Indescribably heavenly delicious!My host for this business / pleasure trip was a Manileno friend, who migrated to Cebu with his wife and kids about 8 years ago, and now as proud of Cebu’s progress as a true Cebuano. He drove me and my mom around and took us to dine at some of the best restaurants I've eaten, outside of Manila.
First stop was lunch at The Gustavian Country Farmers Delicatessen, along Ma. Luisa Road, Banilad. The restaurant housed an artisan bread shop and european deli. 
For starters, we had Mussels & Co., mussels cooked in tomato basil sauce reduction with sliced french breads. The mussels were deliciously fresh and cooked to perfection. The tomato basil sauce was perfectly tangy with just a hint of basil and the french breads were there to sop up the sauce.
For my main course, I had the Lamb Osso Bucco, braised lamb shank served on top of a bed of spinach truffle risotto with steamed vegetables My NZ Lamb Osso Bucco was fork tender, rich and very tasty and the risotto was just the way i liked it, creamy and saucy.
The Gustavian Country Farmers Delicatessen's a must visit in Cebu. I could not resist bringing home their rye bread, bagel chips, original ensaymada and ube ensaymada.
To lose weight, I’ve started drinking warm water with a slice of lemon instead of sodas and bottomless ice teas, both of which has tons of sugar in it.
I learned this from a friend who practices Transcendental Meditation (TM). According to her gurus, warm water with a slice of lemon is the best meal time beverage because it aids in digestion.
This was confirmed by Whoopie Goldberg, during a segment on The View, who lost some weight when she started drinking lemon water and Bob Green, Oprah’s personal trainer and author of the book “Best Life Diet”, who also recommends warm water with a slice of lemon to jump start any diet.
Try this out. It worked for me and it might work you.
For starters, my dad and mom shared the Oclam Fish Soup, a Laotian clear soup which can be served with fish or chicken. My cousin and I, on the other hand, shared a serving of Favada, a spanish bean stew. The Favada was so rich and flavorful with bits of ham/bacon (I think) and chorizo, which I guessed was what gave the favada its flavor. 
Ratatoy, which is their Pinoy version of the French original, was a winner. I loved the blend of chopped fresh tomatoes, onions, blanched eggplants, tuyo (dried fish) tossed in a warm soy sauce-vinegar based sauce. I had more rice than I usually have. 
Laing Bicol was not the usual laing I’ve had. This laing was rolled up gabi leaves stuffed with chopped gabi and ground meat cooked in gata sauce. Rich, thick and spicy. Yummy. Another dish best eaten with rice slathered with the rich gata sauce.
Thai Crispy Dalag was similar to binukadkad na isda of Pampanga. Dalag (mudfish) was butterflied and deep fried, served with an interesting sauce that tasted of vinegar, sugar syrup, a hint of patis (fish sauce), chilies, scallions and maybe fried shallots. It was the perfect dipping sauce for the finger-licking-good crunchy fish. Again, best eaten with rice kamayan style.
I ordered Cordero which was braised lamb ribs with herbed potatoes and buttered vegetables. The lamb was deliciously falling off the bones and the serving was more than I can finish. I’ve always enjoyed the combination of lamb with rosemary.
Dad had Samurai which was grilled salmon (?) served on top of a bed of vegetables, tofu and taro chips. The fish was perfectly fork tender and the vegetables gave texture to the dish. Soft fish, crunchy taro.
