The Desserts of Cagayan de Oro's La Vetta Wine Bar and Restaurant

This is not the first time I went to La Vetta, ranked by TripAdvisor as number one among the restaurants in the city. I was smitten during that visit, so the next time I was in Cagayan de Oro, I made sure to drop by. You can read about my first visit to the restaurant here. 

We opted for desserts, and what an excellent selection they have. We tried the double mud choco cake, which is always a sure bet.

We also tried the mango flambe, which was also awesome.

My colleague, Rouschelle, looked like she could whip up the dish herself...

...but we left the cooking to the professionals. I love the theatricality behind the preparation of the dish.

Of the desserts we tried, our favorite was the apricot strudel. Strudels are a popular Austrian pastry.

The other desserts were good, but this was the most unusual. It warmed our hearts, it was creamy, not too sweet. I love the nice textures courtesy of the meringue and dried apricot.

The view from our table.

La Vetta Wine Bar and Restaurant
Rosario Crescent, Limketkai Drive
Cagayan de Oro
(+63) 88 856 1207

Cagayan de Oro's Missy Bon Bon for Durian Gelato and Nutty Nutella Cronut

Whenever I travel, I always seek out home-grown restaurants. Usually I'm pressed for time during my work-related trips, thus eating local is how I experience the culture pronto. At Cagayan de Oro, I made a beeline for Missy Bon Bon's dessert selections. From their frozen items, I ordered their excellent Durian Gelato. I love the real fruit goodness and the creamy, silky texture. It was also not too sweet. It was one of the better duran ice creams I had.

I must admit I'm not crazy about food fads, so it took me only now, in faraway Cagayan de Oro, to sample a cronut. Missy Bon Bon's Nutty Nutella is quite good, if a bit oily and tough from sitting too long. I love the mix of nuts and Nutella, and the pockets of cream and Nutella. This is more croissant than donut.


Missy Bon Bon
Centrio Ayala Mall
Corales Ave
Cagayan de Oro

Cagayan de Oro's Mallberry Hotel for Kinilaw (Fish Ceviche)

I work in the field of judicial education, and this entails going all over the country to train judges and court personnel. We usually house participants in hotels, and as some of you know, hotel food is hit-or-miss. Many are bland, too rich, or unfamiliar, and after the novelty comes off, one hankers for home-cooked meals.

In the past 2 months, I was billeted at the Mallberry Suites Business Hotel located at Lim Ket Kai Center in the heart of Cagayan de Oro City, the provincial city of Misamis Oriental. The province is located in the northern coast of Mindanao, the southernmost of the country's three major islands. Fortunately for us the food was better than most. I wrote about its ensaymada-pastel hybrid here.

Another standout is the kinilaw, or fish ceviche, where raw fish is marinated in vinegar and spices. I just love the color. The vinegar was not overpowering, the ginger and the shallots added just the right amount of zing, and the fish tasted buttery and clean. I liked it so much I got another serving (bottom photo).

Standouts as well were the pansit (top photo), which were on the sweet side; and the grilled chicken and steamed fish (middle photo).

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Cagayan de Oro’s Ensaymada-Pastel Hybrid

Don’t let appearances fool you. This is not any ordinary ensaimada. This is a fusion of ensaimada and pastel. This was served as our afternoon snack in a seminar in Mallberry Suites Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City.

A quick backgrounder: Ensaymada is a light and airy pastry that originates from Majorca, Spain. Margarine has replaced the original reduced pork lard (saim) as ingredient, and is topped with shaved Edam cheese, butter and sugar. Pastel, on the other hand, is yema-filled buns. Yema is a sweet made from milk and egg yolks.

And so we have this hybrid—ensaimada filled with buttery yema. The saltiness of the grated cheese played nicely with the sweet filling. Apparently this was not made in-house. Any idea what establishment this came from?

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