Ang Dabawenyo

Contrary to expectation, I had a very enjoyable and restful stay in Cebu — exactly what I’d been pining for. The Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City provided a relaxing respite for a stressed-out worker bee who hadn’t had a vacation in more than a year!

The Waterfront in Lahug is one of the largest hotels in Metro Cebu. The property has a total of 561 guest rooms, in all of 18 floors. In the picture, I wasn’t just posing — they really do have wireless Internet access in all of their rooms. They also have free Wifi at the expansive lobby.

Attached to the hotel is a convention center, where large-scale events such as the Philippine Ad Congress have been held. The Waterfront is also home to PAGCOR — it’s one of the largest in the Philippines, if I’m not mistaken. If you’d like to try your luck, have a go at the hundreds of slot machines or card tables that they have.

What I appreciate the most about the hotel is its location. It’s a stone’s throw away from the AsiaTown I.T. Park, where, aside from the prerequisite high-tech firms, there are nice shops and leisure establishments. The hotel is also just a 40-peso taxi ride away from the Ayala Center, Cebu’s newest mall and entertainment complex.

I think I spent half my time in Cebu at Ayala. After all, I came here for a much-deserved vacation, so I didn’t feel compelled to ply the touristy route. (I couldn’t avoid running into a potential business project, though… but I’m not complaining!)

There wasn’t enough time to sample the myriad culinary offerings of the Queen City, but I did get to try some proudly Cebu-grown restaurants. Lunch one day at Roma•mia, an Italian chain, was a very tasty cup (the size of a small bowl) of minestrone, and a platter of spaghetti, pizza and chicken. Also tried Pier One @ The Walk, but the food wasn’t all that impressive; we wanted to try Mooon (yep, 3 o’s), which is below Pier One, but each time we went they had a long waitlist.

A fusion-food place, oh georg!, was a treat. I regret that I didn’t take note of the dishes we had, but all of them were really good! It’s at the ground floor of Ayala Center, sitting between two wings called Paseo Ciudad and Paseo Marina.

Outside The Walk (which is inside the I.T. Park) is a restaurant that we used to have in Davao, but originated in Zamboanga. As expected, the grilled delicacies of Alavar de Cebu was sinfully delectable. Their Alavar Rice — a cup of high-grade rice swimming in a plateful of aligui (crab fat) — was to die for!

I also had a pleasant get-together with bloggers of Cebu at Bo’s Coffee Club on Osmeña Avenue. The Bo’s brand is originally from Cebu, and there are currently two franchisees in Davao; in Cebu, there are countless branches of this homegrown café.

My stay in Cebu City has been quite satisfying. I wish I could remain for a few more days, but I really don’t need to. My relaxing and rejuvenating stay is enough to allow me to look forward to another trip to the capital of the Visayas.