On June 27, Quest Hotel and Conference Center – Cebu, in collaboration with the Cebu Food and Wine Festival and Cebuano designer Mikhail Achas, exemplified the best of Filipino identity through the first day of Lasa Pilipinas: A Celebration of Filipino Flavors, Fashion, and Culture.
“We raise our glasses to something truly close to our hearts: Filipino heritage, design, culture, and the flavours that always bring us home,” Quest Hotel General Manager Mia Singson-Leon remarked in her toast speech to open the two-day event.
Starting off the festivities was a fashion show featuring Mikhail Achas’ first-ever streetwear collection called Baklay, a Bisaya word that means “to walk.” The event marked the launch of the collection by Achas, a renowned designer known for his intricate and creative ability to fuse Filipino identity with modern trends.
Blending unique, colorful local textiles and patterns with 21st-century style sensibilities, the featured collection embraces what Achas describes as the Cebuano narrative.
“I wanted to be inspired by Cebuano street culture,” the designer shared. “Over the years, I realized that Cebuano street culture is not too dressy. It’s relaxed, it’s like you’re living in an urban resort. So when a Cebuano dresses up, it still has that relaxed element to that.”
Achas, the mind behind the famous pusô bag (a handbag resembling the Filipino hanging rice), notes how the Cebuano narrative in fashion is only growing, especially as the market for local ready-to-wear brands begins to take off.
READ: Mikhail Achas and Pusô Atelier: How a Bridal Bag Became the Talk of the Town
“There’s so [many] stories to tell about our heritage and I think it’s about time that we push that narrative forward, and who better to tell that story than, you know, us, who are living and experiencing Cebu every day.”
Following the fashion show was a dinner buffet filled with Filipino food staples. From fan-favorite barbecues and lechon to fresh lumpia sariwa and delicate local desserts, the buffet—hosted at Quest Hotel’s Puso restaurant—highlighted the rich variety Filipino cuisine has to offer.
A standout portion of the buffet came from the Professional Pastry Chefs Guild of Cebu, a proud collective of Cebu’s top pastry chefs committed to showcasing the distinct flavors of Cebuano cuisine.
“When I found the guild and became the president, I really believe that we are rather too influenced by international desserts,” said Chef Allan Barrios, the guild’s president and Cluster Executive Pastry Chef for Crimson Resorts and Spa.
After working abroad for most of his career, Barrios was intrigued by the range of flavors Cebu had to offer the country and the world. With star ingredients like Cebuano mango and heart-warming dishes like binignit, Barrios praised the versatility of the province’s cuisine.
As he put it, the cuisine is “something different.”
Photo Courtesy Quest Hotel
