Cebu Restaurant Abu Dhabi – Have it the Filipino way

While walking on the streets of Khalidiya district in Abu Dhabi searching for a store to get a new shirt to replace the “soaked-in-sweat” shirt I wore after a long walk/jog at corniche, I bumped into one distinct restaurant just beside the mosque in Zayed The First Street at the back of Lebanese Flower Restaurant. It can be recognized as truly Pinoy as its name is similar to one of my favorite destinations in the Philippines, Cebu. Cebu Restaurant simply offers Pinoy style cooking at Abu Dhabi’s busy district.  The restaurant occupies a small two-storey building. On the first floor is the turo-turo section where you could order the ready cooked meals. More tables are found on the second floor with LCD TV mounted on the wall showing ABS-CBN TFC programs. With its size, it could accommodate perhaps around 30 people.

Cebu Restaurant is located in Khalidiya District, Abu Dhabi beside the mosque and at the back of Lebanese Flower Restaurant.

At the resto’s 2nd floor. Attached on the wall is a LCD TV that plays TFC shows.

The counter at the 1st floor. The restaurant has actually free wifi.

Stairway to the second floor with photos hung on the wall.

Cebu Restaurant offers a wide array of Pinoy dishes from the usual breakfast meals like tapsilog, bangsilog, hotsilog etc., their sizzlings bulalo steak, tanigue, pusit, chicken fillet, and their seafood-based dishes like sinigang, sweet and sour fish fillet, ginataang tilapia, bangus (grilled/daing) among others. Chicken meals are likewise served such as inasal, tinola, kaldereta and adobo. But I also found out that they offer not so Pinoy like chicken cordon bleu, orange-ginger chicken and terriyaki. Beef meals include humba, steak, kare-kare, nilaga, sinigang, bulalo, kaldereta and even papaitan. Desserts like halo-halo, biko, maja blanca and biko are also available.

The restaurants menu list.

So what we got for our dinner? We ordered their recommended dishes, probably their best seller. We got sinigang na hipon, sizzling tanigue steak, chopsuey, beef steak and grilled bangus. Their food is typical Pinoy with perhaps infusion of their own cooking style. Admittedly, what we had savored were similar to other Pinoy dishes we had previously tried. But, we did enjoy our dining experience knowing that it is one of those that carries Filipino identity in Abu Dhabi.

The restaurant’s sinigang na hipon (AED 22). Not that I didn’t like, but I prefer a bit sour. This is okay with Syaoran, though he said his mother’s sinigang is still the best.

Sizzling tanigue steak (AED 28). I think I was the only one who ate this.

Chopsuey (AED 15) – stir fried chicken meat cooked with different kinds of vegetables.

Beef steak (AED 20) – thinly sliced beef cooked in soy sauce and calamansi juice with sliced potatoes garnished with onion rings.

Inihaw na bangus – grilled milkfish stuffed with ingredients like ginger, onions, garlic, tomatoes etc.

Grilled bangus with all its stuffing.

Syaoran and Vaj during our dinner at Cebu Restaurant.

“Have it the Filipino way” is Cebu Restaurant’s slogan. It tries to bring Filipino culture closer to the Arabs while at the same time offers our kababayans Pinoy home-cooked food at affordable prices. It is but best for Pinoy expats living in Abu Dhabi or Pinoy tourists visiting the place to support our own. Ika nga, tangkilikin ang sariling atin.

Cebu Restaurant

Zayed The First Street, Khalidiya

Beside Lebanese Flower Restaurant

Telephone: 02 665-2886

Barrio Fiesta – home of authentic Filipino cuisine in Dubai

It was a lazy afternoon when we decided to go to Burjuman Center in Dubai. And the main reason was to take our late lunch at Barrio Fiesta which I happened to stumble while surfing the net looking for Filipino resto nearest our hotel in Bur Dubai. As it is one of those pioneer Pinoy restaurants in the Philippines and an institution in authentic Pinoy cooking, without any second thought I pulled my friend and we proceeded to the place. Barrio Fiesta is inside Burjuman Center located at Level 3 across Shrimp’s World. The ambiance is truly Filipino with its Pinoy interior design. The entrance posts are made from shells of mother of pearl. Hung on its walls are pictures of our different celebrations. The chairs are made from native materials perhaps abaca. A guitar is even placed at the entrance to which anyone could pick to strum their favorite songs. Pinoy hospitality is also apparent as the attendant guides you to your table while happily welcoming you and suggesting must-tries in the restaurant. I think those are perhaps the reasons why Barrio Fiesta sets apart from other restaurants in the area. While scanning the menu, I could not help but felt proud that at least there is a Pinoy restaurant that thrives and competes in Dubai’s foodie business usually dominated by Italian, Indian, Arabic, American and Mediterranean.

This is the entrance to Barrio Fiesta. The restaurant could accommodate more than 100 guests.

Barrio Fiesta’s Pinoy designed interior with its walls posted with photos of Pinoy celebrations and its chairs made from native materials.

We ordered bangus sa bawang, sinigang na hipon, ginataang sitaw at kalabasa, and sumisirit na pusit. The food were delectable and Pinoy flavors are distinctive, indeed. Though it was so good and the food were cooked the lutong bahay (home-cooked) way, I think it was a little bit pricey. But the fact that it gives you a feel of true Pinoy dining experience inside a high-end mall, that underscores everything. Ambiance + good food = good experience.

Sinigang na hipon – a tamarind flavored soup served with shrimps and assorted vegetables (Price: AED 38-full/ AED 20-half). The sourness is just right for our taste.

Bangus sa bawang – boneless milk fish pan fried and sprinkled with fried garlic (Price: AED 42). What I like about this is the crispiness and the tastes of fried garlic. But I would prefer sinamak (spiced vinegar) as sawsawan (condiment).

Ginataang sitaw at kalabasa (100% vegetarian) – squash and string beans cooked in coconut milk and served with tofu (Price: AED 18). This is likewise good, but maybe better if the coconut milk is creamier.

Sumisirit na pusit – grilled squid cooked with vegetables in a special sauce and served in sizzling plate (Price: AED 35). A little bit sweet but the spiciness is just enough for another bowl of rice.

Steamed jasmine rice (Price: AED 7).

Travel buddy Syaoran who loves Barrio Fiesta’s sinigang.

Picking up the guitar just for photo op because in truth I don’t know how to play it.

Unfortunately, we had not tried the kakanin (native delicacies) as we were full. In their list, they have puto bumbong (glutinous rice with cheese and coconut jam), maja blanca (coconut milk flan topped with ground peanuts), buko pandan (sweet gelatin strips of buko with pandan essence) among others. Halohalo (dessert made from crushed ice topped with preserved fruits like banana, ube, jackfruit etc. and with sago, gulaman with milk and ice cream). Gulaman at sago (native gelatin and tapioca in brown sugar syrup flavored with pandan leaves and topped with crushed ice) is also served. They have almost all Pinoy favorites in the restaurant. I’m sure when in town again I will definitely return. By that time, I would indulge in their weekend lunch buffet served from 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM for only AED 49.

Barrio Fiesta or any other Pinoy restaurant in Dubai deserves our loyalty. We need to support them and be proud that Pinoy cuisine is not left behind in Dubai’s food business. Let us showcase the Filipino heritage to the world.

BARRIO FIESTA

Level 3, Burjuman Center

PO Box 29437, Dubai, UAE

Tel: (04) 3476310

Website: http://www.etastar-retail.com