Cebu Spanish Seconds at Ipar's

Ipar's Restaurante Y Bar De Tapas

Before the main Sinulog Festival, I promised Mr. S that I'd take them around my favorite Cebu restaurants, and at the top of his list was a revisit to Ipar's for some tapas and some Paella. 

The last time I took him with Sea Princess Tessa, they absolutely loved Ipar and his Spanish fare.So I made arrangements with Ipar himself to make us a special menu so Cay & Mr. S could sample his specialties during their visit.

True Spanish Tapas at Ipar's, Cebu

Imagine eating all those plates of food, and finishing them too! When the plates are so small, you don't feel as guilty munching on a lot of things. That's the beauty of Tapas!

When in Cebu, visit Ipar's Restaurante Y Bar de Tapas for some of the most authentic & tasty Spanish cuisine in the Philippines. I'm not kidding, it's pretty spot on from the ambiance to the cuisine.

Boracay Bound: Hit & Miss Meals on Day One

We arrive in Boracay a few hours shy of noon, and we were famished, so we ran to the trusty go-to Boracay restaurant for some early lunch before we began our trek for Loco Frio.

We ate at Aria, a staple dining establishment by D'Mall's entrance from the beach side at Station 2. Serving up pastas and pizzas, it's pretty up there with Cantinetta in Manila. Plus the ambience is very Mediterranean and relaxing, so this was the perfect setting to bring ourselves to beach mode.

Julie & Julia & ToT

I miss movie nights. I especially miss hoarding all the popcorn and candy at the AMCs or United theaters in the States. But in all honestly, Manila cinemas are the shiznitz for seat comfort, food variation (who would think, Binalot!) and unwaivering cold ac.

So imagine my jubilations when my girlfriend C sends me an insta-sms asking me to be her date to a movie. I ask which movie, she answered, and the rest is history...

Well not really.

Julia & Julie is THE film I was dying to watch. Beyond Meryll Streep's overabundant personification of ze Julia Child, it is the plot of a twentysomething lady with a lot of "duh" on her head who decides to blog about food. Specifically, a one year cook-off from Ms. Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. (Note to self: get a copy of the book)

While waiting in line, we were greeted by these adorable women dressed up in Le Cordon Bleu outfits, which is where Julia Childs took up her culinary studies

Terry's Treats

I recently went through a spanish phase... where everything ingested must be birthed from either barcelona, catalana, or the subsects of Spain. When such a phase happens, I must head to Terry's Selection

  

3rd floor delicatessen side

The branch at the Podium is so convenient from work that the fam usually goes there for some lunch. I like Podium for the grocery style appeal where it feels like shopping in New York or even in Barcelona itself. But this time, I wanted to try something different and headed to the Makati branch... the treasure is found on the third floor

Goodies

The third floor of the Salcedo branch of Terry's is somewhat of a hidden gem. It's two flights up really steep stairs, and not very many people want to climb that high, but that's where the deli section is, and there are only about 2 tables on the top floor, making it an intimate dining setting amidst bottles of vino, vats of olio, and slices of jamon iberico.

Julius, super attentive server/sommelier. Look for him

The clincher must have been Julius, who is the most serviceable server I have met. Short of wiping my mouth with my napkin, he was on his toes, in service, all the time. And to think, he had to go back and forth the 1st and 3rd floor to get our wine, bread, blahblahblah... A MUST look to for him and leave a ginormous tip.