September High 1st of three parts

CEBU, Philippines - We start this month’s round-up with everything NEW: new products, new offerings, new food concepts and new beginnings.

Splurge in Chocolate.  The famous Viennese chocolate cake is available at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel for the whole month of September. Sacher (ZA-kur) Torte takes you to Vienna, Austria with its dark chocolate goodness iced all over the chocolate sponge cake, cut into layers; in between each layer is a thick spread of apricot jam. Take a slice of Vienna at the Lobby Lounge, Cafe Marco, El Viento Restaurant & Poolbar, and Blu Bar & Grill.

Dig the Dossantz.  Executive Pastry Chef Schihab Adam is known for his “wickedly delicious” macaroons. Following his recent entry into the kitchen brigade of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino, he introduces a new addition to the pastry line-up of Madeliene which is an offshoot of the cronuts or rather his version of the cronuts — Dossantz (portmanteau for doughnut-croissant).   The flaky, buttery croissant with flavor-filled doughnut comes in different frosting flavors of Mango, Cinnamon, Vanilla and Strawberry resting on top of the deep-fried puff pastry. Best consumed within one to two hours, the Dossantz are available only from  6pm-7pm, to maintain its freshness, starting today  at the Madeliene.

Kaona Vibe.  The old Kaona Grill across Ayala Center Cebu truly left a mark especially to those who are fond of the chillax vibe — good food, great ambiance and soothing acoustic entertainment. After some time, since the closure of its AS Fortuna branch, the owners finally found a new address to get back to the usual groove. The new Kaona Grill is currently on its soft opening stage, banking on its accessible location along Wilson St. in Lahug. Of course, the specials are still on the menu - their signature dish of Crispy  Kare-Kare  (better dine early before it runs out!) with a thick, tasty, semi-sweet peanut sauce, native veggies and addicting  bagoong; pork belly, sizzling  sisig, squid  a la pobre; along with the new offerings of mongo soup with pork cracklings, mais rice with chicken and pork adobo wrapped in banana leaf, pork, chicken and shrimp kebab and the mango with ice cream, budbud with slices of mango, and turon medley — all to be christened with names! Of course the relaxing garden vibe is back with new touches in the interiors, with Anahaw roof details and on the walls of the bar. Welcome back, Kaona!

Vegan Burgers.  Possible! Health and wellness buff Firas Baassiri (of Turkish descent) shares his vegan eats via his stall named Vegan’s Guild at the Cebu Food Market of Banilad Town Centre. The spotlight is on the vegan burgers which come in three varieties – there’s lentils with vegan mayo; shiitake mushroom with BBQ dressing; and the bean burger with guacamole topping. The hands-on booth owner personally imparts his vegan diet, and offers a “free taste”serving of another specialty of black rice salad in a bed of lettuce, to customers who wish to lead the same kind of lifestyle. For someone who is as fit and good looking as Firas, who wouldn’t be inspired to go vegan?  BTC’s Cebu Food Market is open every Saturday from 10am to 8pm. 

Power Smoothies.  Another healthy find at the BTC Cebu Food Market is the Mooshi Green Smoothie. As the name suggests, Mooshi’s line-up only includes blends of organic vegetables, fresh fruits with no sugar, no preservatives and no food coloring added; only the good and green stuff in servings of cups and recyclable bottles to give longer endurance, energy boost, immunity, faster recovery against diseases, natural weight management, glowing skin, easy food digestion, among other benefits. A variety of healthy drinks are available: Green Smoothies that contain three to five ingredients (Wellness Mooshi, Power Mooshi, Immunity Boosting, Glowing, and Mooshi for Kids), Green Juices (Malunggay, Wheatgrass and Kale) and the My Mooshi Make-Your-Own drink where one gets to choose the liquid base, fresh fruits and greens to be added to his/her bottle. Stir in the energy-packed Aztec superfood chia seeds which contain Omega-3 that helps regulate blood sugar and lower cholesterol, and also aids in digestion. So, get your green fix at Mooshi.

Green Market.  Mooshi is also one of the exhibitors of the Cebu Park District’s Green Market located at the Linear Park, across Cebu City Marriott Hotel. This is a shared initiative of Cebu Holdings, Inc., Globe Telecom, Ayala Center Cebu, Radical Ads and the Cebu City Government to promote an eco-friendly and healthy lifestyle in line with the wellness theme of the mall. It gathers 25 various organic and green store tenants, SMEs and certified organic farmers from the City Agriculture. Products to watch out for are: Il Coco Tree virgin coconut oil products, anti-dengue energy drink (that contains VCO, tawa-tawa, papaya, camote tops, moringa and honey), coconut sap sugar, Anyorganics beauty products; fresh farm produce from the mountain barangays (including flowers, fruits and vegetables), Canvas’ healthy options such as quiche and pies, Pipo’s Gelateria’s banana, coconut, ube and malungay flavored gelatos, Betty’s Sugar Free Wheat Loaf, Green Organics Farms & Gardens’ natural grown vegetables and culinary herbs, fresh cow’s milk, among others.  The Green Market is open from Thursdays to Sundays until September 22, 2013, 11am to 7:30pm on Thursdays and Fridays, 8am to 7:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays with cooking demos by Chef Raki Urbina of the Laguna Garden Group and Chef Steve Shrimski of Canvas Gallery+Bistro+Bar every Saturdays at 5:30pm, and Zumba sessions by Holiday Gymn & Spa every Saturdays at 6pm.  (FREEMAN)