Enrico V. Dionson prefers to keep things simple. Like his no-nonsense and direct approach to business, his roasted pigs are seasoned only with the most traditional herbs and spices. It is this insistence on the uncomplicated, even doing away with lemon grass (tanglad in Cebuano) as a flavoring even if it is commonly used by...

Small and nondescript, it fits seamlessly into the roadside row of residential homes and small stores along V. Rama St. shortly after a right turn from B. Rodriguez St. in Cebu City. If you’re not paying particular attention, you just might miss the small sign the proclaims it to be Kusina ni Nasing (Nasing’s...

All photos by Boboi Costas The bakasi (saltwater eel) thrives abundantly in the town of Cordova, Mactan Island, a 45-minute drive from the city of Cebu. In taxonomic classification, eels belong to the Muranidae family which includes 200 species in 15 genera. In Buwagsong, Cordova, a local fishing community; the bakasi is a...