Dining Snippets in Cebu: Balai Café x Top of Cebu x Brique
BALAI CAFÉ
When I visited Cebu last November, my itinerary simply consisted of spending time with my Cebuano friends, and eating (obviously). Because of this limited itinerary, we needed to find a place to hang around in between lunch and dinner, so we ended up lounging in an extremely chill and picturesque coffee shop called Balai Café. The café is a converted residential property; thus, the dining area was spread across multiple rooms, each with its own name and personality.
We were fortunate enough to catch an artist sketching an elephant with the room’s entire wall as its canvass. His effortless strokes were mesmerizing to watch, and made our Balai Café experience even more special. We find ourselves simply gazing in awe every now and then.
FLAT WHITE
As we came here right after lunch, I didn’t really have enough appetite to try out its food offerings. It does offer more selections for hot dishes than your typical coffee shop as it adds rice dishes and salad options to the usual pasta and sandwich fare. I ended up with a cup of Flat White which surprisingly easily rivals Toby’s Estate’s. It’s definitely the coziest coffee shop I’ve ever been to, and it will certainly be a fixture in all of my future Cebu itineraries.
Balai Café
Date of Visit: November 26, 2017 with Marj Arcillo, John Cabrera and Eugene Peteros
TOP OF CEBU
Dining with a view usually comes at a hefty price in Manila as it’s usually supplemented by a fine dining atmosphere. You have the likes of 100 Revolving Restaurant and 22 Prime to name a few. Thus, I initially thought that Top of Cebu would be at a similar price point.
The dining establishment sat atop a huge property with indoor and alfresco dining areas. Despite its large seating capacity, hungry diners would usually still have to queue up due to the restaurant’s popularity.
Upon reading its menu, I was immediately surprised that its menu mostly consisted of classic and familiar Filipino dishes, meant for sharing, and at reasonable prices.
BACON CASHEW CHEESEBALL (P280)
We started off with the Bacon Cashew Cheeseball as our appetizer. The cheeseball consisted of bacon bits and cashew nuts rolled into a blend of cream cheese and cheddar cheese; served with a platter of crackers for dipping. There wasn’t really anything extraordinary about this starter as its name contributed more excitement than its actual taste. However, it makes for a filling appetizer that’s easy to share. As it was quite chilly, we each welcomed a bowl (or two) of their Seafood Tinola (P360). Its name was a bit misleading as it tasted more like sinigang. No matter what they call it though, one cannot deny the harmony of flavors that it contained. Its tart soup was paired with a hint of fish sauce, and sweetened with mangoes. It also came with a nice selection of fish and large shrimps.
CRISPY BICOL EXPRESS (P210)
Its Crispy Bicol Express was a steal for me as it boasted of crunchy vegetables stewed in a delicious coconut broth that delivered on both heat and flavor. The generous serving of tender pork belly slices that came with this dish doesn’t only help give it more value for your money; but also helps in neutralizing the heat.
BEEF SALPICAO (P350)
Despite having a decent serving of beef and slices of button mushrooms, the Beef Salpicao was no match against the Crispy Bicol Express. The dish undoubtedly delivered on taste, but it had more tones of Bistek Tagalog than Beef Salpicao, making it a bit confusing and puzzling for me.
Wherever you may be seated though, don’t forget to bask in the panoramic view the restaurant provides! Feel free to roam around and take photos around the property. They even have a very touristy photo op background ready for those group photos!
Top of Cebu
Date of Visit: November 26, 2017 with Marj Arcillo, John Cabrera and Eugene Peteros
BRIQUE
For my last meal in Cebu, my friend Marj brought me to a casual restaurant on the cinema level of Ayala Center Cebu. The interiors evoke a vibe of a hip trendy café which serves intercontinental dishes at reasonable prices. Most of its main dishes average at P250, and each already comes with a side.
FISH FILLET WITH PORCINI SPINACH BEURRE BLANC (P275)
As I was still recovering from all the food I’ve been stuffing myself with in this trip, I opted for a lighter fish fillet dish. It was a lamon-lamon fillet (which google translates to a blackspot tuskfish), which had a bite similar to that of sole. It bathed in a wine – infused butter cream sauce which also contained spinach leaves and porcini mushrooms. The sauce served as a perfect gravy substitute to the creamy mashed potatoes it was served with. My only suggestion is to serve the sauce on the side to enable one to appreciate the nuances of the fish meat itself. Nonetheless, it was a delicious parting meal to the Queen City of the South.
Brique
November 27, 2017 with Marj Arcillo
