|
Shopping
 Cebu's
thriving arts and crafts industries make it a
veritable paradise for souvenir hunters and avid
shoppers. Fashion accessories and furniture from
Cebu are top exports of the
Philippines
as is fashion jewellery and accessories. The
furniture in rattan, bamboo, stone and other exotic
materials and combinations are acclaimed for their
unique designs and quality workmanship. Browsing
through the many handicraft stores available can
fill a shopping day.
To have a glimpse of the variety of goods
Cebu has to offer, Carbon Market could be a first
stop. Along Briones and Calderon Streets, this is
Cebu's biggest public market. There are agricultural
produce, houseware and handicrafts. Colon Street in
lined with big malls and department stores offering
everything from native handicrafts to designer
labels. Maribago is the centre
of
Cebu's
guitar-making industry. Tabon Market on Sanciangko
Street has a variety of dried fish like danggit.
 Shell-craft like capiz (translucent and
iridescent shell) which is made into Tiffany
lampshades, ashtrays, coasters and other novelty
items (On an international scale, the sale of these
items is becoming frowned upon due to the raping of
many reefs for these treasures.)
 Baskets in nito (vine), bamboo, rattan, wicker, reeds and roots; abaca and
raffia bags, rugs and placemats.
Woven cloth from Argao is popular and the intricate designs are
favourites world-wide.
 Coral and stone jewellery boxes and house accessories are a good choice and make great gifts for those you left
behind in your home country while holidaying here.
Silver jewellery and decorative items in silver
are always popular and the Filipino designs unique.
  Food Products Some of the gastronomic delights to be had in
Cebu are dried mango preserves, otap (crunchy
sugar-coated biscuits), turrons (rolled wafers with
peanut/cashew filling), danggit (dried fish) and
fresh fruit. For some of the best food buys, Carbon
Market, Gullas Market and Tabuan Market are good
choices.
 Antiques
Cebu is filled with religious relics and architectural
details that date back a couple of centuries since it was an
early Spanish settlement.
 Guitars
You can watch the craftsmen at work at Maribago, the center
of
Cebu's guitar-making industry. The quality of
Cebu's hand-crafted, shell-inlaid guitars can be
compared to the best in the world. All kinds of
musical instruments are produced from ukeleles and
guitars to banjos and mandolins. Mactan also
produces guitars.
Dining Out
 Cebu
City is reasonably priced with a multinational
choice of restaurants. There's no real designated
dining or drinking district but the most fashionable
eating establishments are mainly found in the Ayala
district.
 Whether in a cramped sidewalk stall (kainan) or in a
posh restaurant, dining in Cebu is a guaranteed
adventure. The wide array of cuisine - from native
to Asian to continental, is matched only be the
myriad choices of restaurants and eateries around
town.
 Philippine cuisine is a mirror of its culture, thus
the variety in what is cooked and how it is cooked.
Rice is the staple food, although influences of
foreign recipes have become a regular practice in
food preparation.
 Popular dishes like lumpia (rolls) and pancit
(noodles) are Chinese. Even the lechon (roast pig),
which is considered the country's most famous dish,
has its origins in China. Spain's contribution to
Philippine cuisine include adobo, mechado, menudo
and pochero.
 Because of its coastlines, the Philippines boasts
great seafood dishes. In fact, most, if not all,
restaurants offer seafood cooked one way or another.
The most popular though is broiled (inihaw).
Standard seafood dishes include shrimp, rock
lobster, crab, oyster, squid, and fish. Sea urchin
and seaweed mixed with fish are also prepared as
kinilaw; sliced thin and soaked in vinegar with
tomatoes, salt, ginger, onions and hot pepper it’s a
dish worth trying.
 To cap a sumptuous meal a wide array of desserts,
fresh fruit or baked delights are the norm.
|
