restaurant is located at Panorama Heights, Nivel Hills, Lahug, Cebu City. It's just north of the Gorordo Road driving towards Tops. A bystander initially pointed us to Sanson (the Rockwell compound). A JY Square is accessible about less than a kilometer away. Call them at (032) 232 7375. They're usually open until 12 midnight, with last order at 10:30PM though I did notice arrivals at almost 11. 

This is the Eye in the Sky.

Mushroom soup

Pick a bread, and i chose this perched on a pot.

Fish covered with rock salt, now crumbling into pieces after getting struck with a mallet.

Sous chef garnishes my sea bass with olive oil and lemonade, after skinning it. Then he cuts through it and exquisitely debones it.

At the wine room, a photo of The Sophia Loren hangs down.

Terrace tables of Panorama Heights in Nivel Hills. Yes, it's still part of Cebu City.

Tablet ordering (again) in Cebu City.

#food # dining #gastronomy #foodtrip #cebucity #foodporn