Stone grill dining at Amo’s Café

DINING concepts get better every day.

Reeling from jet lag after a 20-hour flight from New York with my grandkids Silvian and Sabrina in tow, I deemed it necessary to eat a hearty meal to quicken the adjustment of my internal body clock. So I picked up the invitation of Alpa City Suites Sales and Marketing Manager Anna Lissa Galicia to join her team for a stone grill dining experience in the boutique hotel’s Amo’s Café. It was good to meet up with Anna and Cionette Gobalani, who now sits as General Manager/Vice President for Operations. Gentle-mannered and polite F and B Manager Jeremy Paul Tongco, whose father Ed is a well-respected personality in the hotel circle, joined us.

Alpa City Suites along Ayala Access Road at the junction of Mandaue City, is a Cebuano brand owned by Bambi Gothong Tan’s family. Bambi is a popular cooking oil brand whose business has diversified into the hospitality industry. And with relative success since the property was given a Certificate of Excellence 2013 and rated “Cebu’s Top Boutique Hotel” by MyTripAdvisory.com.

The cozy coffee shop Amo’s Café, is named after Bambi’s father, the late Albino Gothong, who was fondly called “amo” in the golf course.

For grilled foods, the serving time from the kitchen to the dining table is critical to fully enjoy them. The Stone Grill Concept is a unique dining experience where diners’ meals are served cooking at the table on superheated (400 degrees F) natural volcanic stone on a protective ceramic tray sided by vegetables and condiments. Jeremy, whose hotel and culinary experience was honed in Shangri-La Dubai and Holland America Cruises, proudly introduced the hotel’s Stone Grill introductory promo—a reasonably priced three-course meal consisting of Cream of Fresh Mushroom Soup, Choice of US Black Angus Beef Tenderloin or Rib Eye on the Stone Grill and Baked Alaska. Growing up and educated in Manila, Jeremy always ended his statements with “po” (a Tagalog word used to show respect), which I find so gracious.

The Cream of Fresh Mushroom was excellent— shiitake mushrooms were blended smoothly with the right amount of cream. I opted for US Black Angus Rib Eye that was starting to sizzle on the heated stone as it was served with sidings of vegetables, French fries and gravy. Diners get to cook the meat the way they like them—rare, medium rare, medium or well done. The unique concept locks up the natural flavors without adding oil and sears the food without burning. To avoid overcooking the meat, I transferred the US Black Angus Rib Eye to a plate and enjoyed its succulence. While steaks can really be a treat, I look forward to the Stone Grill Seafood, which Jeremy said was coming soon. Our unique stone grill dining experience spiced up with interesting conversation was sealed with Baked Alaska—ice cream lined with slices of sponge cake and topped with torched meringue, served with freshly brewed coffee.