Balay sa Busay Cebu
With the usual metro dining scene getting a bit trite, the trend of dining-with-a-view has slowly been increasing within the years, yet only a few have been noted to serve enticing food. Of course, if I have to drive up to Busay for a meal, the food better be worth it since it’s about a 25-minute drive up from Lahug.
Balay sa Busay, a recently opened restaurant along the road leading up to Top Viewing Deck, is making a buzz with its intriguing cuisine composing of all-time Filipino favorite dishes with a spin. I, together with fellow Cebu Fashion Bloggers Jean and Marco, checked out the restaurant before dinner time last Friday to try the bill of fare.
Still on their soft opening, construction on the second level was still in progress the during our visit. The first level, the indoor and patio dining areas, including the function hall are all set and ready to accommodate guests. The patio offers a great vantage of Metro Cebu.
Balay sa Busay Restaurant
Marco, Jean and Doyzkie at Balay sa Busay Cebu
Patio Dining Area
View from the Porch
Balay sa Busay offers a spread of Filipino favorites with a playful mix of familiar flavors. I only tried a few of the dishes, four to be exact – Hamonada sa among Bukid, Adobong Binisaya, Pancit-Batil- Patong and Pochero Rice, and each was satisfyingly good.
Three of the dishes I’ve sampled were fiesta staples – fare that we commonly eat during town fiestas. Hamonada sa among bukid is a slab of tender pork meat in sweet and fruity thickened sauce made with pineapple and brown sugar. Interestingly it’s not super sweet as it looks, and gives a bit of burnt, smokey caramel taste with a hint of pineapple sweetness. Best paired with steaming white rice!
Pancit-batil-patong is made with tender miki noodles, sautéed meats and vegetables along with a bowl of beef stock and egg. The noodles itself is already flavorful, but pouring the stock over the noodles made it even tastier. Plus the crunch from the golden fried pork gives it a delicious, contrasting texture.
Adobong Binisaya at Balay sa Busay is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and a bite gives out a delectable mix of tender meat and fat taste that we all all love from the dish.
And for many of us Filipinos, a feast wouldn’t really be complete without rice. To make the meal more exciting, we had the Pochero Rice – a mix of corn, sliced carrots, blanched cabbage, tender beef strips in a bed of rice, with bone marrow on the side which will be mixed in the sizzling pot. Their version of the dish is very similar to the Korean bibimbap but with flavors that’s we Filipinos grew up with.
Balay sa Busay’s Progressive Cusine
Adobong Binisaya
Sizzling Binga
Pochero Rice
For the drinks, I enjoyed the refreshing combination of buko juice, matcha and milk that has been blended with ice. Perfect thirst quencher on a hot day. You might be thinking the drink has a strong earthy green tea taste, but this concoction is a balance of flavors – first from the refreshing coco water which goes milky midway and a tinge of earthiness from the matcha. Try it! And the sago’t gulaman can pass as a dessert already. 😉
Sago’t Gulaman and Matcha Buko
Dining at Balay sa Busay reminds me of an intimate barrio fiesta where we share satisfying food, over good laughs while catching up with friends and family. I’ll surely come back real soon to try the other offerings on the menu.
Visit Balay sa Busay at Cebu Tops Road Busay, Cebu City. They are open from 11:00AM to 10:00PM from Mondays to Thursdays, and 11:00AM to 11:00PM from Fridays to Sundays.
Magal Cebu Branch’s customers are mostly Koreans, making Filipino diners somehow feel like tourists.
With the national launch of the Starbucks Summer Beverages 2018, also comes the local release of Nitro Cold Brew in Cebu. It’s cold brew-slow-steeped for a smooth taste infused with nitrogen for a naturally sweet flavor cascading, velvety crema. Nitro Cold Brew is available only in two Cebu branches – The Terraces Ayalaand Vibo Axis Branches.
TGI Fridays American Bar & Grill opens its second branch in Cebu at Robinsons Galleria. Staying true to time-honored traditions which revolves around the brand’s hearty American-style food and drinks, efficient and cheerful service and a lively bar manned by skilled bartenders who give a good show to delight guests.
Sophia, Jesse, Marco and I were driving to Cebu City after a weekend in Solea Mactan, and agreed on dropping by Ayskend’han and try some of their offerings.
Even in a country where rice is the staple, everyone knows what a Caesar Salad is. And I personally think putting it in a wrap makes it a bit exciting. Served in a bowl or a wrap, Hail Caesar is made with Romaine, shaved parmesan, grated eggs, croutons and bacon bits with the classic Caesar dressing.
