Limketkai Atrium Aug 15,2012 marked the official opening of the much awaited annual Kumbira culinary show in the Philippines.  This is the 16^th commemoration of this nationwide event and much growth has been witnessed since the start of the show.

During her opening remarks Mrs. Joanna L. Yu,  President of  COHARA (Cagayan De Oro Hotel and Restaurant Association) gave a short run through of all the activities that are lined up for this very special event.  These include:

• Free seminars
• Food galary
• Exhibitors booth
• Food display

Mrs. Yu compared the participants to the recently ended London Olympics who “put their mind and heart in their efforts”  Her last words perfectly demonstrated what the whole event is about “HAVE FUN BECAUSE THIS BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN YOU”

The Chairperson for the Board of Judges Ms. Eileen San Juan provided some detail regarding the number of participants this year’s Kumbira Show had. A total of 391 entries had been submitted for both the Students and Professional category. 41 schools and 21 establishments participated. The judges of this years Kumbira Event are a mix of both local and international Chefs who have spent years in the industry.

She also mentioned that as usual, Kumbira is privileged to host the Chef Wars whose objective is to make it a learning experience and elevate quality.

The so-called “Father of the Tourism Department” Catalino E. Chan expressed his favor in using the “Eats fun in Kumbira” as the theme for this year’s show. The tag line “It’s More Fun In the Philippines” that has been used by the Department of tourism has become known worldwide. In Korea, Germany, Japan, U.S and other countries, this line can be seen on buses, tarpaulins and the like.

Members of the local government also graced this occasion. Vice Mayor Ceasar Ian Acenas talked about how big the city is growing as years go by. The honorable Mayor Vicente Emano reflected on the tragedy that struck CDO when typhoon Sendong hit CDO 8 months ago. “The Kumbira Show is proof that the people of CDO are united”.  “CDO is on its Feet and Moving Forward” he added.

Two performers gave the crowd a break from all the speeches. The CDO performing Arts presented a cultural dance that depicted the rich culture of Northern Mindanao and the various communities living peacefully in Cagayan De Oro. The Kubi Mascott took the stage with a solo dance number with the tune ‘it’s more fun in the Philippines’ playing.

The ceremony ended with the Traditional Sounding of Coconut Shells.

One of the fascinating events of Kumbira has always been the Fruit and Vegetable carving competition. This year, a total of 31 participants in the student division and 7 in the professional division took part in this food art showdown.

The total time allotted was 2hours. This may sound a little bit long but if you witness the event, you will see that 2hrs is indeed a race against time.  The timer started at 12 noon and stopped at exactly 2pm. Cdokay found the following entries to be unique and of ‘winner’ quality. Here are some Kumbira moments for this category.

After the students completed their master pieces, judges  _____ and ____ made their rounds and really looked impressed.

The Fruit and carving completion is indeed proof of the creativeness of Cagayanons. It shows the ingenuity of Filipinos and the uniqueness of The Finest  Clulinary Show in the Philippines.

Are you feeling bored on weekends? Just stayed home, ate the usual meals, watched DVD and slept? Go out and have fun. Cagayan de Oro City has many places to offer during weekends. Night cafe and market is one of them. Cagay – anons are known to be party goers and food lovers. They love to eat and share it with their loved ones and even to friends.

Night cafe in Cagayan de Oro City is one of the city’s prides. The city government headed by Mayor Vicente ” Dongkoy” Emano is giving more opportunities to small businessmen to have their own stall at the night cafe. They can choose what type of business they would want to put up in during Night cafe. Most of the stalls were owned by fast food and restaurants catering hungry cagay – anons and even visitors. Serving them with hot sumptuous food and live band performing at the Kiosk, what can you ask more?  Variety of foods are displayed for you can choose from main dish to desserts name it they have it.

Night market in Cagayan de Oro City is also one of the highlights during weekends. If you’re looking for a cheap but durable products then come and try the night market. Many displayed “ukay – ukay” that are of high-end brands can give you big discounts. What’s good about “ukay – ukay” is that the style is not common and surely you will be wearing it alone, though it is cheap but it is durable. They also have class A and class B imitations of bags and surely you can’t even spot the difference between the original and the imitations. If you are for everything then come and experience the Night market during weekends at the Divisoria at the heart of the city.

Night cafe and market is giving a chance to cagay – anons to meet new friends and even to see long lost friends. The night cafe was made because of the aim to have camaraderie among cagay – anons and to all the visitors who wanted to experience the city of the golden friendship.