A Quest for the Best Dinner Buffet

CEBU, Philippines — Hotter days are here as summer has officially started, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).  Through the years, historical data have shown that temperatures are indeed rising.  In an urban jungle like Cebu City, local residents and visitors have to deal with health issues like heat stroke and the need to be constantly rehydrated.

Amid the scorching summer temperatures, people want to dine in air-conditioned comfort. And Quest Hotel & Conference Center has launched new dinner buffet themes to accommodate the influx of guests to its Pusô Bistro Bar Restaurant.  The Flavors by the Day series are as follows: Barrio Fiesta is offered on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursday; Asian Classics on Fridays; and the World’s Recipes for the rest of the days of the week.

Select media practitioners – including myself, of course – were invited to sample the dishes served during a Barrio Fiesta-themed  day. I checked the offerings at the salad bar – Ensaladang Guso, Ensaladang Lato, Ensaladang Singkamas, Spicy Dilis, Burong Mangga, Pork Belly and Kimchi. The odd man out is kimchi but it is there because the hotel also serves foreign tourists, with Koreans topping the list of visitors to our city.

Lechon de Cebu, a signature dish in a barrio fiesta, was present. I took a small piece slightly below the cheek – crunchy and delicious!  Street food was also served like Fried Chicken Skin and Kwek Kwek, the Pinoy version of the tempura with quail eggs coated in an orange colored batter. (Where chicken or duck eggs are used, it is called Tokneneng.) I skipped the chicken skin and requested Quest assistant PR Fiona Escandor for a shot of vodka to neutralize the tasty but, excuse me, deadly fats and oils.

Soups were the Beef Kangsi (Kanse?) and Chicken Sotanghon and the Main Dishes were Guisadong Gulay with Shrimp, Fish Escabeche, Adobong Baboy sa Puti, Pork Humba, Beef Caldereta, Chicken Adobo and Spicy Lechon Belly. Beef Kanse is an Ilonggo dish which is a hybrid between bulalao (beef soup) and sinigang (pork sour soup) – it was delicious with a tinge of sourness. I could not recall ever tasting this soup before!

I went for Batchoy at the Live Cooking Stations (Pasta, Batchoy and Binalot Station) because it has been some time since I tasted it. An Ilonggo fraternity brod told me that the secret to this delectable soup was the soup stock which had been simmered for hours. The goat’s innards have to be cleaned very well. Onions and garlic were caramelized but not too much heat because if it burns, bitter flavors would be released.

For desserts, my choices were Alupi (dessert wrapped in pusô leaves), tiny slices of Leche Flan, Torta de Cebu, Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake and some fresh fruits paired with hot coffee. Alupe is an Ilonggo cassava-based kakanin with grated coconut meat wrapped in banana leaves – but at Pusô Restaurant, it was encased in a pusô wrap.