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What do you do when you want to go out of Cebu City but your busy schedule won’t allow you to get that far? What do you do when your taste buds want something different and adventurous but your choices in the city is nothing but ordinary?
Embark on a food trip. Albeit a not so distant one.

Thirty minutes out of the city proper, or 45 minutes depending on how you want to enjoy the ride, is a perfect weekend foodtrip getaway – Liloan.

Liloan (in Cebu) is probably anice escape away from the city.  It’s basically the first logical stopover for a quick bite and trip to the loo (at Jollibee usually) at the first leg of your trip. Or, the last pit stop (for pasalubong of Titay’s Rosquillos and torta) on your last leg before you hit the city proper on your way back.

Of course people go to Liloan for the parola (lighthouse). But for the seasoned out-of-towner, Liloan is just one of those quaint towns reminding you that, alas, you’re out of Cebu City proper! One does not know that beneath its homely charm is a treasure trove of gustatory delights waiting to be discovered.

Sunday is probably the best day to go. Besides being a day of worship, Sunday is traditionally a tiangge day for people in the area. Within the church vicinity is a flurry of activities - blur of colors, bursts of aromas and cacophony of sounds. Your eyes dart from one stall to the other: buckets of fresh flowers, multi colored toy balloons, carts of fresh fruits. Voices of vendors try to outdo the tolling of the church bells. And the aroma of food – whoa! It more than makes up for the chaotic pace of the place.

You see a whole lechon being cut, fresh from the roasting pit. You smell and it makes you wanna reach for a puso (hanging rice) from the next stall. Nokos (squid) are grilled alongside mamsas (jackfishes) and molmols (parrot fish). Endless rows of chicken Bisaya tumble and roll to barbecued perfection.

We have never seen such a variety of side dishes sold anywhere else in Cebu. It’s turo-turo style, with colorful delicacies in plastic bubbles – atsal (pickled papaya), atchara, and guso (seaweed). Or go Fear Factor style with swake (sea cucumber) and tuyom (sea urchin).
Do not miss the fresh lato salad. Ask the manangs to make it for you a la minute. The tangy tomatoes and the pungent shallots provide the perfect foil to the deep sea flavor of these emerald colored seaweeds. Heaven.

But before you set your heart too much on embarking on this trip, a word of caution. Familiar with the adage “When in Rome do as the Romans do”? Well, be prepared to enjoy the food like the locals do - eat with bare hands, al fresco, by the road. Not a good preposition but believe me, it’s pure gustatory delight. Liberating even. As they say, “The road to bliss is not paved in gold.”

Adto na ta! Happy trip.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 29th, 2007 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Eating Out, General Interest, Historical Spots, Leisure, Main, Places To Stay, Travel/Tours, Visit Cebu Stories, Writers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.