El Viento Restaurant and Pool Bar at Marco Polo Plaza Cebu

It was one hot Saturday, a few weeks back, when I found myself enjoying a wonderful lunch at El Viento, a poolside restaurant and bar located at the posh Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in Cebu. As it was the last day of my Cebu trip, I decided to take refuge in the comfort and luxury only Marco Polo can offer.

With a commanding view of Cebu City, the hotel offers a serene escape from the hustle and bustle of boomtown Cebu. A few minutes cab ride brings in a sense of calmness as one goes up along the hillside. The iconic structure beckons with its geometric gracefulness and the elegant lobby welcomes with Cebuano pride and hospitality.

Then there's El Viento - an al fresco restaurant and pool bar with its Spanish-derived name meaning wind. The turquoise blue waters looked so inviting that I was tempted to have a dip but without extras, I just contented myself relaxing with in its "sights and sounds".

The El Viento Pool Bar and Restaurant caters those who prefer the outdoors. Relax with a cool drink, beer below zero and select wines over entrees, sizzling dishes and freshly baked pizza from the mango wood-fired oven. On sunny days, get a tan at the poolside and then have a refreshing dip at the mango-shaped pool with Jacuzzi. Read a book or enjoy Free Wi-Fi internet access in a corner table with a cup of freshly brewed coffee anytime at El Viento. Enjoy live music entertainment nightly. (Source)

And lunch was served starting with the Soup of the Day which I forgot the name. It's a combination of a mushroom and egg drop soup with hints of being a minestrone. Light yet savory, it was a perfect start for the parade of gastronomic creations that are about to come my way.

Drumbeats please for Bresaola Salad. Yup, I remembered the name of this mix of greens, poached pears (these alone were very good), crispy capers, caramelized balsamic red onions and parmesan cheese. The star of course was the bresaola which is salted beef that has been air dried and aged for months (preferably 2-3) until it becomes hard and turns a dark red, almost purple colour. The taste and texture combination proved to be a perfect appetizer, whetting my appetite up for more.

If this doesn't make you hungry or salivating the least, I don't know what else will. This Ultimate Pizza Burger still haunts my gastronomic dreams even if it was almost a month ago when I fell in love with it at first bite. This is Marco Polo Cebu's take on two of the world's most beloved and most popular food items made into one ultimate treat. Basically, an order consist of a burger served with "succulent" fries, coleslaw and dip.

Made with a big 100% pure beef patty, it is then made to look and taste like a pizza with the addition of mushrooms, peppers, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. The lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and other makes make up the burger part. Even after a few minutes of my clicks and flashes session, the perfect pan grilled patty was still oozing with its juices!

And capping off the already sumptuous lunch was Pork Saltimbocca in Calvados Rosemary Cream with Black Olive Risotto. It was a last minute lunch addition for this item is part and served only during dinner. Good thing, kitchen rules can be bent sometimes, that I got to enjoy this well seasoned lean pork marinated in apple brandy.

Downing all these was this refreshing four-season smoothie made with real fruits - a perfect and delicious cooler that Saturday afternoon.

Here's Chef Ricky who was hands-on in preparing this sumptuous lunch. He made sure not only everything tasted delicious but also pleasing to the eyes. And he really did a good job especially with the Ultimate Pizza Burger! Thanks Chef!

All good and even delicious things do come to an end. That one afternoon will just only be but memories to live by and great tastes to remember. But the nonetheless it was unforgettable gastronomic adventure at El Viento at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in Cebu. 'Til we eat again...

El Viento Restaurant and Pool Bar

Marco Polo Plaza Hotel Cebu

Cebu Veterans Drive, Nivel Hills, Apas

Cebu City, 6000, Philippines

Open Daily: 10:00AM–12:00MN

For inquiries and reservations:

Cebu: (63 32) 253 1111 | Manila: (63 2) 887 1263

Facebook: MarcoPolo Cebu

NOTE: The Marco Polo group is rumored to build a hotel in Iloilo City.

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.

An Ilonggo favorite: Laswa

Laswa is to the Ilonggos as what dinengdeng and pinakbet are to the Ilocanos. These are mainly vegetables based dishes with a few meats and seafood. What makes laswa different is that guinamos or bago-ong is not part of the recipe. In both Ilocanos dishes, bago-ong is a major flavour enhancer giving both dishes a distinct bago-ong taste. Laswa , on the other hand, is a tamer version since guinamos is rarely used and it just relies on garlic, onion and tomato plus a little salt as flavour enhancer. Thus, it is a perfect combination with fried or grilled fish or pork! Here's the basic recipe for the Ilonggo favorite - Laswa Ingredients Kalabasa cubes Okra slices Eggplant slices Sigarilyas slices Patola slices String beans Saluyot Takway (optional) Puso ng Saging (optional) Alimasag, dilis, shrimps, daing na isda (optional) Garlic, crushed Onion, quartered Tomatoes, sliced Salt Water How to cook Laswa Wash all the vegetables

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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