My Top 10 dishes

CEBU, Philippines – The year is quickly ending and I have been asked to make a list of my top ten dishes for the year. Only the dishes that I have tasted in Cebu are considered. This is quite a difficult task because in the process "apples are to be compared to oranges."

Majority of the nearly 700 dishes I had tried are truly delicious. But I am told to limit my list to 10 dishes. And so here are the truly exceptional ones, in ascending order:

10.  Durian Panna Cotta at the 25th anniversary celebration of Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort. Guests who tasted it went back again and again until it all ran out.

9.   Sizzling Gambas served during the 8th Sabores de España at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu last July 10. This appetizer is very common, but the version created by Marco Polo chefs that night was truly exceptional.

8.  Japanese Kobe Beef with Vegetables in Garlic Sauce at Mizu, Teppanyaki Japanese cuisine, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino. Only the skilled chefs in Japanese cuisine could bring about the very best in cooking this most expensive beef in the world.

7.  Porcini Mushroom, Shimeji Mushroom, Parmesan, Walnut at the International Culinary Arts Academy Cebu. Graduating students of the school were required to prepare a final culminating dinner in "An Evening of Food and Wine," and out of 24 dishes (50 if pralines are counted), this was the best.

6. Sizzling Live Lapu-Lapu at Choi City. The traditional way is to steam it, and this was a wonderful update in coking live Lapu-Lapu.

5.  Beef Prime Rib, served during the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Consul Michel and Dr. Amparito Lhuillier at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.

4. Bonbon au Foie Gras a la Crème de Morilles, foie gras wrapped in candy-style filo pastry with savory sauce of morilles mushroom, served during the fellowship dinner of the Chaine des Rotisseurs at La Maison Rose (The Pink Mansion).

3.  Crispy Duck served with Vegetables & Cashew Nuts, Tea of Spring, Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort & Spa to welcome the Chinese New Year 2014.

2.  Black Lechon, the signature dish of Plantation Bay Resort and Spa, served during the resort's 18th anniversary.

1. Binga (bingá or baler), during this year's fiesta of Daanbantayan, Cebu. Its scientific name is Melo sp. (Volutidae family). This extra-large sea snail can grow up to the size of a baby's head. It is also known as "bailers" (fishermen used it to bail or scoop water out of boats) or "melons" (the shell resembles that fruit). A video of it is posted in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f3WV2Kzqek.

It was late afternoon and bottles of beer had been consumed. A large wok was simmering and I wondered what my friends were cooking. It was "binga" and after an hour of cooking, I asked to try one. The meat was still tough. Only after another hour had passed did the experienced cooks from Bantayan Island said it was ready. They extracted the meat, removed some offensive parts and served the meat in bite-size portions with native garlic-vinegar dip.

I was totally surprised at the sublime deliciousness of this shellfish. In my work as your favorite food writer and member of a gourmet society for the last 20 years, such gustatory moments - excuse me - are indeed quite rare. I thought I had tasted them all and, now, I have realized that so much work has yet to be accomplished.

Happy New Year to all!