First of all, I know you’re all wondering what Cooee means and most of all- how to pronounce it. For starters, it means “come over/ come here” in Aussie slang and it’s pronounced as koo-wee, preferably in a high pitched tone. Like I like to say, you learn something new every day!
Cooee, which is a passion venture between friends and their love of food and adventures, is home of baked, blended, brewed & juiced goodness. By the slogan alone, you can expect food offerings of desserts & pastries, smoothies/ smoothie bowls, brewed coffee and different juices. Aside from that they also offer all day breakfast variations, tropical poke bowls, healthy breakfast offerings, sandwiches and so much more!
I super love how the interiors are super chic and chill. It’s the perfect spot to catch up with friends, take photos and enjoy yummy food. I was really impressed by their selections and how affordable they are and the amount of their servings.
Just to give you an idea- a poke bowl with salmon sashimi (which a friend said was comparable to the ones in Bali) costs only P245.00!
While I won’t go into detail about every dish that we had (or will I), my general opinion is that if you have a knack for interesting dishes and tastes that are well loved around the world then you would definitely find comfort in their offering. It’s a great mix of tropical, sweet and savoury food and if you’re looking healthier options whether it be food or drinks- there’s definitely a wide selection to choose from here.
Ohana Bowl Bowl – P 245.00
Cooee Breakfast – P 245.00
Fruit Medley Waffles – P 195.00
Mahalo Bowl – 245.00 (Vegetarian dish!)
Aloha Bowl – P 245.00
Greek Yogurt Bowl – P245.00
Big Breakfast Combi – P 195.00
Mango Float
Tropikale Smoothie Bowl – P245.00
Strawberry Yogurt Bowl – P 245.00
Makai Bowl – P 245.00 (Seafood option!)
Acai Bowl – P 245.00
THE MENU
Cooee is currently located at the Ground Floor of Raintree Mall (behind Greenwich).
Operating days are Monday – Saturdays from 8:00 am – 12:00 mn
Amazing things happen when you least expect it, like being the first ever person to win The Great Cebuano Flatlay Challenge despite possibly being the worst person to take flatlay photos on the face of the earth.
It was a fun afternoon filled with food & creativity and I got to play with my food and win some prizes which was definitely the sweet and sour sauce on top of my spring rolls!
Here were my winning shots:
ROUND 1: Greens & spices
ROUND 2: Appetizers
ROUND 3: Main Course (I used my cover up for my background!)
ROUND 5: Dessert
Please do not ask my for flatlay tips because I won on sheer dumb luck!
I hope this post makes you as hungry as it made me,
Issa P.
Allow me to go out on a limb and dare use the term “best”- besides, how often have I ever used thisto describe a burger before? Only one other time and it was for this episode.
I don’t like throwing the word best around because we tend to use it so lightly nowadays but this time, I truly believe that I have found the one when it comes to burgers and let me tell you why:
Its price. At P75.00 for a regular burger and P90.00 for their signature cheeseburgers heavily smeared with their special cheese dip, you’d first take a look at it and think that 1 burger might not be enough- WRONG.
Because of it’s tightly packed meat and generous toppings, one burger is actually enough. It also goes well with a bottle of soda for P15.00.
The flavor. At D&M Cafe, they use the finest quality ingredients, making sure that this brings out the best taste in their recipes. From the fresh, soft buns; tender & flavorful meat and especially their special cheese sauce that you can also order separately as a dip.
The taste. While some burger joints like to garnish their burgers with overbearing sauces, I find my favorite aspect of this cheese burger is that I still know what I’m eating, I can feel the extra kick & flavor they’ve added to the dish and everything works so well together, creating a wonderful harmony in my mouth. It’s not a combination of a million things that leaves you wondering what you’re eating- it is simply a burger and that is, after all, what I came for.
The effect. I walked into D&M Cafe thinking with my stomach and not my head. I had this grand illusion that I was going to eat everything on the menu and go back on my merry way- WRONG AGAIN. While a full stomach is good, it was the effect of such good food that impressed me the most. You see, I blog about food round the clock almost and so, it’s become hard to come by a dish/ dishes that blow me away, but here I am, not only blown but completely swept away by the food & the charm that D&M Cafe has to offer.
Admittedly, this cafe is still in it’s early stages of life having just opened about a month or so ago. It is currently run by the American & Filipina chef couple who recently moved to the Philippines to share their love of food & pastries with us Cebuanos.
If you’ve got a sweet tooth, make sure to stock up on their cookies & brownies because they are absolutely bomb especially the fudge brownie and the butter scotch which are my faves!
Other must tries are the rice toppings that sell for P65.00 (Chicken Teriyaki) & P75.00 (Pork Stroganoff & Sausage Gravy).
Urgello is surprisingly popping up with great, quaint little shops around the area that caters to students, residents and the adventurous foodies in Cebu, Fry High being one of them.
We’re always looking for new places to eat near our place (because let’s be honest, there aren’t too many of them in the South) so when I got the invitation to check out the place, I couldn’t pass it off!
To paint you a pretty picture, Fry High is located along the busy roads of J. Urgello street or along Sacred Heart Hospital. It’s a small shop at the side of the road and you have to keep an open eye out for it or you could possibly miss it. Be extra attentive because once you spot interiors that are beautifully plastered with black and white murals, you’ve found the right place! Unfortunately, there is no parking in front of the store but you can park at a walking distance from it.
As I scanned the menu, I was delighted at how affordable each meal was. With meals ranging from P20.00- P99.00, I then asked myself if the food, at those prices, could possibly be any good. I mean, something that costs this cheap can’t be THAT good, right? Wrong, again.
I was able to gather that Fry High isn’t just an affordable place to dine after class or after a drunken night out, it’s a product of love. The owner of this establishment loves to cook and has an amazing way of putting a twist on already interesting pieces which are evident in dishes such as: maling sticks, dynamite, corndoggy, burger high, canton toppings, chicken proven, tuna high flakes, cheesedog balls and a lot more!
Paolo and I made a visit during dinner time and here are the photos:
As you already know, I cannot stand spicy food so I kept a nice distance from the dynamite and sisig but curiosity got the best of me and I tried it out anyways. I enjoyed both until the spice kicked in then, I was downing glasses of water until I couldn’t anymore. Paolo, on the other hand, went to town with them and ended up finishing my left overs.
We truly enjoyed our experience there and came home with full stomachs and hearts. My favorites were the ginabot, chicken and calamares but I can’t wait to go back and try out their corndoggy, burger high, batchoy, pancit canton toppings, proven and cheesedog balls. Now, that’s obviously a lot of food I want to try which means, I’ll have to make multiple trips which I completely do not mind. The ambiance there is super chill and they even have board games for you to enjoy while waiting or after enjoying your meal.
Fry High is open all day, everyday and can accommodate around 20 people. You can also hold private events there that can be coursed through their Facebook page.
Bring cash when you visit and make sure to come on an empty stomach!
Spoiled and bratty. Those are the two things people who really know me will actually tell you if you asked them to describe me. Of course, those aren’t my only identifiers but considering I did not grow up with a silver spoon, it’s a pretty entitled thing to be- for anyone, actually.
Prior to moving out and living on my own, I had only occasionally cleaned at school (where I would even try escape), I had never really learned how to cook, I had never washed clothes (except for my ?) and yaya was my favorite word.
Justinne of BabeForFood tried to help me on a couple of occasions with an agreement that I would share my little knowledge of fashion if she taught me how to cook- we decided to turn it into a Youtube series which was short lived due to our busy schedules. You can watch the videos and be the judge….
The first two times I moved out, I moved to my grandparents’ house and paid rent but even then, I was never required to clean my room, cook or do my own laundry. I was out most of the time anyways so I never had to cook! On one occasion, I tried to sweep the floor at my office due to a confetti related incident and bruised my rib- sweeping in 3 inch heels probably wasn’t the best idea but hey. lol.
When I FINALLY moved out to live with my big, bad self, I eventually learned how to clean my space but I would call my yaya nonstop asking her for help with the dumbest things which she would blatantly reply to me with a, “HAAAAY, ISSA! UNSAON NALANG NIMO UG MA MINYO KA? WA JUD KAY NAHIBAWAN!” which I would reply to with a, “kuyog man ka nako forever.” It’s been about 2 years since but honestly, sometimes I still call her but this time just to say hi and that I miss her.
Yaya Chris with “other” child ? (and our other helper, Baby, who also had a baby. lol)
Earlier this year, P & I decided to get our own place which is when it dawned on me that I had to learn how cook… and fast! He has always been the chef between the two of us, having been able to take culinary classes at a local school here in Cebu, and while he was so great at cooking, little Issa was even too scared to touch raw meat. I didn’t want to learn how to cook just for P, let’s get one thing clear. But let’s be real, at 26 years old, it was about time- hell, it was overdue! We don’t live in the early 90’s anymore where help can easily be found- we can’t afford a kusinera or a helper and more than that, I also don’t feel like starving.
Coincidentally, it was also around this time that I had been invited to more and more food events and some of them would have activities where they would teach us how to make certain dishes. This sparked my interest in food and though I could only make the dishes that were taught to me, I would proudly bring these new found semi-skills home and show them off to P.
Slowly, I had developed an interest in food and in eating healthier which encouraged me even more to learn how to start cooking or “assembling” food. I would spend hours on Pinterest, as I still do, pinning recipes for inspiration. Here’s my board!
I started out with breakfast bowls because I had the intentions of eating healthier and well, for the obvious reasons that it’s freakin’ easy to make. Here are a few of my creations:
Bfast bowls turned into salads and sandwiches which is honestly the same thing except now you have to cook ham or your meat of choice:
And since I learned how to cook rice (after a couple weeks of either cooking it too dry or too wet. You literally just add water and yet I still had such a HARD TIME getting it right), I decided to make a deconstructed onigiri bowl after learning how to make an actual onigiri at a previous event:
I was getting homefood sick and I missed Pinoy dishes like humba, sayote with that brown sauce and soo much more! I decided, with the little skills that I had to just go ahead and try it out. I had to learn how to slice, defrost, steam and everything else by watching Youtube videos because that’s how ignorant I was and let me tell you, Youtube has EVERYTHING!
I also sought help from Chef Lau & Chef Jac who encouraged me to make humba and even taught me how to do it- I searched for a recipe online to guide me and here was the final result:
I also made a breakfast burrito wherein I even made the tortilla from scratch!
My biggest achievement though was learning how to make monggos because I really, REALLY love monggos. I started out with this pork belly with mong seeds dish (according to my uncle), which was really the opposite of what I wanted to achieve:
And now, I can literally make this dish with my eyes closed!
Since I’ve made an effort to learn how to cook, I’ve made a pretty good improvement and my friends, family and P can stand to eat my cooking without pretending to like it anymore! haha.
I’d love to share my recipes and experience with you on this blog because if I can do it, ANYONE can do it! And hopefully, there’s a little girl out there in the big bad world, hungry to their gut, wishing they could cook reading this and is thinking, “if Issa can do it, so can I!”
CAFE UNO, which is located at the ground floor of Waterfront Cebu, is and has always been one of the premiere dining destinations when it comes to class and quality food and service. Although Cafe Uno has been around for quite some time, having garnered the loyalty of avid foodies, there is still a common perception that hotel food can be a bit pricey. And I can’t lie, there might be some truth in that, but I believe that some things in life are worth spending for and that you always get your money’s worth especially from a prestigious hotel chain.
But now, at P888.00, food lovers can finally enjoy their famous buffet without having to worry about breaking bank. At this reasonable price, you can now take advantage of their buffet that highlights the best food all around the world like sashimi from Japan, lechon from the Philippines, laksa from Singapore, pasta from Italy and many more!
For those who are thinking that their food selection might not be as huge as compared to the common trend of buffet chains lately, you can expect that each dish at Cafe Uno is always up to par. Quality over quantity is what I always say 🙂
Here are a few photos from my recent trip there:
Salad bar with fresh vegetables, cold cuts and cheese- the perfect appetizers
Japanese station with tuna sashimi and different maki rolls
The Filipino station with all our homegrown favorites
The Chinese and Singaporean section where you can create your own soup dish
Pasta section
Dessert
Drink all you can beer
For more updates and promos, follow Watefront Cebu on Facebook
Seafood City’s latest offering for the month of October is a gastronomical experience like no other. For P680.00 you can enjoy their PALUTO All- You- Can which includes their seafood, meat and a fruit platter which can be cooked according to your preference. At their discounted price, you can help yourselves to their wide array of fresh seafood choices excluding their premium items such as lobsters, crabs, grouper, stone fish and the sea mantis which are charged separately.
PALUTO All- You- Can is not for the greedy though as left overs will be charged P 1,360.00. But with food as good as theirs, left overs are highly unlikely so dine away!
Here are some shots of our feast during the launching of Paluto All- You- Can:
Steamed live suahe soy sauce
Squid Adobo
Fried fish grouper sweet and sour soup
Tinola tangigue soup
Mud crabs with salt & pepper
Grilled pork belly
Buttered lobster
Oysters
Fruit platter
For reservations and inquiries, plese call +63 32 260-800
In line with Sugbo Mercado‘s goal of being able to open food markets in different key locations in the city, their newest outlet at the Ayala Business Park is a clear sign that they are well on their way! Their second branch, which is located behind CIC Main and the MSY building which is also known as the “jogging area” of Ayala, still has everything we have come to love from their first branch which includes tents, ample tables and chairs, a laid back ambiance and that awesome sense of community that is hard to find anywhere else.
I have always patronized this weekend food market because it gives closet or aspiring chefs the opportunity to put themselves out there and get an experience of how it is to run their own business. At the same time, it gives people like me the opportunity to explore my palette without going home empty handed. It’s a fair compromise for everyone plus, the view is great and the music is always on point!
If you want to catch my vlog about how to survive a night at Sugbo Mercado, check it out here.
Another thing that I love so much about Sugbo Mercado are the interesting stories of each and every vendor. Everyone has their own story to tell and their own interesting back stories which I think makes the food taste even better. There’s always something special about our homegrown establishments which you can find out more about on their blog. Their first feature is about a good friend of mine and his success story about Hala Paella and Papa Churros which you can read more about here. They’ve only featured one so far but I am so excited to read about more success stories in the near future.
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On their opening weekend, they launched with around 32 vendors and the list continues to grow with each coming week so forgive me if a few of these vendors might not be there anymore or if I’ve missed out on some. But in a nutshell, here is a list of the vendors I was able to meet and their corresponding links so you can check out their menu offerings and prices:
Of course, what kind of food blog would this be without some enticing food photos? Here are some photos of the food I was able to sample during the media launch:
Herbed Chicken from Tausug Spices
Fried ice cream from Soul Food
Quesadillas from Bueno JC Mexicano
Seafood bowl from Fun Seafood Corner
Paella Valenciana from Hala Paella
Chicken Proben in Mediterranean & Japanese sauce
Spicy lechon belly from Kuzina Guadalupe
Taco Mac & Cheese from Macology 101
Churros from Papa Churros
Customized pasta from Yum-In-A-Box
Hawaiian Pizza Cone
Shaved Ice from Sno
Pork belly from Eat, Meat, Repeat
Pork bun from Pao Baw Classic Lemonade from John Lemon
Pad Thai from Wokstarz
Enchilada from Papagayu Azul
So far my favorites have been the Proben Deluxe de Cagayan in Mediterranean & Belgian chocolate sauce, the Hawaiian Pizza cone, John Lemon’s lemonade, everything from Pow Bao, Hala Paella and Wokstarz. I’ll definitely be back this weekend to sample more because you know… why not?
Sugbo Mercado Dos will be open on the following dates:
Sugbo Mercado-IT Park: Wednesday to Sunday, July 6-10, 5PM-1AM!
Sugbo Mercado-CBP : Thursday to Sunday, July 7-10, 4PM-12MN!
For more updates, check out their official blog here
Consider me a little late when it comes to popular food choices in Cebu but like the saying goes, better late than never.
The Asian Taco, also known as Pow Bao, invaded Cebu a couple of years ago, first debuting at our favorite food markets until they finally set camp at the Banilad Town Center. Their handful of choices for fillings offer Cebuanos who love to experiment with food with great options such as chicken, pork belly, chorizo and even tofu!
If you’re looking for something heavier, they also offer rice meals with the same meal options.
Pao Baw is actually a fusion of Taiwanese food with a touch of Mexican street food which are both great cuisines individually and surprisingly great together.
Not being the most adventurous with food, I was honestly a bit hesitant to try this meal out but I was delightfully surprised that the Asian Taco was really good and not to mention, extremely filling! I personally enjoyed the chicken and tofu fillings the most.
Assorted (mix of 3 baos) @ P100.00
Rice meals (pork belly, fried chicken, chorizo or tofu) @ P 90.00
I am no coffee expert but I do enjoy a nice strong cup of Joe especially when the day calls for one. That day being everyday.
32 Umber had been on my go to list ever since it opened some time by the end of February. I fell in love with their Instagram posts of coffee (with great reviews!), pastries and beautiful interiors which we all know I am a sucker for so naturally, I had to check it out for myself.
32 Umber is a bit small and is probably good for about 20 people at a time but with its glass enclosures, it definitely does not feel cramped. Regardless of size, their furniture is cozy and the whole place is homey, inviting and will make you want to camp there for hours at a time whether you wish to study, work or just catch up with old friends.
32 Umber sets themselves aside from other local coffee shops in the metro with their hand- brewed coffee which is also known as pourover coffee. This method of brewing involves fresh grounded coffee beans, a filter and a filter holder. At its most basic level, the brewing level involves pouring water over and through the grounds of coffee to extract the flavors into your cups for drinking. At 32 Umber, you get to choose between 2 brewing methods which are V60 or an Aeropress. I have yet to taste it but I do look forward to coming back very soon and trying it out for myself!
On our menu: Cafe Latte and a coffee for me and an Iced Mocha for my main
32 Umber is located at The Forum, Archbishop Reyes Ave., Cebu City, Philippines
Its price. At P75.00 for a regular burger and P90.00 for their signature cheeseburgers heavily smeared with their special cheese dip, you’d first take a look at it and think that 1 burger might not be enough- WRONG.
Yaya Chris with “other” child ? (and our other helper, Baby, who also had a baby. lol)
Drink all you can beer
Fried ice cream from Soul Food
Classic Lemonade from John Lemon
