At least once a year, I indulge myself in a delightful gastronomic experience. When last year's performance bonus was released, I treated myself and my boyfriend to a fancy dinner at Cicada by Circa 1900.
Although there's no fixed schedule for when our performance bonus will be released, it usually falls in May but my positivity was over the moon that even before May arrived, I already identified where we'll eat. Manifesting! 😁 I have a list of must-visit fancy restaurants in Cebu and I'm happy that despite all the financial responsibilities that would otherwise not allow such fancy indulgences, I was able to tick them off one after the other.
I had my eyes glued to The Pig and Palm, a restaurant well-respected for its top-notch service and out-of-this-world flavors. The performance bonus I received was twice my monthly salary; I know that's a lot of money but I have better plans for my bonus so I only allotted a portion of it for this particular indulgence. 😉 We had a working budget for this and I'm not ashamed to share that we looked at their menu the night prior to our visit and pre-identified which dishes will fit in our budget.
The following day which was a Sunday, we went to The Feast, a weekly worship gathering at Ayala Center Cebu. I make sure I and my boyfriend attend this every Sunday whenever I am in Cebu City. Right after The Feast, it's time for sumptuous lunch! We arrived at The Pig and Palm quarter to 1 PM. It was Mother's Day so just to make sure we won't run out of seats, I made a reservation.
We were greeted with kindness and professionality. As we entered the restaurant, the atmosphere changed. Suddenly, it was all quiet yet cozy. It's worth mentioning to conduct oneself well whenever you dine here. It's not your usual noisy and chaotic restaurant. Because their dishes are priced relatively higher than in regular restaurants, middle-income to high-income individuals and families dine here most of the time. Aside from drinks (bottled water, tea, shakes), you couldn't buy anything below Php 225 ($4.1) here.
Now, what did we order? Here's the full list:
Para Picar:
Seaweed crackers, wasabi & calamansi mayonnaise (Php 225 or $4.1)
Pasta and Rice:
Linguine nero, shellfish, chorizo, salsa verde (Php 750 or $13.64)
Small plates:
Korean fried chicken, kimchi ketchup (Php 625 or $11.36)
Miso glazed pulpo, spicy potato foam, bottarga (Php 475 or $8.64)
Dessert:
Chocolate moelleux, milk foam, vanilla ice cream (Php 420 or $7.64)
Drinks:
Mango Shake (Php 180 or $3.27); Engkanto craft lager (Php 260 or $4.73)
There's a 10% service charge; you may want to take that into consideration if you're on a tight budget. 😁
Their linguine nero and miso glazed pulpo were to die for! My boyfriend was confused about what he should expect from miso glazed pulpo but I loved it too much it was my favorite dish among what we ordered. Until my next gastronomic splurge! ❤️