When traveling, one of the things most people look forward to aside from sightseeing is eating. The food of a certain place speaks volumes about their history and culture. For Cebu, that is Sutukil, which is a three-way method of cooking seafood and meats.
It has lost its popularity over the years but Grandcon’s Isla Sugbu Seafood City aims to revive the Sutukil experience….
ISLA SUGBU SEAFOOD CITY
The Grand Convention Center of Cebu, Archbishop Reyes Avenue, Cebu City
Telephone: +63 32 260 – 8000
Facebook: The Grand Convention Center of Cebu
Instagram: @TheGrandCon
Twitter: @TheGrandCon
The simplicity of Sutukil cuisine is what makes it beautiful—you choose your seafood or meat, then you have it cooked in one of three ways.
The portmanteau gets its name from the Visayan words, Sugba (grilled), Tuwa (similar to Tinola, involves stewed meat or fish in a broth with vegetables), and Kilaw (eaten raw soaked in vinegar).
Over the years Sutukil has lost its popularity because overpricing (particularly in Mactan) and rise in sanitation concerns due to the open-air environment in public markets.
Sutukil doesn’t seem to be a well-known cuisine among the younger generations outside of the Visayas anymore. In fact, our young Cebuano colleague hadn’t even heard of it before!
The simplicity of the cuisine, however, has also become its downfall over recent years. Sutukil restaurants struggle to innovate, thus failing to give customers compelling reasons to come back.
Cebu City aims to revive the old luster of Sutukil, with Isla Sugbu Seafood City at The Grand Convention of Cebu.
The first impression of Isla Sugbu Seafood City is that it’s clean and caters well to first-time Sutukillers.
While the restaurant is modern and wharf-like, it still maintains that local feel with its modest chalkboard menu.
The seafood is fresher than fresh; in fact, you can choose what you’d like to have for the day right from Isla Sugbu’s fish tanks.
The restaurant’s tanks are very clean with running water to keep the seafood as fresh as possible.
There is good selection of seafood over ice like Red Snapper, Parrot Fish, Lapu-Lapu, Tanigue, Salmon, Bangus, Crayfish, Lobster, and more!
There is also a selection of fresh, leafy vegetables for your Seafood Tuwa.
The restaurant offers Sutukil Packages (P1,600 net for 4 pax) consisting of your choice of fish or meat for your Sugba, Tuwa, and Kinilaw.
(Note: the meat choices are limited; remember that Sutukil is mostly seafood!)
The Sugba dishes are basic and delicious—in the seafood’s grilled state, you’ll enjoy the natural flavors of the ocean without too many elements getting in the way.
The squid is recommended if you don’t want to deal with fish bones. 🙂
We personally loved the grilled salmon at Isla Sugbu since its fat to meat ratio was ideal, making the slab of fish quite juicy.
You can always opt for grilled pork or chicken if you’re not in the mood for grilled seafood.
The basic Tuwa soups have shellfish like prawn, crab, or lobster. The broth tastes strongly of prawn (especially if the heads were used for the broth).
The leafy greens (Bok Choy, Green Onions and Chinese Cabbage) offset the strong fishy taste. We would recommend this for those who really love seafood in its most concentrated form.
The Kilaw dishes like Kinilaw na Isda are made with raw fish, vinegar, ginger, and chilies!
Often made with Mackarel (but can also be made with shrimp and other white fish), this dish is reminiscent of the Spanish Ceviche. However, instead of citrus, we use vinegar. We recommend this for the more adventurous eaters!
We applaud Isla Sugbu Seafood City for its innovative, yet traditional treatment of Visayan Sutukil culture. While the prices are a little higher than what you get in most restaurants, your health and food safety is worth the money you pay to eat here.
The environment is both clean, friendly, and perfect for tourists who want to enjoy good Visayan food without the stomach ache.
ISLA SUGBU SEAFOOD CITY
The Grand Convention Center of Cebu, Archbishop Reyes Avenue, Cebu City
Telephone: +63 32 260 – 8000
Facebook: The Grand Convention Center of Cebu
Instagram: @TheGrandCon
Twitter: @TheGrandCon
PRICING
P1,600 net for 4 pax
PACKAGES
Includes free appetizer, free dish and rice platter.
Package A
Fish Sugba
Shrimp Tinuwa
Fish Kinilaw
Package B
Squid Sugba
Shrimp Tinuwa
Fish Kinilaw
Package C
Fish Sugba
Fish Tinuwa
Shrimp Kinilaw
Package D
Squid Sugba
Fish Tinuwa
Shrimp Kinilaw
Live an Awesome Life,
Team Our Awesome Planet
Disclosure: Our trip to Isla Sugbu Seafood City was courtesy of Winglip Chang, President of 101 Restaurant City Incorporated. We wrote this article with our biases, opinions, and insights. Read Our Awesome Planet Complete Disclosure Policy here.
P.S. Don’t forget to check out Tsay Cheng at The Grand Con for their delicious Chinese dim sum!
Thank you your for your blog, this is very helpful also for balikbayan people like me who have not been back to Cebu for 18 years. I & my husband are scheduled to travel back this year, 2019 and of course, I have to plan everything, the wonderful places to go including good restaurants. I checked the Seafood City website but it does not include price information. I do not know if your blog is up to date but at least it gives us an idea. Again, thank you.
We have not been back since, so not sure if they increase their price or not.