Introducing a lovely restaurant at Cebu IT Park – Shaka restaurant ** It’s near 3D Academy

Shaka restaurant

Hi everyone, this is Edward from Vietnam. Today I want to recommend a place to you – The Shaka restaurant. Learning English in the 3D academy is a dream comes true to me. Hence after studying hard, I always wanted to find a place to indulge myself with a cup of coffee or any other drink in this beautiful island to relax. IT park is one of the places that always fulfill my small desire.

Last Saturday morning, with “Remember when” book written by Judith Mcnaught in my hands, I walk under the blue sky to enjoy a cup of Cappuccino in the Shaka restaurant. It’s a lovely encounter. I found that browsing through the book casually with the strong coffee smell in the air is always one of the best ways to practice English.

Shaka signage

Shaka restaurant is located inside IT park. IT park was previously an Airport. It is now a special economic zone hosting over 60 BPO providers. There are many high-rise buildings, call centers, foreign banks and restaurants here. It’s about 20 minutes from the Mactan International Airport and about 10 minutes from the Cebu International Port. You can find cafes and restaurants such as Starbucks, Bo’s coffee, The coffee bean & Tea leaf, or fast food like KFC, Mc Donald, Jollibee, Chowking and a lot of restaurants here. My personal favorite is Shaka restaurant because the atmosphere in the restaurant is superb, discreet and relaxing.

Shaka offers 3 areas of seatings for you to choose from.

1. There is an outdoor seating area.

All the tables and chairs were shadowed under the colorful umbrellas. It gives a colorful vibe and your mood would easily light up with the scenes of rejuvenation. However, this is a smoking zone and normally reserved only for smokers. If you are a non-smoker who want to sit under the colorful umbrellas, you can go there in the afternoon as there will be fewer customers at that time and they would allow you to sit there.

Umbrellas area

2. There is the first floor sheltered zone in the restaurant.

I strongly recommend you to go there in the weekend evening if you want to enjoy live music. This is the best place.

First floor

3. There is the second-floor open area.

Loving nature? You are in the right place. Over here you will be sitting “with” the trees beside you. However, the scattered trees and leaves offer little shelter at noon and hence it could be quite hot in the afternoon. When the sun goes down, this place will be turning cooler. As the evening comes, this zone will get really crowded because.. who doesn’t love enjoying the nice view on the second floor, open area, and with the tree? It’s lovely.

Second floor

Foods, drinks, and service offered in Shaka

Food: There are many items you can choose. I ordered their Huli-Huli chicken quarter (140 pesos), 1 stick Asparagus Bacon (30 pesos) and Mango juice (80 pesos). The rice and chicken servings seem small but it is enough for one person and it is really delicious (not too sweet and not too salty). The Asparagus Bacon has good smell and tastes great. Sometimes, I order their Shakadaghan fried chicken (330 pesos) with San Miguel Pale Pilsen beer (80 pesos). Who doesn’t love fried chicken with beer? That’s the best! I often drink coffee (90 pesos) on the

Service: First of all, all the waiter and waitress here are really cute and polite. They smile a lot facing the customers (The lovely smile must be a Filipinos thing). Sometimes they will approach you to check if everything is alright. I also like their cute Hawaiian uniforms. It is such a great restaurant. The only thing I would suggest for them to improve on is to put some rings or notification bell on each table for the customers to order more food or drinks since the restaurant is quite large and widespread.

How to go to Shaka restaurant from 3D academy

Shaka is located at the Asiatown IT Park which is just 1 kilometers away from the JY square (3D academy) and takes only about 15 minutes by walk.

If you are not a foot soldier or if you have plenty of cash to waste (just kidding, or maybe if you are in a hurry because you are late for your date!), you can take the following transports:

– 60 pesos (40 pesos initial charge and 20 pesos for the meter charge) to take a taxi,

– 30 pesos for motorcycle (You can easily find a motorbike driver in front of 3D main building)

– 7 peso for 17B/ 17D Jeepney (opposite 3D main building)

Shaka Restaurant Overview:

Address: Garden Bloc, IT Park, Lahug, Cebu City (near Night Market)

Operating Hours: 11:00 AM – 02:00 AM

Phone: (032) 514 2667

Cost: Around 800 pesos for 2 persons (dine and drink – Cash only)

Live music on the weekend: There is also bands performance playing popular music near the umbrella area

Summary of Areas and when to sit at where:

• The umbrella area is best to be seated during the late afternoon time (smoking area)
• The second-floor tree zone is the best during night time (The most beautiful view)
• The first floor sheltered zone is a good choice for eat and drink and to enjoy the raining view (Because it’s the only sheltered area if it rains :P)

Note: On the weekend evenings, if you want to have a seat on the second-floor tree zone, you should book a table at least 4 hours before going as it is usually crowded.

Shaka at night

So that’s it. Hand in hand with someone under the shimmering light and melodious music, Shaka restaurant is the perfect place for a night out. Here you can chit chat with friends and try local food. It is the perfect for the weekend relaxation after studying hard. Or if you are a super hard worker, you can also use this place to review your lesson with your friends and prepare for the next studying week (Count me out for this :p).

Thank you for reading and see you in the next place I discover in Cebu.