Amazing Jing for Life: tourist destination

Discover, Dine, and Play: Cebu’s Growing Collection of Destination Attractions Captivates Travelers

September 4, 2026

Discover fun and adventure at Cebu Fun Park, one of the featured attractions within the SM Seaside Complex that brings recreation and leisure together in one destination.

CEBU, Philippines, 12th August 2026 - Cebu continues to strengthen its reputation as one of the country's most dynamic travel destinations, offering visitors a diverse mix of attractions, experiences, and activities that go beyond its renowned beaches and heritage sites. As part of its SM for Cebu commitment, the most-loved SM malls in Cebu continue to bring together shopping, dining, entertainment, recreation, and leisure experiences, giving both locals and visitors a maxed-out experience and more ways to discover, dine, play, and make the most of their time in the province.

At SM City Cebu, visitors can experience a vibrant urban destination where shopping, dining, entertainment, and recreation come together in one convenient location. From leading fashion and lifestyle brands to the latest in technology, beauty, home, and everyday essentials, SM City Cebu curates one of the city's most comprehensive retail destinations, making it a preferred shopping hub for both locals and tourists. Food lovers can also explore the Food Hall, which brings together a diverse selection of dining concepts, offering everything from local favorites to international flavors in one vibrant culinary destination, while families and groups can enjoy friendly competition at the SM Bowling Center. For moviegoers, the Directors Club Cinema offers a premium viewing experience, while the first and only IMAX

Theatre in Cebu remains a premier entertainment destination, offering audiences an unparalleled cinematic experience with cutting-edge projection and sound technology for the biggest film releases. With its central location and broad range of offerings, SM City Cebu provides visitors with a convenient way to shop, dine, be entertained, and unwind while exploring the city.

In Mandaue City, SM J Mall offers a distinctly different lifestyle experience, combining Japanese-inspired design and contemporary leisure concepts with shopping, dining, wellness, and entertainment. Visitors can explore the mall's Japanese-inspired spaces and discover dining destinations such as the Izakaya Terrace and Food Hall, offering opportunities to enjoy meals and gather with family and friends. Beyond dining, SM J Mall brings together retail, beauty and wellness, technology, and active-lifestyle experiences, creating a destination suited for both relaxation and recreation. Moviegoers can also enjoy the premium

Directors Club Cinema, while the mall's curated spaces and lifestyle concepts provide visitors with a more experiential way to spend their day. Together, these offerings give SM J Mall a distinctive character within Cebu's growing collection of lifestyle destinations.

SM Skating offers an exhilarating ice-skating experience at SM Seaside City Cebu, giving visitors a space to glide, play, and enjoy memorable moments on the ice.

At SM Seaside City Cebu, visitors can explore an expansive mix of retail, dining, entertainment, and leisure offerings, including the SM Bowling Center, Ice Skating, and Directors Club Cinema. Beyond the mall, the surrounding SM Seaside Complex brings together Cebu Ocean Park, Cebu Fun Park, and Thirsty Pickle, offering marine discovery, family recreation, and active sports experiences. The destination is further expanding its events and entertainment offering with the SM Seaside Cebu Arena, which hosts major concerts, sporting events, and other large-scale activities, while the upcoming SMX Convention Center Seaside Cebu is set to further strengthen Cebu's capacity for conventions, exhibitions, meetings, and events.

From homegrown Cebuano specialties to globally inspired cuisine, SM Supermalls bring together diverse dining experiences that celebrate Cebu’s vibrant food culture.

Cebu's diverse dining scene adds another dimension to the visitor experience, from beloved Cebuano specialties to globally inspired cuisines. Across SM malls in Cebu, guests can discover local favorites, homegrown brands, and international restaurants, making every visit an opportunity to explore new flavors while experiencing the region's vibrant food culture. Whether enjoying the variety at the Food Hall of SM City Cebu, experiencing Japanese-inspired dining at SM J Mall, or exploring the wide range of restaurants at SM Seaside City Cebu, visitors can easily make food part of their Cebu experience.

Visitors enjoy an exciting game of pickleball at Thirsty Pickle, one of the featured lifestyle attractions within the SM Seaside Complex, offering active recreation for both beginners and experienced players.

The growing variety of attractions gives travelers more ways to spend their day, whether enjoying marine encounters and family activities, discovering new dining and lifestyle concepts, shopping, watching movies, bowling, playing pickleball, or attending concerts and major events. By bringing together diverse lifestyle, retail, dining, entertainment, and recreational experiences, these destinations contribute to Cebu's broader tourism landscape, creating more opportunities for longer visits, repeat trips, and engagement with local businesses. As Cebu's tourism landscape continues to evolve, its growing collection of attractions reinforces the province's position as one of the country's premier travel destinations, inviting visitors to discover, dine, and play while experiencing even more of what Cebu has to offer.

About SM Supermalls

SM Supermalls is one of Southeast Asia's largest mall developers and operators, with 90 malls in the Philippines and 9 in China. For generations, SM has grown alongside Filipino communities by creating destinations where people, businesses, and opportunities come together.

Through "My SM," SM continues to evolve with the changing lifestyles and needs of Filipino communities, reimagining the mall experience through thoughtfully designed spaces, better connectivity, innovative digital conveniences, and meaningful experiences that foster connection and strengthen communities.

My SM. Your Most Loved

Posted in: leisure, Lifestyle, SM Seaside Cebu, SM Supermalls Cebu, tourist destination, tourist spots, travel, travelers | Posted by : Amazing Jing Javier

Divisoria Guide App Now Available for Download

Anyone can snatch the best deals in Manila's famous marketplace with the help of an app – and without worries of getting lost.

Divisoria Guide App for iOS, an application created by young Filipino entrepreneur from Palawan province, John Christian Yayen will be available for download starting 5pm on Friday, September 6.

The app, which will be sold at $2.99 or around P130 at the App Store is the best would-be-mobile-essential for new and aspiring entrepreneurs, and bargain hunters as they explore the country’s biggest marketplace for bargains.

Divisoria Guide App’s main feature is the offline map that covers all the streets in the crowd-drawing Divisoria market in Manila. Notes and tips on how to score a deal as well as what street merchandises to buy were also featured in the app.

As someone who already got lost in the crowded Manila area several times before, Yayen said he decided to work on the App not only to help himself but also other small business owners and ordinary consumers who might be interested to shop at Divisoria but are hesitant to do so for they have no idea where to go, not to mention the fact they are very concerned with their safety.

The 24 year-old BS Nursing graduate of the University of Santo Tomas added, “Divisoria Guide is the perfect app for everyone who would dare to visit that part of Manila especially nowadays that even search engine giant, Google has very limited information about it.”

Yayen said locals and even the Chinese businessmen who frequent the area are not even that familiar with the places that he just discovered while doing his research for this app. His almost one year of hard work made him realize that Divisoria has a lot of things to offer – from the basic commodities at very low prices that attract local and foreigners alike to as huge as the Filipino culture and history.

With this app, mobile app users can now access great information in just a click of a keypad.

With plenty of information on establishments, products, and other useful utilities, the app would help users in many ways, which include saving a lot of their time, money and effort.

Indeed, there's no better way to explore Divisoria than by having this reliable app on one's iOS device.

Divisoria Guide App will also be available for Android soon.

For more info, visit www.divisoriaguide.com. Follow Divisoria Guide on Twitter @divisoriaguide and join the conversation about the launch with the hash tag #DivisoriaGuideAppLaunch and like their page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/divisoriaguideapp.

Posted in: Cheap items, Consumers, Divisoria App, Divisoria Guide, Divisoria Guide price, John Yayen, Manila shops, Mobile app for shoppers, New app for Download, Shopper's Guide, Shopper's haven, tourist destination | Posted by : Amazing Jing Javier

BATANGAS FOOD FEST AT ITS BEST IN MATABUNGKAY BEACH HOTEL

Jobim Jalbuena for his "Binarakong Baka" and Tricia Baylosis for her "Kalderetang Kambing with Couscous" exclusive only in Matabungkay Beach Hotel

What comes into your mind when you hear the place Batangas? Majority would think of the beaches, the “barako” coffee and foods that only Batangas could offer, right? (aside from the Batangas-made “balisongs” hehe) The last time I went to Matabungkay beach was I guess in the early 80’s. I had the fondest memories of that place, I remember when we rode a “balsa” (beach bamboo raft) that took us to a much deeper part of the sea and then me and my siblings, together with my mom and dad, who were equally happy too, and the rest of our family friends sailed all day. We all had fun swimming, laughing and even had a sort of picnic right at the “balsa.”

The enchanting Matabungkay Resort beachfront

The very generous and charming Mrs. Charley Leviste Antonio, owner of the famous Matabungkay Beach Hotel (MBH) had invited us through our beautiful mutual friend, Wendy Jalbuena (thanks much!) to attend the “Batangas Food Fest” event at the resort. We've learned from Charley that this whole month of November, they will be featuring native Batangas dishes with a twist and delicacies in their hotel so that guests could enjoy not only the best service and amenities but they could also lavish on foods that are catered only in Matabungkay Beach Hotel located in Lian, Batangas.

The whole group of bloggers and press upon our arrival with the owner,

Mrs. Charley Leviste Antonio

Mrs. Charley Leviste Antonio (center) with the us, bloggers at the Cafe Caballero

The festive mood at MBH

For the whole month of November, Matabungkay Beach Hotel's guests could also buy several featured Batangas delicacies (suman sa gata, pichi- pichi, biko, bibingka, sapin-sapin, etc.). You don't have to go out to buy your "pasalubongs," and it's very affordable.

OMG! Can you spot on the "kapeng barako"? And there's the "bagoong balayan" which I love to cook with the veggies (pinakbet).

Food overload! Oh my, there's the choco tablea and MBH's signature polvoron

The very refreshing buko and halo-halo station! Every family's favorite, so perfect for the setting!

Having witnessed the Junior Master Chef Philippines runner-up Jobim Jalbuena and one of its top 12 finalists, Tricia Baylosis, a real Batangueña cooked up in a demo, it had given us an outstanding impression on these two tweeners. They were so good in their craft and really know what they were doing, truly fitting for the title of Junior Master Chefs. :))

The vibrant host, the ever beautiful Wendy Jalbuena with her son, Jobim

during the cooking demo

Busy Tricia Baylosis cooking her "Kalderetang Kambing"

Tricia demonstrated her own Batangas inspired fusion recipe Kalderetang Kambing with Couscous. It has been a common knowledge that Batangas is also known for good-quality meats from their goat and cowherds while couscous is one of the healthiest grain products originated from North Africa, it’s an alternative to rice and pasta and is usually combined with meat, vegetables and spices with the semolina; it readily soaks up the flavor of other ingredients. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya.

"Kalderetang Kambing with Couscous"

So distinctively tasteful and the meat's so tender it complemented the texture of couscous, the veggies, fruits and spices as well. This is not the regular kaldereta that we usually cook. It's so gratifying even kids will surely love it! <3

At the same event, Jobim had also demonstrated his own Batangas inspired fusion recipe Binarakong Baka. Batangas province is also known to produce “Barako” coffee, a variety that belongs to the species Coffea liberica, exhibiting strong taste, flavour, and has a peculiar piquant aroma. Honestly, this was my first time to try a dish made with zesty coffee taste. Jobim was so confident with his style of cooking and that he exemplifies the new breed of teenage Pinoy; kudos to his Mom, Wendy Jalbuena who raised him so well and his other siblings.

"Binarakong Baka"

The brewing aroma of the coffee and sauce while on the pan outstripped our expectations; the full-flavored tender beef is so scrumptious and appetizing, it goes well with the spicy Korean kimchi, and there are those tricky sagos that redefines the texture of the dish... rice please!!! :)))

The whole cooking demo was so entertaining yet very informative; we were so driven by the enthusiasm of the two teenage chefs in their own rights. Tricia’s tip in cooking kalderetang kambing was to wash the goat’s meat (chevron) five times and you can also put some vinegar in washing to reduce the meat’s pungent odor. Tricia even advised that we should also use lots of onions to add more flavour and taste.

Whereas Jobim had used potato powder instead of the usual cornstarch to thicken the sauce of his Binarakong Baka, according to his mom, it gives a pleasing and different taste to the dish and is available in supermarkets. Hmmm... why not, I wanna give it a try for a change. :)) The fourteen year-old cooking prince had a Korean kimchi for a side dish and I bet you, the sweet and coffee sapidity of the dish blended well on my palate.

Good job kids! ;-)

Part of the MBH menu this November includes Jobim's Coffee Crème Brûlée; Tricia's Lechitin De Kape and two more incomparable recipes by the two junior chefs namely the

Salad Greens with Balayan Vinaigrette and Sizzling Bulalo

Chef Manny of Magnolia Ice Cream, a major sponsor of the food fest, had also demonstrated a dessert that is exclusively available only at the Matabungkay Beach Hotel... it’s the “Sizzling Ice Cream!” (would you believe?!) I've never tried this before and it was so liberating that I now have the chance :)).

Of course, there’s the “fried ice cream” that really caught the public’s attention before right? But here comes another variety of ice cream dessert and it’s for real!!!

Chef Manny was literally deep-frying the ball of ice cream! According to him, he just used the regular Japanese bread crumbs to cover the whole ice cream ball and the right temperature for deep- frying is 350°F. Another tip I've learned from chef Manny was, the palm oil is most suitable for deep-frying whereas vegetable oil is best used in sauteing.

I love this! I was putting some caramel syrup and native "tuba" or palm wine (optional). It was a lot of fun, looking at the ice cream on fire... flaming on a sizzling plate!

The finished product! The breaded deep-fried ice cream rests on top of a chocolate cupcake on a sizzling plate oozing with caramel syrup and palm wine or coconut toddy. The breading became a bit crispy after being deep-fried.

You could also enjoy the sizzling ice cream even without the breading...

See? Photographs were not enough to convey how toothsome and delectable this dessert was. It was worth waiting for, really hope you'd try it there!

We could also deluge into this deep-fried Magnolia ice cream and still goes better with the caramel syrup to make it more enticing and luscious.

MBH's promo... "Life is sweet at Matabungkay!"

During special events or varied occasions, guests may avail MBH's Buffet Lunch for only

Php300 net/ head

So peeps, what are you waiting for? It’s never too late to have fun and enjoy this season’s greatest offer! You don’t only get to lavish on Matabungkay Beach Hotel’s very exquisite Batangas menus with a twist, you also get to experience the resort’s services and amenities!

Night swimming with friends and family (photo credit to Jenny)

Posing time with pretty boy Jobim by the pool (thanks Jenny for this pic)

Another bonding and relaxation moment this time at the Wave Music Lounge

with Jenny and Cristelle ( photo credit to Jenny)

They say sunset along Matabungkay beach is one of the best sceneries one could capture. We were hoping to have a shot of it but we were so engrossed by Jobim and Tricia’s cooking so we totally missed it. Anyways, there’s always a next time, right? What we did was, we'd planned to get up early to catch on how the sun rises over Matabungkay and luckily, we were able to witness it and I’m so proud to share you some of the pictures I've taken.

The majestic sunrise over Matabungkay taken during our early morning tour and adventure.

This was taken on our second day at MBH.

Another adventure you should not miss doing in Matabungkay was boat peddling. For only Php 50/ head for one hour, you get to pump your veins, contract those leg muscles and engage yourselves in a tour along Matabungkay shorelines.

Boat peddling adventure with Jigo, Angelyn, Carl and Justine

“Kuya Onie” (the boat owner) was so generous enough that he allowed us to stay in their “balsa” for free. Our teenagers had a dip of the salty natural water; of course, me and my friend / blogger Angelyn also took this chance to swim and enjoy the beach even for just awhile.

with my son Jigo at our "balsa" adventure :))

Our boys really woke up very early to enjoy the pleasures of the beach and nature

One of my fave pics, see the blue reflection of the sky on the sea? Love it! <3 Nice shot, Jigo!

This memorable place had created a soft spot in our hearts; I know most of you could also relate to what I’m saying... Travelling back to this amazing local and tourist destination had brought a lot of good memories. Memories that we could forever cherish and it made me feel like it had put me somehow in déjà vu.

Tell me... do these photographs...

...speak of how phantasmagorical Matabungkay Beach is?

It's so surreal... and after 32 years, it hasn't change...

It's enchanting!!! <3

The adult pool (photo courtesy of Matabungkay Beach Hotel)

Our weekend experience was something that we were all looking for, away from the busy city, far from stress, free from any hazards, with fresh air, relaxation galore, majestic sceneries, fun and adventure, great company, family bonding, quality service, courteous staff, various amenities and truly delectable Batangas foods at its best only at the Matabungkay Beach Hotel.

Looking forward on coming back to this one awesome and amazing place not so far from home... hope to check out other amenities and services and would gladly share to all of you.

You can check Matabungkay Beach Hotel's promos, packages and other updates by clicking this.

Please do like their Facebook page and hope you could also follow @thematabungkay on Twitter.

You can check out more fascinating pictures here.

For online reservations click here.
For reservations via mobile: 09088870596

Tel. No. (632) 752-5252 / 819-3080 / 751-6683 and 85

To Charley, thank you so much for the accommodation, for the sumptuous food, for the hospitality and everything. Hope to see you again soon! More power and God bless!