Whoever said our lovely city didn’t have fastfood before all the Jollibees and McDonalds in the world deigned to set foot in our shores?
Of course, people were not really as fond of(or shall I say “addicted to”?) fastfood back then as they are now. Most often, families and barkadas with average incomes only went out to eat for special occasions such as birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, or other equally important events. And Orange Brutus was one of the few fastfood places that Cebuanos flocked to for these said events.
I remember I tasted their Chocolate Monster when my mother bought it for her birthday years ago. To say that I fell in love with the rich pastry is a huge understatement. I adored it. Years passed, and when international fastfood chains invaded the city, I never forgot about this small but lovely food place. Their menu has probably changed. They certainly added some new dishes over the years. But my fave Choco monster is still there… calling me to sample it every now and then. So I try to visit it once in a while… to reminisce of the past… and make new delicious memories for the future.
And below are some of the scrumptious things I sampled from my last visit…
Veggie Lumpia
This is definitely an acquired taste, especially if you’re the type of person who can’t imagine rolls without meat. I actually like this dish, especially since it’s hard to find rolls with only veggies in this “meat lover” city. But if you take these home with you, they get wrapped in these styro boxes and the condensation makes the wrap and the filling a tad mushy, which is actually not as palatable as I would have wished.
Sizzling Burger Steak
This is one hot dish. And I mean it when I say “hot” because this dish comes to your table on a scorchingly hot plate that would splatter scalding meat sauce on your shirt… or face, if you get too excited and look at it too closely as you contemplate on how best to gobble it. So best not get too close until it simmers down or you might not only get a sauce splattered shirt, but also some burnt taste buds.
Sizzling Boneless Bangus
This pescetarian treat is quite all right in my book. Yummy sauce and fish with crunchy veggies and rice, quite satisfying. But the fish, in my humble opinion, is too scrawny to be enough for someone who’s having a late lunch and is quite famished enough to have devoured a medium-sized tuna(head, tail, and all). And the meal doesn’t come with a drink either. Pfft!
Chicken Chicharon
Now this dish is quite sinfully addictive! You take a teeny bite and you’re hooked! You won’t be able to stop until there isn’t a speck of it left on your plate. Unequivocally delicious but awfully scary–since skin is the part of chicken meat in which you get the most allergens and the most cholesterol content. So munchers, beware! Lead not your palates to temptation. :P
Chicken Steak
Chicken is one of my fave meats, never mind that I’m allergic. And to have it with some rich sauce that perfectly complements the fried breaded meat is such a delicious treat. And it comes with two awfully cute carrot slices, too! They were like adorable “health nut wannabe” afterthoughts.
Chocolate Monster
This scandalous version of a pastry is not only yummy when partaken in slices but also in shamelessly humongous rounds. The cake is perfectly moist and chocolate-y in the inside with some indescribably delectable frost(that must have some ganja in it, because you certainly can’t stop stuffing your face with it once you get a spoonful… Joke!) on the outside. ^_^
Now, I’m quite proud that this yummy food place is a “born and bred” Cebuano restaurant—so to speak. It’s even about the same age as I am, if you could imagine that! And they serve not only delicious but also quite affordable food for average juans and juanas out there.
If you wanna know more about this amazing Cebuano food chain, you can visit their site.
