Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa Cebu - The Food

And now comes the best post of the Imperial Palace bunch.....the food! And boy, did we have a lot of food!

AFTERNOON SNACK AT DELMAR LOBBY LOUNGE

Buko Halo-Halo (P250.00)

We kicked off our food trip with a bowl of Halo-Halo. Not just any bowl, a coconut bowl. We ate this at the Delmar Lobby Lounge while waiting for our room. There were other ice creams in the menu, but this was the one my daughter pointed at and it was the cheapest! Hehe! I'm not a big fan of Halo-Halo, but my husband is. This one had two scoops of Ube ice cream with the usual Halo-Halo mixtures. We found it alright, but it did not top our best Halo-Halo list. But what's a better way to kick off the summer season than with a bowl of Halo-Halo!


 PRE-DINNER AT AQUS POOL AND ISLAND BARS

Fish Fingers Kiddie Meal (P200.00+)

After an afternoon of swimming and walking around, our daughter was getting hungry. It was around 5:00pm and we were planning on having dinner at 7:00pm. I knew she wouldn't last any longer so we ordered the fish fingers kiddie meal to go with our free drinks at the Aqus Pool Bar. This had a huge serving considering it was a kiddie meal! I know this was for S, but I have to admit I was kind of hungry too. I took a bite of the fish fingers and OMG, they were amazing! I had to resist myself from buying an order for myself. They used white fish but it wasn't cream dory. The fish was flaky while the breadcrumb coat was perfectly fried. I would have preferred a tartar sauce instead of the ketchup served. The french fries were great too! The dish came with a big slice of mango and watermelon too. They were very fresh!


CORAL SEASIDE

 

While we were walking around, we found ourselves at the Coral Seaside restaurant, which is the hotel's signature restaurant and offers fresh seafood in their menu. From the outside, it looked beautiful and the outdoors furniture looked really cozy for an evening drink. It had a very romantic vibe. I'm hoping we can try this restaurant next time.


 DINNER BUFFET AT LA FAMILIA

Dinner Buffet at La Familia normally costs P1,700 per person, but because we had the P500 off coupon, we ended up paying P1,200 per person. The dinner buffet was a real treat for us since we have been abstaining meat and chocolate during the Lenten season. We could not be more excited!

The buffet is unbelievable and there is no way you can taste every dish they put out! It's very organized so you immediately know what sort of food is where. Here are the dishes I can recall:

The Cold Buffet:
-Gravlax and condiments
-Prawns Salad
-Mixed Greens Salad with various dressings

You can never go wrong with this!

The Japanese Table:
-Salmon and Tuna Sashimi
-Ebi and Salmon Sushi
-Futo and California Maki
-Steamed Shrimps, Mussels, and Crabs with Cocktail Sauce

This plate was half-eaten by S, our 2 year old daughter. Fettucini with coconut white sauce, mushroom, and ham.

The Western Area:
-Pizzas and Pastas-I asked for white sauce to go with the pasta. My mistake was not asking what kind of white sauce it was, I assumed it was your typical cream white sauce. This turned out to be coconut cream sauce. No wonder S left half of it!
-Mashed Potato with Veggies-I absolutely loved this! It was creamy and buttery!
-Buttered Veggies-Love buttered cauliflower and green beans.
-Beef Stew with Moroccan Spices-Another dish I liked very much.

Moroccan beef, mashed potatoes, buttered cauliflower and green beans, lechon baboy, grilled beef tenderloin with red wine sauce, and grilled salmon belly.

Assorted Fried Food
-Tempura-vegetables and fish. no shrimp tempura.
-Wonton
-Fish Ball

Lechon Baboy (Pork)

Noodle Soup Section

fried wontons, pochero pieces, fried rice, grilled beef tenderloin with red wine sauce, mashed potatoes with veggies, fried flat noodles.

Grilled Section:
-Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce-this was the highlight of my meal! had to go back for more!
-Grilled Salmon Belly-good in theory, but in actual it was very fatty.
-Grilled Vegetables (Peppers, Onions, and Cauliflower)

The Oriental Section:
-Pochero-skipped the other soups for this, although this wasn't served as a soup, but rather an entree. 
-Fish with Mango Salsa
-Fried Flat Noodles-good.
-Humba-Husband did not like this. He mentioned it was very dry.
-Fried Rice-good fried rice.


Soup Choices: -I wished I could have have extra space to try one of these.
-Sinigang na Prawns
-Tomato with Cream Soup
-Seafood and Corn Chowder

Korean Food:
-Meatballs-Husband loved this.
-Noodles-wanted to try this, but I didn't know what the sauce was.

Mongolian Buffet-I asked for it not to be spicy, but it still was. Otherwise, it was quite tasty!

Dimsum
-Siomai
-Siopao

Rice:
Steamed Rice
Steamed Brown Rice
Garlic Rice
Fried Rice

 

Desserts (not refilled readily)
-Fruit Salad
-2 punches
-Fresh Fruits
-Ice Cream (Choco not available, vanilla, strawberry, mocha)
-Leche Flan
-Choco Hazelnut Truffles
-Lemon Mousse
-Panna Cotta
-Chocolate Sauce (with bread and marshmallows)

BREAKFAST BUFFET AT LA FAMILIA

 

We were back again at La Familia the next morning for our breakfast (this was included with the room rate). The setting was pretty much the same except it stretched to another room. This section was for the Filipino food. The restaurant is very family-conscious and child-friendly as they have special plates and glasses for children. Of course, we used them for our daughter.

S started her breakfast with a glass of orange juice and a plate of plain rice, noodles, a fried egg, sausage, and a small piece of bacon. The egg and rice was quickly eaten, while the noodles took a little more time. She left the sausage and bacon behind. After her plate, she ate bits of our plate while I also gave her a yogurt. After finishing her orange juice, she had a big glass of milk too!

I, for my part, just simply had to get another plate of gravlax. A bun sliced in half topped with salmon and sauce. It's not your typical breakfast choice, but I love it! We were planning on skipping lunch, so even if it was 6am, we considered this a sort of "brunch". We ate big and tried to eat a little of bit of everything. After the gravlax, I fixed myself a plate of 'everything'. This was filled with Maki rolls, garlic rice, buttered cauliflower, bacon, danggit, noodles, burger steak, beef bulgogi, and grilled fish. I also got a plate of already prepared omelet roll; this had ham, bell peppers, and onions. When that was done, I had a pancake with cherries, blueberries, fresh watermelon and mango. With a cup of coffee and a glass of apple juice, I was thoroughly satisfied! I didn't even have space for anything else (the Filipino food area, breads, and desserts!)

My husband did not disappoint either; he ate even more than I did! But unlike me, he prefers the Continental Breakfast. He started with a big plate of Croissants, Danish Pastries, Chocolate and Almond Croissants, Muffins, and Cheeses. After he was done with that, he had another plate of eggs, french toasts, sausages, and bacon. He was able to try the Filipino food and finished his meal with a plate of rice, sweet and sour meatballs, burger steak with mushrooms, tocino, and sweet ham. He also had a glass of iced tea as well as hot tea!

Like our dinner, this was a great meal! Of course, some dishes shined more than others, but the variety of the food makes it perfect. There is definitely something for everybody! And I must admit we came back packing several unwanted extra pounds!


In case you're interested about the restaurants in the hotel, here they are:
Room Service - 24 hours
Bel Ami Karaoke
Aqus Pool and Island Bars
Familia Buffet Restaurant
Cafe Amiga- Filipino and Southeast Asian
Cheon San Chinese Restaurant
Maru Korean Restaurant
Delmar Lobby Lounge
Coral Seaside-signature restaurant