Restaurants Galore!

A month or two ago, our group of Lifestyle writers was invited to dine in different restaurants which are now mushrooming in our midst.

The Abaca Group has opened Phat Pho resto at the Ayala Terraces. Since the first branch opened in 2013, Phat Pho’s authentic, healthy and quality flavors have satisfied the appetite and hearts of Cebuanos, easily turning it into the Vietnamese kitchen that people couldn’t get enough of.

And very recently, the Abaca Group has opened the second branch of fast-casual Mexican concept… Red Lizard Taqueria. With the restaurant’s clever interiors and a carefully prepared menu of tacos, taguitos, burritos, nachos and quesadillas, Red Lizard and all his adversaries are taking on Ayala Center Cebu. Fresh and fast – Red Lizard is definitely a tasty addition to the food choices at that mall.

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Cocina de la Casa, now owned and operated by Stephen Aznar and sister Chinky, has reopened and is now in full swing. We were there two weeks ago and we were all fascinated with the food served to us… the real Spanish cuisine of which Stephen is personally supervising the cooking and presentation of the food with Chef Niño Regis lording it over at the Casa kitchen.

Served to our group were Mediterranean-style herbed Couscous (with cilantro, cucumber, mint, tomatoes) as appetizers with Oriental Spring Rolls; Classic New England Seafood Chowder as our soup, Prawn, Pomelo Salad (tiger prawns, pomelo, mint, cilantro, chopped peanuts, Asian dressing); and our entrée – Nena’s Tripeless Callos served with Japanese rice, Chorizo, Jamon Serrano, Chickpeas, Pimiento, Paprika, and the Pork Hocks with Chorizo and Sofrito. Wow! That was a fantastic lunch we had. A million thanks to our dear friend – Stephen Aznar… more power, Steph!