When I hear of Mactan, I always immediately think of world class resort hotels and beach clubs. I have limited knowledge of Lapu-Lapu’s food scene, but I got excited when I found out that a new food dining concept has opened in Mactan Newtown, a 28-hectare mega-community developed by Megaworld, the country’s leader in establishing urban townships.
During the Cebu Food Crawl, we were privileged to have been invited to sample the varied offerings of homegrown restaurants in Mactan Alfresco.
Check out the reasons why it’s a family’s perfect dining choice to have their holiday feast:
Offers Casual Dining Experience
Inspired by the popular Singaporean hawker centers, Mactan Aflresco is a covered food strip that offers an open-air casual dining experience. It features homegrown food enterprises that offer authentic Cebuano flavors.
With a 350-person seating capacity, Mactan Alfresco is a good dining choice for large groups of families and friends. It also features a large communal outdoor grill or ihawan where guests can see how their food are being cooked. It’s the perfect way to cook Cebu’s bounty of land and sea. Mactan Alfresco truly brings a feast not only for the bellies but to the senses as well.
A One-stop Food Haven
Mactan Alfresco hosts 14 stalls so there’s definitely no shortage of food choices! The stalls offer a variety of Filipino favorites such as native chicken, pork barbecue, pochero, lechon, grilled liempo, saang and other fresh seafood catch.
Guests can choose from an array of freshly cooked food choices “turo-turo” style or choose fresh meat and seafood and have it “paluto” acrodig to their preference.
Check out the food stalls at Mactan Alfresco who took part in #Cebufoodcrawl They are now operating and ready to serve you:
Orange Karenderia
Popular for its modern Karenderia concept, it offers delicious food choices that taste like home-cooked meals. Enjoy their best selling Betsy’s Garlic Chicken, Crispy Tuna Buntot or Pork Barbecue.
Choobi Choobi
It’s house specialty is its Shrimp in a bag — one pound of fresh Shrimp which comes with corn on the bob and sauce options like Butter Garlic, Cajun, Sauteed in garlic and Spicey Gata.
Other house specialties that guests can order include Choobi Plata, Lola Pepang’s Fried Manok and a Fried herbed Spring Duck, fried duck with secret herbs and spices.
MexiMAMA Cosina Latina
A homegrown brand which combines a casual dining experience with Authentic Mexican flavors. Among their best sellers that guests must try are their Taco Carnitas, the Costillas de Cerdo (Pork Ribs) and for dessert, Churros con Chocolate.
Manang Sayong
Offers Filipino favorites such as Pochero, Sinuglaw (a mouth watering combination of grilled meat and ceviche). Guests can also try a variety of their seafood, pork, beef and chicken dishes.
Mama Linda Inato BBQ Haus
Carries a menu full of sizzling dishes such as Sizzling Gambas, Beef, Pork, Squid, Seafood and Chicken Feet. Other offerings that guests can sample are their Crab ala King in Chili Sauce, Garlic Shrimp, Garlic Crab, Sweet and Spicy Sugpo and Steamed Lapu-Lapu
Oyster Bay Express
Seafood lovers would rejoice at the wide selection of fresh fish, crabs and lobster dishes of Oyster Bay. Among their best sellers are their Oysterbay crab and their Halaan Soup.
Muvanz Pocherohan and Seafoods
Opening in time for the holidays, Muvanz’s Pochero (Beef Marrow Stew) is a definite must try. Diners can also sample their Scallops (Saltwater clam cooked with cream and butter) and Sizzling Squid.
And what’s a trip to Cebu without LECHON?
Because we know you can’t just get enough of lechon! Mactan Alfresco hosts three popular Lechon brands in Cebu — Ana’s Lechon, Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly and Cebu’s Ayer Lechon, named as the Best Lechon Maker in Cebu 2015.
Promotes food tourism
“The Mactan Alfresco aims to bring the best of Cebuano cuisine to locals and tourists alike, helping to expand the food tourism industry in Mactan. With a mix of establishments that offers dishes that Cebu is famous for and the communal grill where you can see your food being cooked, Mactan Alfresco’s dining experience will be a feast for the senses,” said Kevin Tan, the company’s first vice president and head of commercial division.
ON THE HORIZON
This December, Mactan Alfresco will open six lechon pits where guests can experience lechon roasting on the premises and enjoy the freshest lechon.
Megaworld has allocated P30-billion investment to develop the country’s first “Live-Work-Play-Learn” township in the next five or seven years.
Among the exciting features of Mactan Newtown that we’re all looking forward to is the development of its 11-hectare beachfront property which will contain boutique hotels, restaurants, retail establishments, a word class beach club, and residential clusters.
On the pipeline, Megaworld will be developing 10 luxury residential towers, at least seven office towers, five business and leisure hotels, including The Mactan Belmont Luxury Hotel and 18-storey Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown.
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