More of Marshall's Irish Pub, Cebu, Philippines

I am dogged by the luck o' the Irish (bad luck) when it comes to getting invited to food tastings and freebies all these bloggers I read about get to enjoy, but then again I never was and never will be a food blogger. I just like to eat (and write about it if and when the food, whether good or bland, induces some inspiration), that is all. And so I have abandoned all freeloading hope.

Then out of nowhere (not exactly nowhere, but by some six-degrees-of-separation kind of luck) I get to take part in an Irish Pub's food tasting. Like a leprechaun who has found a pot of gold, I leap with glee. Woohoo!

At Marshall's Irish Pub, a long table was set up with green-capped bottles of water and flutes of champagne waiting for the tasters.

It started off on a high note (who wouldn't be excited to taste Irish Pub fare for free?) with Larry Marshall, evidently the owner of Marshall's Irish Pub, taking the singer's seat by the entrance with a microphone in hand (the pub has live acoustic music every night at nine). Not to sing but to welcome the invited guests and to talk about how the pub came to be and what is served here.

So how did the pub come to be? Larry found there was only one Irish pub in Cebu and it was located in the edge of the city. Too far for all you urbanites. To bring Irish fodder closer to the city dwellers, in June 2012 Larry opened his gastropub at Century Plaza Commercial Complex in uptown Cebu.(Marshall's Irish Pub has relocated to Mango Square, just a two-minute walk from the previous location.) ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).