| Imagine the beauty in Cebu…… | | | | in foodie heaven. |
| White-sand beaches and dive sites. World-class | | | | Even before we had seen our room – and what |
| resorts. Magellan’s Cross. The Santo Niño. Tops. | | | | delightful rooms Waterfront Cebu has – we were |
| Guitars. Dried mangoes. Lechon Cebu. Rosquillos. Otap. | | | | already having lunch at Uno with Waterfront |
| Chicharong Carcar. Danggit. And some of the | | | | F&B marketing communications manager Kaye |
| prettiest chanteuses in the world. | | | | Luym. There we met the Waterfront culinary team: |
| Add one more to this growing list of Cebuano | | | | Waterfront group executive chef Nick Anderson, |
| wonders: Gourmet Walk. | | | | Waterfront Cebu executive chef Anders Hallden, |
| Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino has designed | | | | F&B director Janine T. De Padua, and Rooms |
| a unique dining experience for foodies looking for the | | | | marketing communications manager Renee Villasin. |
| next best thing. Can’t make up your mind what | | | | During the course of our stay, we would be |
| you want for dinner in the Queen City of the South? | | | | acquainted of all the hotel’s different culinary |
| The barkada wants to hop from one restaurant to | | | | minds. |
| another in a convenient venue? Then Gourmet Walk | | | | Uno is a modern interactive lifestyle concept |
| is definitely for you. | | | | restaurant with four active cooking stations, including |
| Waterfront Cebu’s Gourmet Walk is exactly | | | | a noodle chef who pulls noodles the whole day. And |
| that: an alley with a selection of restaurants that | | | | yes, they do serve local delicacies here, including the |
| offers foodies all their hearts’ — and | | | | famous lechon Cebu and a selection of meat and |
| tummies’ — desire. If you have a hankering | | | | seafood for grilling sugba-style. |
| for freshly-cooked dim sum, roast duck, and yummy | | | | Tin Gow is the oldest restaurant on the walk, |
| tofu, then enter Tin Gow, already a Cebuano | | | | pre-dating Waterfront’s purchase and |
| institution when it comes to fine Chinese cooking. For | | | | management of the property. It is reputed to be the |
| something fresh-tasting and blissfully pleasant to the | | | | premier Chinese restaurant in the city, serving popular |
| eye, then it’s Japanese at Mizu. For a feel of the | | | | Cantonese and Szechuan cuisine. The restaurant is up |
| Parisian sidewalk café life and mouthwatering | | | | for renovation any time now, and when it reopens, it |
| cakes and its exclusive flavored brazo de Mercedes, | | | | will surely be another feather in Waterfront |
| Madeleine is it. If you want something Italian and | | | | Cebu’s cap of culinary wonders. |
| hearty, or perhaps just a crusty pizza and wine or | | | | Mizu offers Japanese dining in a luxe Zen-like setting. |
| grappa, then head off to La Gondola. For after-hours | | | | With four private rooms that are designed like gift |
| cocktails and a selection of innovative pica-pica, then | | | | boxes set separately from the main dining area and a |
| click your heels and look for Treff, which has an al | | | | teppanyaki room, it is a popular venue for business |
| fresco smoking lounge. For a taste of Pinoy favorites | | | | lunch and dinner meetings. Apart from its menu of |
| — including Cebuano specialties — and a | | | | Japanese favorites, it has a selection of |
| sampling of everything the other restaurants have to | | | | picture-pretty desserts as well as a collection of |
| offer, then make Uno your first stop at Gourmet | | | | premium wines and spirits, including sake and shoju. It |
| Walk. | | | | also serves UCC Coffee from Japan. |
| Designed as a one-stop gourmet destination, this | | | | The newest kid on the block is La Gondola. After |
| unique collection of restaurants takes the guesswork | | | | two months of extensive renovation early this year, |
| out of dining. With dining a year-round celebration in | | | | it reopened with much acclaim last July. This early, it |
| Cebu, Waterfront Cebu’s innovative lineup of | | | | is one of the jewels at Waterfront Cebu’s |
| restaurants ensures guests get the best of all worlds. | | | | Gourmet Walk, attracting discerning diners looking for |
| At Gourmet Walk, diners literally take a walk through | | | | more than the usual pizza and pasta. |
| an alley of restaurants. The hotel’s west wing | | | | Madeleine serves French-inspired bread and pastries, |
| has been transformed into a European walkway: | | | | as well as chef Gab’s famous confections of |
| cobblestoned flooring, a painted ceiling of fluffy white | | | | chocolate, cakes, quiches and freshly-baked breads. |
| clouds on an azure sky, and walls painted with a | | | | Don’t miss the flavored brazo de Mercedes, |
| trompe l’oeil of fountains, trees and other | | | | especially the ube and Oreo variants, which are |
| architectural detail. There are even quaint wooden | | | | perfect with coffee while lazing away an empty |
| park benches and lampposts to add to the mood. | | | | afternoon. |
| The light even changes as the day progresses. In the | | | | When the day is over and a nightcap is in order, then |
| morning, it’s a soft white light to bring into | | | | Treff will delight you. It is an all-white and |
| Gourmet Walk some of Cebu’s natural sunshine; | | | | glass-encased bar that opens at happy hour and |
| in the afternoon, the lights turn a mellow yellow to | | | | closes after midnight. Aside from its selection of |
| evoke the setting sun. And at night, the lights dim | | | | beer, wine and spirits, it also serves ingenious |
| down and the lampposts burn even more brightly to | | | | pica-pica that will surely add spice to your evening. |
| suggest an evening walk in the park. | | | | What I find appealing about Waterfront’s |
| All the restaurants at Gourmet Walk are under the | | | | Gourmet Walk is that the property’s chefs are |
| seasoned management of Waterfront Cebu | | | | always on hand to assist diners. Chef Anders says |
| executive chef Anders Hallden. Working with him are | | | | they can always meet the needs of diners – be |
| the hotel’s different chefs who provide the | | | | it in adjusting dishes to suit personal preferences, or |
| authentic flavors the different restaurants offer: sous | | | | just to have something different from the usual |
| chef Linda Hou for the dim sum treats and | | | | – so long as the ingredients are available in the |
| canapés at Uno; Chinese chef Low Yuen Kong for | | | | kitchen. |
| the sumptuous Chinese feasts at Tin Gow; Japanese | | | | If all that talk of food got you hungry, then take |
| chef Ken Imamura for the delicate yet delicious | | | | note of some culinary favorites we enjoyed during |
| entrees at Mizu; Italian chef Vito Froio for the | | | | our weekend at Waterfront Cebu: the |
| authentic Italian meals at La Gondola; and pastry chef | | | | make-your-own sandwich counter at Uno, the |
| Gabriel Garcia for the wonderful cakes and pastries | | | | miso-marinated gindara teriyaki at Mizu, the |
| at the hotel’s different outlets. | | | | Waterfront chocolate delice and brazo de ube at |
| It was a maddening weekend at Waterfront Cebu | | | | Madeleine, the homemade tortellini with chicken and |
| when we visited to explore Gourmet Walk. There | | | | Parma ham filling at La Gondola, and the vegetarian |
| was no need to leave the hotel for breakfast, lunch, | | | | cake at the Lobby Lounge. For all these, our stay at |
| merienda or dinner – not unless you have a | | | | Waterfront Cebu was a complete joy. |
| craving for the local sutokil. Otherwise, we were just | | | | |