Trailblazer of native cuisine in Cebu

OVER three decades ago, Tina Ebrada,
a soft-spoken lady from Bacolod City
who married Ben Ebrada of Cebu, started serving her native dishes to foreign buyers of their furniture export business.  Because of their growing export business, which meant constantly entertaining buyers with good food, Tina decided to open a simple restaurant with native touches— the Golden Cowrie along Salinas Drive
in Lahug. That was in 1982. But what she
envisioned to be  a small eatery just to
conveniently accommodate their buyers soon attracted local diners, too. Thus, Tina’s love for cooking honed in her native Bacolod City came into focus. Some of
her signature dishes, like Baked Tahong, Adobong Kangkong, Sizzling Bangus
sa Gata and Bicol Express became bestsellers. I remember dining frequently in Golden Cowrie back in the 80s. The restaurant was so popular and   became a favorite hub of tourists.
Today, Golden Cowrie continues to serve original Filipino favorites in the same place along Salinas Drive. The Koksengs acquired the restaurant in 2000 while Tina continues to be a consultant. Over lunch at  Golden Cowrie, Christine and Kenneth Kokseng tells me about  their  latest
offerings, in the menu and on its expansion. The dynamic tandem who are both in their early 30s, manages a restaurant business that is growing faster than they had expected. To date, there are 16 branches—seven in Cebu, three in Davao, one each in Ozamis, Gen. Santos, Boracay Bohol, Dumaguete,
Cagayan de Oro, and soon in Palawan and Butuan. And as a marketing strategy, the family rebranded some branches as  “Hukad sa Golden Cowrie” (“hukad” is Cebuano word for “serve”), but still offers the same menu. All the restaurants feature bottomless rice where a food attendant with
a wooden bucket goes around to serve  steamed rice to diners. A contemporary new look was launched with the opening of Hukad.  Unique “puso” lamps hang from the ceiling.  Hukad sa Golden Cowrie has outlets in major malls in the city while
another Golden Cowrie recently opened along AS Fortuna in Mandaue City.
While Kenneth attends to the business matters, Christine has her hands full in the planning and food preparation in the commissary, the heart of all the
outlets.  While
a good number of the original dishes dominate the menu, Christine has added new and interesting entrees.  Her new
Bicol Express uses thinly sliced string beans similar to what I know as “Gising Gising”. We
enjoyed her Golden Fried
Scallops, Baby Squid con Tinta, Calamares, all served with Aioli (garlic mayonnaise).  Her Crispy
Dinuguan uses “lechon kawali” so there is a crunch to every spoonful.  The Eggplant Adobo was very tasty.  Christine was continuously filling my plate with more dishes—Escabeche Tanguigue, and Crispy Pata. Her Gambas has a nice twist with the baby shrimps cradled by scrambled eggs.  The animated conversation over  lunch included Christine’s recollection of visiting our home when she was a teen, being a cousin of my daughter Stephanie’s good friend, Gingging Larrazabal. Yes, she claims that she has tried my cooking, too.