Wang Shan Lo Chinese Cuisine All You Can Eat Buffet in Cebu

It's hardly difficult to go wrong with chinese restaurants and with one that has a great view of Cebu's mountains and skyscrapers, we were bound to enjoy every inch of Wang Shan Lo Chinese Cuisine. And for only Php888 package (Crown Regency SkyWalk, Lunch buffet, and 4D movie), it was all worth it. As we entered the restaurant, the aroma of the food tingled our senses. This is definitely a feast for those who are starving - better not have breakfast before this. Harhar. There was a myriad of stainless steel warmers that saved customers from stale food and servers for specialty dishes to help out. Since there were a lot of patrons in this restaurant, seating was a bit of a dilemma. Luckily, the staff and owner (educated guess) were there to assist us. And true enough, the "0wner" advised us to get plates and food first as they scour the land for a table. I had my eye on the yang chow fried rice the moment we hit the restau and so I went for it and filled a fifth of my plate. Normally, I do not eat rice during fiestas and buffets to make room for all the other foodies. But for yang chow fried rice, I'll make an exception (westlife song: Am I supposed to leave you now when you're looking like that). After so, I filled up on fried chicken, lapu-lapu with corn sauce (looks like siarsado), mixed seafoods - i.e. "I took all the shrimps and did not bother with the rest" - sweet spare ribs, and a whole lot more. Sometimes, in buffets, I no longer bother with the names and just  trust my visual instinct. Although, I'm a soup junkie especially with chinese restaurants, sadly here, I did not bother to get myself a bowl. It wasn't because I was trying to save space because of the fried rice rather, fish lips were not really my thing. And so we were ushered to our table with seating good for 8 peepz eventhough we were only 3 in the group. And a lady customer seemed appaled that we took "her" seat. Although we were more than willing to share (eyes rolling), one of the waitresses assisted her on getting a different table. And so we dined. There were tasty food here and there but the ones that stood out in my opinion would be the spicy seafood and sweet spare ribs. One sauce from the chicken was also exceptional - with its grainy texture and sweet taste. And as always, I was not disappointed with my yang chow fried rice. However, my companion felt differently, he commented that almost everything tasted alike. I don't blame him as I felt the same way with other eat-all-you-can joints. And then there was dessert. There was an array of fruits and pastries that was literally served as eye candy. I had the other third of the trio to get huge servings so that we can share them. This was the part that I wished our seat was not right in the middle of Wang Shan Lo...L! And so he came back with a soup-ish yellow concoction, some pastries, and fruits. I went for the first one and not surprisingly, it was mango (we were Cebu for crying out loud) and it was delish. It was just light, mildly sweetened and was refreshing. We were even joking that with some ice and lil water, we can drink it as juice. And then there's the fruit and creme tarts. I enjoyed the crusty bottom topped with fruits and preserves. The last one I tasted was the eclairs. Honestly, they were quite disappointing. I've tasted way better eclairs that are significantly less expensive that those. But it did not end there. They brought out freshly cooked dumplings - siomai and siopao - and so I took a few of each. The siomai was very tasty. You can really savor the shredded-ground meat inside. And the kikoman sauce was cherry on top - a very powerful potion indeed. And then there's the siopao. Since there was no indicative dot, I opened the bun first to check if it was asado because I dot eat the bola-bola kind. Argh! Just my luck - the pale round meat met my eye I was about to dismiss the thought of putting it in my mouth when I remembered that if there are left overs, price of the plate would be doubled. What the heck, I took a bite of the white bun and yum! So I tasted the bola bola too and what a pleasant surprise. The meat was just rightly seasoned and steamed to perfection. I'll never look at bola bola the same way again. Price Range: Php888 (Adventure Package) All you can eat buffet price to be determined Verdict: Super Filling Landmark: Crown Regency Hotel Cebu Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Da Vinci's Pizza Da Vinci's Masterpiece in Cebu

Da Vinci's Masterpiece is truly a work of art. It is a white sauce pizza with Italian sausage, beef, pepperoni, mushroom, fresh tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. The crust is oven baked to perfection - not too thick, not too thin. Unlike other commercial pizzas available in the Philippines, Da Vinci's Masterpiece does not swim in oil and salt. The ingredients exudes freshness so you're not likely to get tired of devouring it day after day (well, only if you're not a rice person). Condiments are readily available such as catsup, hot sauce, and pepper. Although I normally shower my pizza with pepper, this time I just stuck with the piece itself. Like what they say, do not fix what's not broken. The place is a bit dimly lit and the place has a yellow aura which when combined could encourage eating - not that we needed additional empowerment. After three slices, I could definitely say that Da Vinci's well deserve its claim for pizza sauce fame. Price Range: Php128 - Php348 9" pizza = Php128 12" pizza = Php228 16" pizza = Php348 Verdict: Yumminess Landmark: There are 7 locations in Gaisano Tabunok, Paseo Arcenas Banawa, Osmena Blvd., I. T. Park Lagug, Centro Mandaue, Parkmall North Reclamation, and Marina Mall Mactan

Kublai Khan's Mongolian Eat-All-You-Can

Kublai Khan's

Mongolian Eat-All-You-Can

   

With the need of breakfast for kings, we roamed around Cebu for good eats. And we only had one rule, find a place that we do not have in Lipa. Finally, we reached an Ayala mall where we set foot to Kublai Khan's Mongolian Eat-All-You-Can.

I'm not really a big fan of eat all you can because more often than not, the food is tasteless or expensive and probably life threatening. Lol.

But here, you get 3 major choices: Eat All You Can, All You Can Fill Bowl, Check A Bowl. You also get to choose meals per bowl and desserts. And so we settled for the All You Can Fill Bowl wherein you just fill your bowl with meat, veggies, and spices from an array of choices and the cook will put it over fire.

So I carefully put together my meal with spring onions, red pepper, sweet potatoes, beef, pork, chicken, squid balls, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, teriyake sauce, barbeque sauce, rice and other random sauces and spices available. After that, I just handed it to the waitress and waited for my concoction to come together.

Upon seeing my cooked mixed rice, I felt overwhelmed and thought that I would not be able to finish it. Partly because it was filled to the rim and also because I drank 2 glasses of lemonade while waiting for it.

But the taste was just right for me. It was not too salty as most restaurant prepared food and it was because I made it that way. I bet anyone can be a kitchen superstar when eating here. Ha ha. But, on the other hand, things can go very wrong when this get to the control of someone who has not even a basic inkling of how flavors work. Oh well, I see only 0.0001% of this happening. And besides, the worst thing that could happen is them tasting something they could not fully enjoy or consume to the last grain.

So there you go. I would definitely recommend the place for those who are not in a much hurry. The place is affordable and fun to be in - you'd be entertained with all the aphorisms that Kublai Khan has.

Price Range: Php110 - Php250

Verdict: Choose your own FoodVenture

Landmark: Ayala Cebu

Matias Foodhauz Chicken Inasal, Pork BBQ, Chorizo in Cebu

Lights, camera, eatment! That was the first thought I had upon reaching Matias in Mandaue City. The smell of the grille is just mesmerizing. Chicken Inasal dominates the atmosphere and hot "puso" rice lay on the table waiting to be devoured by 3 starving batanguenos. Our local friends asked if we wanted utensils but nope, we wanted the whole experience and so we're in our fighting form ready to eat by hand. The wait is killing me.

Finally, when the food arrived, the inevitable happened - galit galit muna. We ate our heart out. I had a bit of everything and even learned a new way to cook rice - boiling grains of it while wrapped in banana leaves. The highlight of the meal is the grilled chorizo which really is sweet longganisa and not the chinese or spanish chorizo that others are familiar with. In addition, we had chicken inasal, a staple here, and pork barbeque.





Just imagine that Matias Foodhauz used to be a little eatery beside the owners home but because of its success, the house itself was converted to a huge homey restaurant catering to the business's expansion.