Mactan Food Festival 2010
It's that time of the year again to pig out and be merry at the Mactan Food Festival!!! Every year on the last week of April, Mactan celebrates it Kadaugan sa Mactan which commences on the 21st and culminates on the 27th, with a reenactment of the Battle of Mactan, the historic battle between the Portugese-born Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan and Mactan warrior chieftain Lapulapu on April 27, 1521.
And one of the highlights of the Kadaugan is the Mactan Food Festival. This year's food festival actually had more participating hotels and resorts. Many people from all over Cebu, including tourists, come to this once in a year event to just pig out, LOL! Well, who wouldn't want to? All the foods here come from the best hotels and resorts in Mactan -- Hilton, Shangrila, White Sands, Portofino, Lancaster, Maribago Blue Waters, Plantation Bay, Vista Mar, Kaishu, etc. -- all priced at less than PhP100!!
With all the people going there, it's hard to get a table, so you need to secure one while you're ordering. Our favorite place is under the Kalachuchi tree :) Also, it's best to be there before the food stalls open at 6:00PM. People even line-up earlier than six just to get world-class food from world-class resorts at very, very affordable prices.
We went on the 25th and 26th, the day before the Kadaugan. We ordered pretty much the same kinds of food both days. We would have wanted to try Shangrila's and Plantation Bay's but the queue is just so long we can't wait that long to order food, LOL.
So we got our food from Portofino, Lancaster, White Sands, and Alta Cebu Villa Resort. Portofino's dishes were all Mexican -- we got Nachos and Buritos each priced at PhP75.00.
From Lancaster and Alta Cebu, we got barbeque, grilled pork belly, and grilled squid. Each priced at around PhP75.00 which already includes 2 pcs of hanging rice (puso), or one cup of rice, for each dish ;)
And finally, from White Sands Resort, we got Linguine with Marinara sauce, Macaroni with Cheesy Tomato sauce, and a yummy, moist chocolate cake for dessert ;) YUM!
The Mactan Food Festival is also not just about foods. They also have stage plays or "kalingawan" such as band shows, raffle contests, singing contests... and on the 26th, a "pre-Kadaugan" reenactment of the time when Ferdinand Magellan first came to Mactan, about 500 years ago.
I couldn't get a good picture of the play because of all the people crowding so I just took a picture of the casts warming up in the backstage :D
And if you're done eating and don't feel like watching the "kalingawan", you can always have your own kalingawan on the sands by the shore ;)
Or perhaps just enjoy the evening with some romantic lights by the sea.
There is also a fireworks display on the 26th, the eve of Kadaugan, or what we locally call "besperas". This year's display lasted for almost 20 minutes or so, people's necks were just frozen, LOL!
Unfortunately I wasn't able to see the Kadaugan on the 27th. I was just too busy at that time. Maybe next year I will.
Thanks for droppin by guys! 'Til next post!
