Sinag Café, Fili Hotel’s all-day dining buffet restaurant, is opening its doors to walk-in and checked-in guests on March 30, 2023. Expect incredibly generous spreads and a vast array of delectable dishes with bold flavors and creative combinations in its seven stations and 30  counters. It is the first and only buffet restaurant in Cebu with a live Lechon roasting station. It also features among others, a fresh seafood station and a retail section with cold cuts, cheeses,  bottled sauces, salts, and condiments from NUSTAR’s other dining outlets. 

Aside from being another showcase of how we take pride in our Filipino language, the name “Sinag” is also symbolic of the start of each day, when everything in the hotel kitchen is prepared fresh. Moreover, the dishes at Sinag bring about warmth, from how most of them are classics that evoke feelings of nostalgia, to the way they nourish and provide guests with a great start or ending to their day. 

Here is a list of all you can find at Sinag Café’s all-you-can-eat buffet for breakfast, lunch,  and dinner. 

Beyond stylish spaces 

The 1,300-square-meter restaurant, which can cater to 300 to 350 diners, incorporates  Filipino materials and design elements such as the solihiya backrest of the seats in some of the dining booths. Each of the two private dining rooms can accommodate 12 guests. They are reminiscent of family dinners where members gather to talk about their lives over hearty homecooked meals. One of these rooms, which has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sea,  will be a favorite among those dining in groups. 

Beyond big breakfasts 

Sinag Café’s breakfast buffet combines a contemporary cafe breakfast and the best of local breakfast fare, ensuring that there is something to suit all morning palates. Interesting tweaks to typical Filipino breakfast staples include grilled tocino, chorizo de Cebu, and longanisa, and clay pot rice with adobo, kare-kare, or dinuguan. 

For something lighter, there is a station solely for kakanin such as puto bumbong,  bibingka, puto maya, Fili’s Chocolate Eh!, and puto cuchinta. There is another station for crusty bread, laminated pastries, ensaymada, and grilled pan de sal panini. For something even healthier, guests can opt for Greek yogurt, muesli, or fresh fruits and juices.

 At the egg station, guests can have their eggs dine any way they like, from omelets and frittata to poached and en cocotte. Options are also aplenty for potatoes, as guests can choose from rosti, curried potato croquettes, hash browns, Lyonnaise potatoes, or gratin dauphinois. 

Guests can assemble their own plate of full English breakfast with the sausages, baked  beans, three kinds of bacon, and mushrooms that are also on offer. Taho and smoothie shooters will be passed around. 

Those who want hot soup in the morning can check out the soup and noodle stations which have La Paz batchoy, arroz caldo, champorado, and others. 

Beyond luscious lunches and delightful dinners 

From curries and grills to tempura, noodles, soups, and seafood on ice, guests might find that one visit isn't quite enough time to sample everything. That just means they have another reason to come back. 

Not to be missed is the Filipino station which has lechon used as the primary ingredient for well-loved dishes like dinuguan and kare-kare. The Spanish station has tapas, carving, paella,  patatas bravas, and croquetas. 

The Asian section has a noodle station with creations from neighboring countries and from our own. Guests can slurp away as they tuck into bowls of laksa, ramen, pho, batchoy, and lomi.  They can also choose from three kinds of noodles: egg, rice, and vermicelli. 

The Indonesian-Malaysian station is where guests can get satays, rendang, and curries,  while soups, mains, and banchan can be found at the Korean station. Completing the Asian section is the Japanese and Chinese station which has tempura, dim sum, and soups. 

Meanwhile, seafood, salads, makis, sushi, and sashimi are displayed at the cold buffet  station. 

Sinag is paying tribute to another Cebuano favorite through its pungko-pungko station.  Pungko-pungko refers to food stalls along the streets that offer an assortment of fried food.  “Pungko” in Cebuano means to sit, as the authentic experience requires customers to sit on low  benches with the trays and mounds of ginabot (deep-fried mesentery), ngohiong, and others served right in front of them.

There is also a dessert station laden with traditional and modern confections that guests  need to leave room for. Halo-halo, sorbetes, and ice drops made in-house are on offer. A separate  mango station has fresh and dried mangoes, as well as mango desserts like mango panna cotta  and truffles. 

Beyond sensational sensory experiences 

At Sinag’s lechon roasting station, diners can see the whole process of making Cebu’s representative dish. The Sinag lechon, another signature, is infused with mango, through a  marinade that makes use of green mangoes, adding another layer of flavor to this iconic dish.  Mango leaves are stuffed inside the lechon, along with other herbs and aromatics, while branches and twigs from mango trees are used for roasting. Special dips and sides include the Fina-kurat  which is also served at Fina, mango salsa, atchara, and liver sauce. Pusô can be found at the same station. 

Guests can find their way to the hefty Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheel, where hot lechon pasta will be tossed and then twirled onto their plates upon order. For Sinag’s take on pizza, pan de sal dough is used, and apart from the classic margherita and four-cheese varieties,  there will also be sisig pizza and lechon pizza. 

More than heat-lamped counters, there are several action stations manned by chefs of different nationalities. Diners can have their noodles, seafood, and pasta dishes made a la minute,  adding to the interactive buffet experience. At the cold buffet station for example, a chef will prepare sushi live. 

The sutukil station highlights the quintessential Cebuano meal of sugba (grilled), tuwa  (stew), and kinilaw (ceviche-style). Sinag partners with local fishermen whose freshest catch of  the day will be served at the restaurant. For the stew, guests can opt for tinola, linarang, or  sinigang. 

A retail section gives guests a chance to take their favorite flavors home. It has a selection of cold cuts and cheeses, Fina’s vinegar, atchara, and mango salsa by the bottle or jar, bottled sauces from Xin Tian Di, all kinds of pickles, plus salts from Il Primo. The pièce de resistance in this area is the deli slicer for hams, sausages, and cheeses, available upon request. 

For its opening promo, Sinag is running a 25% off discount on lunch and dinner buffet rates for the whole month of April. Breakfast service is from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., lunch is from  11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and dinner is from 6 p.m. to 10 pm. daily. 

To book a table, call NUSTAR Restaurant Reservations at 0996 683 8888.

The Proponent 

Robinsons Hotels and Resorts (RHR) is the hospitality arm of Robinsons Land Corporation  (RLC). It is well on its way to becoming the Philippines’ biggest and best hotel group with the widest variety of formats and brands, as well as the most diverse geographic reach. 

Its latest development is NUSTAR Resort and Casino, Cebu’s first premier integrated resort. NUSTAR will be home to exceptional hotel towers: NUSTAR Hotel, the only ultra-luxury hotel outside Metro Manila, and Fili, a 5-star hotel that boasts genuine Filipino hospitality. 

Set on an island already renowned for its hospitality, each hotel has been designed to redefine the standard of luxury in accommodations, dining, and leisure. 

For inquiries and reservations, dial (032) 888-8282 or email the hotel through  reservations.fili@nustar.com.ph. More information can also be found on the website at  www.nustar.ph/hotels/fili.