When Food & Fashion Meet I: Shop. Eat. Play.

Hooray for firsts! :) Before we get the ball rolling, I'd like to introduce this exciting new blog collaboration that a close friend, Justinne Go, and I will be doing! Every month, we will be divulging the best kept secrets of Cebu in terms of fashion, food and having a good time. We hope you'll enjoy this and make us a part of your blogging experience!

Cebu Handicraft Vendors Association

Location: Mandaue City

Somewhere along F. Cabahug street with yellow stalls with signage’s of red and blue awaits an undiscovered haven of ethnic awesomeness! Until very recently, I always thought it was called “Tabo sa Banay II” but thanks to Justinne and her super senses, I stood corrected and discovered that my Cebu Secret of 2 years is actually named “Cebu Handicraft Vendors Association.” I don’t know how I missed that. -.-

It’s not a very popular destination and most of the vendors themselves can’t provide an exact address aside from “Atbang sa Econogas, dapit sa Natasha”, but once you’ve found it (with the aid of my specially made Google map), it will be impossible to miss! It has everything that every fashionista loves about Cebu- native accessories at affordable prices. With goods for as low as P5.00 and a vast variety to choose from, you’re sure to fall in love with something and the best part: own it without having to spend a weeks’ earnings for it!

All the accessories located in CHVA are handmade by our local brothers and sisters using beads made from shells, coconuts and etc.  And in case you don’t find anything to your liking (which I highly doubt will happen) or simply want to pick up a new hobby, they’ve got nylon threads to locks and not to mention, rows and rows of beads to choose from that go as low as P2.00 per strand.

Justinne and I braved the evil jeepneys (01k, in case you were wondering) and although it was her first time to anything like it and my millionth, our reactions were all the same- at awe and dumbfounded. I guess this is why we’re so close cuz we both get giddy over pretty things. So there we were, running from stall to stall trying to keep our squealing to a minimum, gushing over every ring; bangle; necklace; bracelet and keychain we ran into. Here were our top picks:

We also decided to get matching bracelets that cost P10.00 each. There is a certain joy in being able to tell people how much these bracelets cost. I love the expressions I get every time I do! ^_^

The Chillage

Location: Adnama Bldg., North Reclamation Area, Mandaue, Cebu City

Operating Hours: 10:00 am- 10:00 pm (Tuesday- Sunday)

For Justinne’s stop, she chose The Chillage, which has already caught lot of my friends attention even if it just opened in December. At first, I thought it was a quaint little coffee shop with a really catchy name but lo and behold- it was anything BUT that. From the extremely detailed interior and quirky items, I quickly learned that The Chillage (like you know, “Chill Village”) is a place you go to when you want to feel alive- and that’s exactly how I felt! As the marketing head and a long time friend of mine, Nikki Ring, described it- this place is where you go to feel high on life and I never wanted it to stop! Being there felt magical and hypnotizing, like I was in a Hollywood movie where I’m the frustrated artist who had just found my sanctuary and all I wanted to do was…

Oh, what do you know, this pretty ring finished my sentence for me

The interior:

I was really happy to find that they mostly supported local brands like Gabie Osorio’s “Finger Me Softly” rings, Leyende’s organic beauty products and not to mention one of my favorite bloggers’ bikini line, City of Vintage, among other brands. They had so many eccentric things lying around which made it crucial to keep my eyes open cuz I didn’t want to miss anything. I swear, being there made me feel like I was having seizures- happy seizures!

My favorite thing about The Chillage, and I’m pretty sure along with everyone else, was their Fun room. I honestly didn’t think that place could get any more pimped out than it already was but it did, and it came in the form of a swing… in the middle of the room!

Foodwise, I died over their Spinach and Cream Cheese chips and dip that cost us P90.00. I’ve always been pretty picky when it comes to food and I admit, on most days I can’t distinguish the difference between salt and sugar but those chips and dip, I swear, I could eat every single day! I was really lucky to have Justinne around because she’s the foodie and she claims that there is nothing in this world that she wouldn’t at least try once so, I always run to her for advice when it comes to impressing my palate. And guess what, she liked the dip too, which means I can go on and on and continue loving it forever. Yey me!

Aside from that, we also got a Taparoni which was a beef tapa macaroni with red sauce and cheese. I don’t think I have ever ate tapa and I don’t usually like macaroni either but this one, I liked. I think I even ate more than Justinne did, which was pretty embarrassing of me. But she was gracious enough to let me pig out and listening to how amazed she was at how the beef was minced instead of grounded was pretty interesting- if I only knew what the difference meant. HAHA.

Well, I’m not really going to expound much on the food or the menu or what I think about the prices because honestly, you shouldn’t take my word for it. I enjoyed the ambience and the cool glasses they served us and those jelly balls that I kept playing with, which is really the most you’re going to get out of me for a restaurant review. I’m no expert, so I’m going to leave this part up to Justinne, someone who actually knows what she’s talking about.

Click here for Justinne’s version of When Food & Fashion Meet I

Take it away, Love!

Thank you to Bea Borja and Nikki Ring for being so accommodating and for the awesome experience. See you soon

Til the next series of “When Food and Fashion Meet”,

Issa Perez

&

Justinne Go