TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Cebu, Philippines: Circa 1900, a Heritage House

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Cebu, Philippines: Circa 1900, a Heritage House

l-r: Terry Manguerra, Inday Blanco, Chinggay Utzurrum, Cecilia Brainard, Chona Bernad

I HAD DINNER with some friends at a heritage house in Cebu called Circa 1900. It's an old family home that's been converted into a restaurant-bar. Some members of our party remembered visiting this house when the Lao Family owned it.

The food was "Fusion." Their menu included steaks, lamb. We had risotto, adobo, pork belly -- food was all right but not terrific; portions were somewhat modest. I suspect their steaks and lamb are good; the owner of the restaurant is Australian, and well, everyone knows Australia has great beef and lamb.

The great thing about Circa 1900 is the ambiance. The old house and spacious garden are simply marvelous. I love the elegant stairs, the light fixtures, the sliding windows, and the floors made of wide wooden planks; they no longer make them this way.

Circa 1900 has a nice bar; they serve lunch and dinner and special functions. Their address is Sanjercasvil Road, Gorordo Avenue, Lahug, Cebu City. When you're on Gorordo Avenue, you pass by the Mormon Church, Shangog Station, then turn right into a small winding road and Circa 1900 is at the end. Their telephone: 032-239-2665; 09232795616.

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.