december-2011

In similar fashion does Steve Aznar
draw from his travels around South-
East Asia, as well as from an ongoing
20-year stint as a sommelier in New
York City. Personal circumstances have
kept Steve in Cebu for the past two
years, time he spent touring South-
East Asia and setting up Café Elysa,
a restaurant and informal art gallery
named after his mother, Ely Sanson.
Café Elysa is tucked into one of those
urban residential streets in the city’s
oldest quarter called Pari-an, literally a
stone’s throw away from Ed Castrillo’s
massive bronze monument that depicts
centuries of Cebuano history. Any given
night might fi nd Steve at the café, dry
martini (with three olives) in hand,
whiling away the evening and talking
shop with his diminutive and spritely
business partner, Joy Uy.
He has just completed work on the
second fl oor extension of the café,
largely to accommodate an upcoming
international Rotary convention, and
what promises to be an onslaught of
hungry guests in January during the
annual Sinulog Festival.
This international palate is also
evident in The Abaca Group’s A Café,
which serves continental comfort
food. The bright and airy café that
opened in March this year smacks of
an Australian bistro, thanks perhaps to
Wade Watson, the café’s fast-talking
Australian chef who also developed
the menu for a sister restaurant, Maya,
which in turn serves international
Mexican cuisine.
“Cebu didn’t use to have a big brunch
culture,” observes one local. “But
A Café is one of those places that’s
tweaking our morning habits, giving us
a place to take it slow and easy in the
morning over great meals.”
C EBU IN THE SPOTLIGHT
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From top: A Café executive chef Wade
Watson with a serving of A Café’s specialty
all-day brunch dishes; The Turkey Cobb
Salad; the 8-Ounce Café Angus Burger; Café
Elysa’s travel-inspired savory dishes.
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(32) 262 1697, www.cebutrip.
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