TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Philippine Resorts

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Plantation Bay: Where "Real Food for Real People" Still Means Something

PLANTATION BAY: WHERE "REAL FOOD FOR REAL PEOPLE" STILL MEANS SOMETHING
by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cebu has long been known for its mangoes, lechon, and easy warmth, but tucked within its southern shores is a resort that takes food as seriously as it takes its sunsets. Plantation Bay Resort & Spa (plantationbay.com) may be best known for its lagoons and Japanese-inspired spa, yet its real revelation begins at the table.
At a time when many resorts outsource culinary direction or reduce menus to interchangeable buffets, Plantation Bay’s kitchens remain insistently personal. The guiding principle is disarmingly simple: feed people honestly, beautifully, and well. Every dish, whether humble or haute, honors that compact.

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.