Sitting quietly 75 kilometers south from Cebu City, the town of Aloguinsan clearly speaks of sustainable tourism. With the combined efforts of Cebu Parklane International Hotel and the local government of Aloguinsan, the seventh edition of the hotel’s cooking competition dubbed as Sangka sa Kaha took place at the Baluarte, Aloguinsan, Cebu. The event aims to promote Cebuano ingenuity and culture by breathing life to the town’s heirloom dish – Tinuba-ang Tinunu-ang Kinsan. The homegrown dish features three main ingredients staple to all Aloguinsanon kitchen – Kinsan (a seasonal aboriginal fish of the Aloguinsan waters), Tuba (coconut wine), and Tunu (coconut milk).

The deputy speaker also gave Aloguinsanons a heart-warming speech on making Cebu the number one tourist destination in the country.

A thorough tasting and judging of the dishes took place before the champion was named. Among the competition's judges are Joselito "Boboi" Costas of Sugbo Turismo, Chef June Fernandez of Cebu Parklane, and Carlo Olano of Kalami Cebu.

Out of 7 team contenders, a proud member of the Bojo Aloguinsan Eco-Tourism Association, Erlinda Margallo-Gimenez gathered the first prize. 

      The savory and creamy winning dish of Erlinda's team will be included and featured on the menu of Cebu Parklane's Kan-anan Restaurant. "Tinuba-ang Tinunu-ang Kinsan Sa Aloguinsan" will be highlighted along with other authentic Cebuano dishes from different provinces of Cebu such as   “Humba sa Ronda,” “Torta de Argao,” “Takyong Sa Borbon,” “Podrida Sa Oslob,” “Bisayang Manok Sa Dumanjug,” and “Adubaw nga Nokus Sa Sibonga. 

During the Sangka sa Kaha competition, contenders of the cooking competition were provided with only the best and the freshest homegrown ingredients to pair with their very-own Kinsan fish. 

Contenders were exposed to an exciting challenge as they were only given a few minutes to gather their spices. The 7 teams did their best to come up with the dish that will capture the jury's heart. Some contenders use interesting ingredients such as local fresh flowers to revamp their entries.

  Sangka sa Kaha is just one of Parklane’s initiatives in staying true to its tagline “A hotel in Cebu that stands for Cebu”. The hotel is by far the only Cebu-based hotel which reared the odds in combining eco-tourism and culinary tourism at its finest – something that every Cebuano should support and patronize.

    Should you want to indulge yourself with authentic heirloom Cebuano dishes, head to Parklane's Kan-anan Restaurant. Cebu Parklane International Hotel is located at the corner of Archbishop Reyes Avenue and Escario Street.