New and old Cebu celebrated in annual food fest
Dozens of dishes ranging from the classic to the contemporary were served to excited guests who trooped to the second edition of “Taste Cebu,” the gastronomic event mounted by Nustar Resort in the “Queen City of the South.”
The Nustar Grand Ballroom was transformed into an interactive museum of culinary delights on Jan. 17, with three different zones: Old Cebu, New Cebu, and Old Meets New.
Last year, “Taste Cebu” was held in June. But the team decided to move the 2025 edition earlier, to coincide with the celebration of the Sinulog Festival, and serve as a kickoff event for the weekend festivities.
The solihiya pattern, the signature design element throughout the property, also found its way inside the ballroom with an enlarged rendition on the ceiling.
A tandem of ladies weaving palm fronds for the puso, steamed rice wrapped in palm leaves, welcomed guests.
During the first “Taste Cebu” event, the venue was split into three areas to showcase dishes based on seaside, highlands, and the city.
“This year features a tableau of vintage Cebuano cuisine, and there’s new Cebu cuisine by young, promising, award-winning culinary students, and then one from our own chefs,” Roel Constantino, Nustar Resort and Casino general manager for hotels, told Lifestyle.
Heirloom recipes
The team revisited old kitchens of the city for the Old Cebu zone. “This is food that has been passed on from generation to generation. Think nostalgia, think comfort food that our grandparents knew and loved,” he said.
The Old Cebu zone, one of the most popular areas that saw a long queue of people, offered pungko-pungko, or a collection of fried street food; empanada; tuslob buwa made of pig’s brain and liver; tinubaang manok; and the hearty pochero. Also served were classic Cebuano sweet fare like binignit, masareal, torta, puto, and sikwate, a hot chocolate drink.
Nustar partnered with the top universities in Cebu for the New Cebu zone, where guests enjoyed a fresh take on preparing and presenting food, such as sisig made with the takyong slug, xiao long bao stuffed with balbacua or stewed beef, and jalapeño poppers whose breading was infused with ginabot or the Cebuano take on chicharong bulaklak.
Taste Cebu awarded certificates to the participants from University of Cebu, University of San Carlos, University of San Jose Recoletos, University of Southern Philippines-Foundation, and the American International Culinary and Hospitality Institute.
Future of F&B
Katrina Mae de Jesus, Nustar Resort and Casino’s AVP for business development and brand marketing, shared with Lifestyle how excited she was about the partnership. “The five schools will be the future of F&B (food and beverage) here in Cebu. And we are proud that we’re showcasing them first here,” she said.
A third tasting zone showcased Nustar’s homegrown culinary talent, headed by executive chef Martin Rebolledo, who, according to Constantino, came up with a “more progressive, more daring presentation” of menu items.
The popular Filipino blood stew dish dinuguan was served as a sausage, while the bulalo or beef bone marrow found its way into an hors d’oeuvre with prawns and shallots via the Beef & Reef Bulalo.
The Nustar Culinary team also came up with balut chawanmushi, danggit Biscuit, and charred pintos with calderetang kambing, all of which stretched the imagination as to how far Cebuano dishes can go.
The experimentation continued with sweets, including sikwate pralines with otap, sikwate mousse, torta cathedral, mango pandan with lemongrass jelly, mango chocolate rosquillos, and mango pianono.
Even the coconut liquor tuba received a fancy makeover through the bar offerings of turon cocktail, kinutil splash cocktail, tuba with ginger delight, and Alunsina with triple sec and chili.
One of the highlights of the event was the lechon station where the world-class Cebuano roasted pig was served six ways: classic lechon chopped into bite-size pieces, lechon empanada, lechon taco, lechon quesadilla, lechon chimichanga, and the lechon roll served with hoisin sauce.
Constantino said Taste Cebu will now be held every January. “This is a celebration of Cebu’s culinary heritage. We felt that timing it with Sinulog would be more fitting. Because Sinulog, after all, is a celebration of everything that is Cebu,” he said.
Every year, Taste Cebu will offer something new, said De Jesus. “There is so much to explore here in Cebu. Next year, maybe we’ll bring the experience to the ocean. We’ll probably make it three days, or one full day. We’ll think of other ways to make sure that we give a different experience every year,” she said.
