We flew from Manila to Cebu via Cebu Pacific (click here for the website ) which took about 1hr 15 mins. The interesting part about flying Cebu Pacific is, they organized quiz on the flight ! The stewardess will ask the questions and the passenger that has her/his hands up first gets to answer and win a prize , A tote bag or something. Usually 3 questions will be asked and centers around the air carrier, , e.g name 5 international destination that Cebu Pacific flies to, so if you plan on winning something, do some homework first ! I wonder will MAS or Airasia have something like this in the future ?
Our host had kindly arranged for someone to pick us up from the airport and we decide to go directly to the restaurant for a drink before meals rather than to check-in.And oh..we are having dinner at the Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant -which serves Filipino food.
While waiting for our host- the guys had some San Miguel ( Filipino beer) while I opted for a coconut ( =Buko in tagalog) drink . My drink didn’t arrive in it’s original container ( coconut) but in a glass, and it was only ¾ full ! ( or ¼ empty – you pessimmist ! )
Nice, friendly , casual ambience at the Golden Cowrie , wooden tables, wooden deco, warm lights and plates lined with banana leaves. Rice is bottomless and the waiters come around carrying the rice in a container hung around their torso.
Baked scallops…hmm..my eyes lit up when this first dish arrived. The fresh scallops were baked in rich santan – like ayam percik style..yummyyy
Tuna Fingers – minced tuna formed into fingers and fried, this was pretty good, goes very well with the mayo sauce
Lapu-lapu (a type of red grouper) soup -this is like tom-yam soup minus the spiciness and extra on the sourness, this was overly sour for me.
Fried squid in sauce- our host mentioned this is the traditional way of cooking squid- in thick black gravy, this was pretty nice, fresh and springy squid.
Grilled fish – the sweetness of fresh fish grilled over a low fire… -ahhh…
Crispy pata (Pork knuckles ) -the outer skin was deep fried to a crisp, the meat was tender and well marinated. Oink if you love pork. OINK OINK OINK
Sisig – this is minced pork plus chili, onion, egg seasoned with calamansi ( lime) and vinegar – on a sizzling hot plate , the original sisig was made from chopped part of a pigs head -ears, snout, brain etc but now ‘simplified’ to minced meat. This was nice. Goes well with beers. My host commented- ‘very high in cholesterol , but never mind, we don’t eat this everyday’ and later add on to that ‘ eat today, die tomorrow never mind’
I was already full..but who could resist the temptation of a Halo-halo ( halo = ‘mix’ in Tagalog). Halo-halo is the Filipino version of the ice-kacang… What a wonderful way to end a very enjoyable meal…..
Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant
3.5km N of Cebu City, Salinas Dr, Lahug
Tel : +63(32) 233-4243, +63(32) 233-4670
Operating hours :
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
6:00 pm – 10 pm (Daily)
Bual Bual Kosong 