Category Archives: Travel

One of the restaurants we like going to while in Subic.  The owner, Ram Sharma, is a very nice guy.  He is always there to greet you then he disappears to the kitchen and starts cooking 🙂 We like the breads, the hummus, the lamb chops and curry

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Thanks to  Sammy and Emily for bringing us to this place!  This is Heart2Heart’s favorite restaurant this trip. I particularly like businesses with personal touches, where the owners are the ones hands on and running the place, businesses with stories behind them, those that start from scratch and take the risk to bring their concept and ideas to life….. It is really admirable! 

They will be opening also in the Ayala Mall as their second location.   I can’t wait till they come to Manila.  According to Chef Robert, they are looking for locations in Makati and are open to franchising.  PLEASE HURRY!  

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The Gustavian celebrates the decadence and glamour brought to Sweden in the 1750’s by Crown Prince Gustav III. Gustav, who studied in France, was crowned King of Sweden and proceeded to rapidly change the whole country in to a Cultural movement that included fine cuisine.

Sweden has since become one of the most delightful aspects of the French cuisine family tree.

Scandinavian cuisine is a melting pot of the Haute Cuisine of the Baltic, Russian, Polish, Finish and of course Swedish/French fine dining heritage over the past 300 years.

We hope you will enjoy our own version of preparing dishes created by great chefs from the past, and with our own updated twist in presentation!

‘The Gustavian’ Country Farmer’s Delicatessen

….is fresh from the Old World era, serving homemade European sausages and artisan breads in the heart of Cebu City in the Philippines. The Gustavian is the inspiration of Chef Robert Lilja a renowned master Chef and Saucier who was previously named as the No 1 in customer satisfaction for the Marriott Hotel chain and was one of their star chefs. Chef Robert has risen through the ranks at some of the finest restaurants in Europe. In addition, master chef Dietmar Dietrich has recently joined the Gustavian. He comes with a wealth of experience and has tended to the stoves of many of the finest establishments in Europe. This great combination ensures that the Gustavian is truly world class and the best continental restaurant in the Philippines.

The warm roasting smell of freshly baked bread greets customers as they enter into the broad veranda.

The Gustavian makes sausages, pickles, smoked meats and sea foods along with its artisan breads. Authentic rustic breads, pugliese, potato walnut bread, pumpernickel rye, and Tuscane are offered daily from the Gustavian’s state of the art ovens. Crusty baguettes emerge steaming from the oven, inviting a spread of shrimp paste and dill cream cheese, fresh from the Deli’s creamery.

Chef’s Robert & Dietmar excel at the character and quality of the Old World, but slyly surprises one with their delicate and delicious touches such as sweet Visayan mango slice in the tart prawn’s Caesar salad; crunchy-salty caviar sprinkled on uni (sea urchin sushi) on fresh-cracked oysters; walnut and potato in soft yeasty whole wheat bread with herbed butter spreads.

The Gustavian offers restaurant service for breakfast, lunch and dinner to showcase its home-made offerings from the Deli. In addition, an ever changing menu offers delicacies such as the kitchen specialty, fillet of beef with the trademark pepper, morel and gorgonzola sauce, arguably the best in the Philippines. Omaha Angus seared to perfection, presented with asparagus and green salad, crusted potato rissole that melts in the mouth, and the smoked salmon Caesar dressing combine perfectly for an unforgettable meal.

Chef’s Robert & Dietmar combine the traditional herbs and spices of European sausages into their home-made products. The fresh sun dried tomato sausage features basil and pine nuts for a Mediterranean flair, another has fennel seed and coriander, while thyme & rosemary flavors one of the best fresh sausages one has ever tasted. These are but a few examples of the starters in a line that will feature many standards as well as a changing palette of flavors and affinities, with no doubt occasional zestful surprises from the chef’s broad repertoire.

Healthful, organic, and robustly gourmet are the complementary themes of the Gustavian Country Farmers Market Delicatessen. During the morning you may breakfast on eggs and home-cured bacon with walnut bread and sausage. Sautéed oyster mushrooms, Italian tomato slices, and a sprig of thyme enhance the delicate flavors of the Da Vinci sausage and raise the meal from mere breakfast to memorable. 

You may satisfy your appetite and your palate by dining in the restaurant, or shop for take-out meals, sausages, breads and bagels, spices and herbs, European and home-made cheeses and spreads, or packaged hard-to-find items like polenta, couscous, risotto, olives, or Parma ham and Genoa salami. 

The décor and the settings resonate with Old World flair. Fleur-de-lis and artichoke motif chandeliers accent the high ceiling with its boxed Swedish Cross that forms the core of the dining area.  The rustic Tuscany tile floor, pine-top tables, and elegant rattan chairs complement the hearty gourmet offerings from the kitchen. 

Restrooms on both ends of the resto 

Country cooking from the Old World makes its home in Cebu in the hearty, rustic gourmet kitchens of the Gustavian. Add to that a dash of Chef Robert’s and Chef Dietmar’s flair from their endless repertory of culinary knowledge, and the ingredients are transformed into a world class dining experience.

Paradise Baked Artichokes/Raclette/House Cream cheese dip with French bread- of course this was my order- YUMMY!  Everything they had with cheese was DELICIOUS!  

Macaroni Cheese and Prawns – YUMMY!!! 

Pan Fried Salmon Steak 

Ostrich Madagascar 

US Angus Rib Eye steak 

 Another unique feature of the place is the BREAD BUFFET.  I love dips and spreads!!  And here you can choose whatever bread and whatever dips you want to go with your bread.  It is part of the meal if you are eating there.  

James chose one dessert from the pastry showcase- CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE- YUMMY!!!!!!

Chocolate souffle with Raspberry Sorbet 

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Another Cebu favorite.  This place was introduced to us by Tita Elizabeth and ever since then Dad and Mom always come back.  Dad always looks for seafood restaurants since he tries to avoid meat.  So he has Victoria’s City Seafood in HK, Oriental Garden in NY, Hai Shin Lou in Manila, and Ching Palace in Cebu.

What is interesting also in the restaurant is the owner’s collection of Koi and parrots.  It is displayed on the walls of the restaurant.   

Good chinese food and fresh seafood!  The crab and the eel was very good.  They did not have the fresh lobster sushi which dad and mom always order.  You need to request for it since it is not in the menu.   

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Dad and Mom’s favorite Filipino restaurant in Cebu.  This one we ate in is a few meters away from Starbucks and there is another location nearby in the Ayala Mall.   Mom says to make sure to order the Crispy tadyang 🙂

website:  Cafe Laguna / Laguna Cafe  

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