Golden fusion gourmet

THERE is something about the hospitality industry that attracts investors to venture into the hotel business.

The Que family has been in the jewelry business, the Golden Charm Jewelry, for many years. In 1994 they decided to get into the hotel business and opened the Golden Valley Inn in downtown Cebu. It has been upgraded into a hotel. Eldest son Benedict took the reins of the family’s hotel business as president, assisted by a younger brother Allan. The youngest, Christopher, continues to take care of the jewelry business that was established by their father.

With a construction boom of hotels in the uptown Cebu area, Benedict Que and his family invested and built another hotel in 2006, the Golden Prince Hotel and Suites along Acacia street, which is a stone’s throw away from the Cebu Business Park and Ayala Center Cebu. The gleaming 57-room and suite hotel caters to local businessmen and tourists. The family’s golden charm, it seems, is working well for the two Golden hotels.

Allan’s 22-year-old son Aaron joined the family hotel business in October 2010. Armed with a business management degree from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, he sits as the marketing strategist of the two hotels. I met him in one of the Hotel, Resort & Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) general membership meetings where I complimented him for the delicious Chinese-inspired food Golden Prince Hotel & Suites offered in the HRRAC Xin Nian Food Street held at the Ayala Food Terraces. He took this modestly and informed me that the hotel’s food and beverage outlet, Prince Fusion Gourmet Restaurant, was introducing a new menu that I must try.

Prince Fusion Gourmet Restaurant is small and cozy, seating approximately 35 persons. The homey setup, however, has a full kitchen headed by Chef Marlo Almasco and Demi Chef Emmanuel Somoza. Chef Marlo, who hails from Tacloban City, started his culinary career as a waiter and moved on as a kitchen helper. His work with Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino’s Tin Gaw and Lai GardenRestaurant has honed his Chinese cookery. The young demi chef Emmanuel acquired his two-year Culinary Arts Diploma last March 2011 from the Philippine School of Culinary Arts.

Prince Fusion Gourmet captured my palate with its delicious Chinese dishes. But the menu also features Cebuano and Continental dishes.

As we sat down for dinner, a piping hot bowl of Cebuano Pochero, boiled beef shank with corn and vegetables, woke up our appetites. There were several dishes queued for us to enjoy so we started with Chinese, followed by the Continental. I forked into the Native Soy Chicken served with Flavored Peanuts. Benedict explained that the chefs simmered the Bisaya Chicken in seasoned stock. Native chickens are always tastier. The dish went well with the Stir-Fried Vegetables and Yang Chow Fried Rice. I picked on the Spare Ribs with Garlic and Pepper. The Orange Country Ribs were juicy and tender. The Pescador was filleted butter fly style garoupa (Lapu-Lapu) and deep-fried, served with a special sauce.

After a delicious dinner, F & B Director Amy Tan Que (Christopher’s wife) introduced the chefs and the kitchen team to us. Amy oversees the food and beverage operations of both hotels, which she explained are well equipped and prepared for banquets, meetings and conventions.