Mövenpick Resort & Spa Cebu
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With my bosses we went one Sunday morning together with our cient to Mövenpick Resort & Spa Cebu. It was my first! I was always a passer-by before that day. I've been staring at its magnificence far too long.
So we went to their buffet and supposedly an eat all you can for an affordable price (included in the day time use package). What made this restaurant wonderful is the fact that some food are being cooked. You can see it - definitely not cold! The downside? It let's you wait. There was like 200 plus people there wanting to eat. There were 3 cooks. Two of them were cooking and the other one was grilling. So it made the whole thing slow. The food was not that over the top that would make you salivate. Nope, I would rate it as above regular, above but still on that level. The dessert was the one that I would recommend. But then you go there because of the main course and not the one that follows after it. The place was clean and well arranged. That's it! I cannot say something about the hotel because I did not stay there. However if you are on the beach and you'd order - good luck! Consider this, there were four of us drinking beer. Each of us ordered one beer. Then our VP for Tech asked if it would take them a long time to bring the second round. Guess what? It was really slow. We ended up calling their manager. When they left, we ordered again. It was still the same. What a day it was!
I'm not a food
critic or whatever but here's my simple way of scoring the experience.
The asterisk would represent a star. The highest score is a 5.
Cleanliness: *****
Atmosphere: *****
Food: **
Price: *
Staff: ***
Service: *
a not so good experience!
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The Ranch Banilad Cebu
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| http://theglamarazzi.com/tag/the-ranch-cebu/ |
The Ranch Banilad Cebu is the real deal! Me and my bosses got stuck in very long meeting last Thursday (November 14). Our Director decided to have brunch in the Ranch. I heard the name of the restaurant before. A lot of people from my circle talked about it but I was never there. So, it was my first! I was a little bit skeptic. Hoping against hope that it would not turn out to be like a Blue Bar disaster because I was very very hungry.
At ten in the morning like other restaurants in Cebu this one also seemed to be closed. But when one of us rang the doorbell they opened up the gates for us. We obviously caught them a little bit off guard. However, they allowed us to enter and they are ready to serve our hungry group. The owner who lives in the restaurant welcomed us and had a chitchat with our company president who apparently is from the same place as he is.
Being there before the restaurant actually opens would mean that some of their menu is not yet available. There seems to be a magic at work with the owner though. He would apologize and would offer something that is available. This is what I like being honest, upfront, apologize and offer options. This is what you call - customer service. Something that lacks in other restaurants here in Cebu because they would just tell you its not available and make you feel that it is your fault. This time I felt like I was a customer.
Done with ordering and started with waiting. There was a movie that had this line: "when you go to a restaurant you pay for the food and the atmosphere." I find this to be true. The Ranch offers a unique atmosphere, a cowboy! Pictures of the Wild West life are framed on the walls. Cowboy stuff hang around the place. Well, this was something that makes the mind wander around and forgets the time while waiting. A plus point in the atmosphere score sheet.
Price. Before opening the menu and looking at the surrounding I was expecting that the price would be high. Plus considering that the owner was American, I thought that it would just blow my wallet. But by god, it was not! Looking at it, I thought I was going to eat at a Filipino restaurant. I would say that it was at least call center agent friendly. It might be high for an average Filipino but normal for the ones in my industry.
Food. Here's what we ordered. Four hamburgers (Cow as they call it), onion rings, and Quesadillas. Let me dig through it one at a time. The onion rings were great. It was amazingly crispy and blended well with the ketchup. The quesadillas, I don't know. Up until now I can't describe the taste and put it into words. Let me do my best, eating it is a palate adventure. I love it and I hope you'll taste it. I obviously nee help with the description. The owner suddenly gave us two slices of his pecan pie showcasing his "secret" ingredient (complimentary). I never had this food before. It was delicious. The sweetness played well with the nuttiness. A mixture that is strangely delicious. And for the main course, we had the hamburger. Thick patty and real veggies, this was the food that knocked me out of my senses. Have you ever tasted heaven. Am sorry Jesus Christ because I think I found heaven in The Ranch Banilad Cebu. I got nothing more to say but thanks to my bosses for inviting me there. FYI, the burger patty are imported for U.S. and the owner manually grinds it.
I'm not a food critic or whatever but here's my simple way of scoring the experience. The asterisk would represent a star. The highest score is a 5.
Cleanliness: ****
Atmosphere: *****
Food: *****
Price: *****
Staff: ****
Service: *****
an amazing experience
an amazing experience
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Blu Bar & Grill at Marco Polo Plaza Cebu
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| source: http://kikay116.wordpress.com/2012/06/ |
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| source: http://www.yadig.com/business/Cebu/Blu-Bar-$-Grill/4919 |
Last November 10, 2012 my bosses invited me to go with them on a dinner to show our new I.T. guy around Cebu. We went to the Blu Bar located in Marco Polo Plaza. I've been around the city but I have to admit that it was my first to dine here. The restaurant is part of Marco Polo Plaza's famed places to go to or could be one of the reason for you to visit the hotel.
Reaching Marco Polo is not a problem. Almost all the cabs and travel agencies in Cebu knows the place. Well, if you are new here's the address (Cebu Veterans Drive, Nivel Hills, Cebu). I hope Google map is accurate.
The experience.
The Blu Bar clamors with the banner, "Romance at 1,000 feet high". They are correct to say that. At an instance you would feel the chill that tells you "it's the right spot" to bring your someone special. The place is heaven for those first timers in Cebu because you can see the whole city. Blu bar offers a view that I've never experience in a restaurant. The whole place is cozy but gives an atmosphere of sophistication. The service crew are friendly. well, to my boss they were. She has been a frequent costumer of the restaurant. She knew at least most of the service staff including a lady whom I think was a manager or a supervisor. The night was running down the "perfect experience" lane. We ordered. I settled for a baby back ribs for it was the only thing that made sense. Actually, it was what our company president's asked for. I went along with it for I can't seem to justify the food and the price. I was still on a bedazzled state when the waiter asked me for my order. So, I went with "I'll take what he has". Cocktails were served. I like their concept of free cocktail once you were able to hit what you wanted on the spinning wheel. I was not lucky, mine has to go to the bill. Then, a complimentary bread was served to everyone as we waited for our order. Normally, I would wait and count minutes to see if their service is fast. But the whole atmosphere overwhelmed me. I did notice the waiting time and just realized that our food was already being served. So I can say they were fast. It was almost perfect. But when our Director ate her fish, it became a disaster. She gave me a piece of it knowing that I'm from Samar. She thought I would know how a fish should smell and taste. It stank and it definitely felt like it was going bad. She complained. They changed her food to fish something again. It was fried this time - a different kind. Meanwhile checking up my food. My baby back ribs looked nice, and it was "very tender" that you don't have to use a knife to get the meat. However, that was all to it. It looked nice and very tender. I thought I was going to have a wonderful palate adventure eating in a posh restaurant like Blu Bar. Sadly, it was an okay experience not worth the price. And to think that we have to be at 1,000 feet high to realize this.
I'm not a food critic or whatever but here's my simple way of scoring the experience. The asterisk would represent a star. The highest score is a 5.
for Blu Bar
Cleanliness: *****
Atmosphere: *****
Food: **
Price: *
Staff: ***
Service: ****
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