An exciting flavor destination in Cebu

CEBU — After it opened Mott 32 last year, Nustar Resort and Casino is continuing to consolidate its status as the premier dining destination in Cebu — as well as the Philippines — by launching “Journey of Flavors,” its stellar lineup of local and international restaurants at the Nustar Mall.

Firstly, Nustar is a destination in itself, as the biggest integrated resort outside Metro Manila. It boasts not only a mall, casino and convention center, but also the five-star Fili Hotel and upcoming six-star Nustar Hotel — a P30-plus-billion project occupying almost 10 hectares in Cebu City.

After our Cebu Pacific plane landed at Mactan Airport, it was a 20-minute drive to Nustar.  When I first glimpsed it from a distance it reminded me of the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which is a landmark for the Lion City, just as I think Nustar will be for Cebu.  The whole feel of the property is world-class, perched as it is on Kawit Point overlooking Mactan Channel. It’s definitely an imposing, memorable, glittering landmark, whether viewed from land or sea.

The hotels in Nustar will offer 1,000 key rooms in total. “Frederick Go said it’s odd that the Philippines doesn’t have a five-star hotel considering its culture of service and hospitality,” said Winnie Nazareth, senior consultant at Robinsons Land Corporation, “so Fili is meant to be that five-star hotel and will be brought to Manila and other parts of the Philippines soon.”

Fili Hotel (named after us Filipinos) presents our culture in a subtle but modern way, utilizing solihiya patterns and other Filipino design elements throughout the hotel. The rooms are the height of luxe: all boast sea views, king-size beds, bathtubs, rain showers, smart TVs and toilets. Louis Vuitton was using the P700,000-a-night suite with outdoor infinity pool as a pop-up private salon for guests, while our media group experienced the P200,000-a-night Chairman Suite as a holding area on our last day. It had a living room, dining room, office, and master bedroom with walk-in closets and a round tub.

On the first level of the Nustar Mall are luxury stores, like the biggest Celine in the Philippines with its dedicated menswear section. On the second floor are casual dining outlets, specialty shops, and the biggest banquet hall in the whole of VisMin, able to accommodate 2500 pax. In fact, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was having a convention there last weekend.

On the third floor are the Premier Cinemas, which include a VIP theater with La-Z-Boy-type seats, butler service and high-tech audiovisuals, and a regular theater. In the works is the largest spa at 3000 square meters, which will feature a Manila brand, and The Stage, a theater for live entertainment.

The 22,000 square-meter Nustar casino has been receiving increasing international visitors, thanks to all the direct flights to Cebu. So they’ve been getting lots of Koreans, Japanese and Chinese, with restaurants like Kasuwa Teppanyaki and Xian Tian Di open 24 hours to serve players.

But it was The Strip food area we were really there for. Ces Drilon hosted the launch event called “Journey of Flavors,” emphasizing the global nature of the cuisines on offer at Nustar, where you can get everything from Filipino to Japanese to Spanish. Nazareth noted that if the dining concept wasn’t exclusive to Nustar, then they were elevated just for the resort.

Café Laguna

Café Laguna was established in Cebu in 1991 by Dr. Ricardo and Julieta Urbina, who hail from Laguna. Now run by three generations of Urbinas, the café serves Filipino food in the homecooked tradition and became so famous for their fresh lumpia, crispy pata and kare-kare with bagoong they now have six branches in Cebu and franchises in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Exclusively served at the Nustar branch is cochinillo cooked with Cebuano aromatics, Salmon Sa Miso at Mustasa, Pako & Pomelo salad, and Aligue fried rice, and for dessert, don’t miss their puto bumbong and unique Langcabcab, langka ice cream with a cassava wafer and cashews.

Eating in the Spanish-style dining room, you feel like you’re being served a soul-satisfying Filipino feast by an extremely hospitable family, which is essentially what Café Laguna is.

Abaca baking co.

I was wowed by Abaca, a bakery famous for its sourdough bread, pastries, and coffee. I tried the Campfire Latte and was served a jaw-dropping tumbler of espresso, condensed milk and marshmallow cream topped by a skewer of toasted marshmallows. They also offer espresso soft-serve ice cream, crispy-airy waffles (with chicken as Winner Winner Chicken Dinner or topped with whipped cream and a cornucopia of tropical fruits), giant chocolate-chip cookies that our whole group sighed over, and comfort food like baked penne, fish and chips, and the Nustar exclusive, four kinds of flatbread pizza.

Owned by Jason Hyatt of the Abaca Group of Companies, which runs different dining and hospitality concepts, Abaca Baking Co. is so outstanding I wish they would bring it to Metro Manila. As it is, you’ll just have to go to Nustar Cebu.

Kazuwa Prime

Kazuwa Prime is a teppanyaki chain from Japan that has its first and only branch at Nustar. There the chefs cook in front of you with flair and fire, doing spatula acrobatics like culinary magicians. But it’s not all show: the food is topnotch as well, with ingredients flown in from Japan. After an appetizer trio of mackerel, cream cheese and catfish eggs we had chawan mushi and sashimi of cuttlefish, tuna and salmon.

Next course? Badminton with eggs! Our chef did a neat trick of throwing an egg into his toque and it came back out as a chick (a toy one). He even had me try throwing an egg up with the spatula and cutting it in half on the way down — unsuccessfully, unfortunately. Thank God all those broken eggs didn’t go to waste, because he then made fried rice with it.

Hijinks over, chef then proceeded to cook huge tiger prawns, chicken, scallops then the piece de resistance, A5 Wagyu from Japan, which my dining companions pronounced soft and buttery. Open 24 hours, Kazuwa Prime is a dining experience you won’t want to miss at Nustar.

Taiwan Shabu-Shabu

Owned by a Korean couple who met, fell in love and got married in the Philippines, Taiwan Shabu-Shabu offers different styles and sizes of hotpot platters. Their bestselling chicken broth tastes very subtle and clean. Our group got Set C, which is good for three people at P1400, consisting of lobster balls, squid, pork-mushroom balls, shrimp, thinly cut beef, and lots of leafy greens and vegetables. We made our own dipping sauces by mixing fresh red chili, chili oil, satay sauce, garlic, onion, wan soy, vinegar and sweetened soy sauce to taste. After all the gorging of the day before, Taiwan Shabu-Shabu was the perfect antidote: it felt cleansing, detoxifying and healthy, while tasting fresh, natural and delicious.

Tom N Toms

Tom N Toms is a renowned South Korean coffee chain that came to the Philippines in 2015. For Nustar they created the first ever Burgundy concept, a unique blend of Korean-influenced dishes to go with their trademark coffees, teas, pretzels and breads. The Nustar location is open 24 hours and also offers private rooms that can be reserved for meetings. Tom N Toms uses only fresh Arabica beans roasted by Bean Bless, one of Korea’s top roasting companies. I tried their flat white and it was excellent.

Barcino

Restaurant manager Ricardo, a handsome, charming Spaniard from Galicia, welcomed us warmly to this two-level Spanish restaurant in Nustar, which boasts a spectacular view of the city and features live music on weekends.

We ate chipirones (fried baby squid), jamon Iberico, two kinds of paella (chorizo and duck adobo) and the stars of the table — not one but two cochinillos — which were so crispy-tender the chef cut the suckling pigs with plates before breaking them on the floor for good luck.

I danced in a few flamenco shows at Barcino’s Manila branches so it holds a special place in my heart. I thought it was fitting that we toasted to our last night in Nustar at Barcino’s first branch in Cebu and most beautiful outpost in the Philippines.

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Nustar Resort and Casino is located on Kawit Island, South Road Properties, Cebu. Visit Nustar.ph for more info and to make a booking.