Cebu Secret Chows: Captain A's -- Home of the Boodle Fight Experience

               Ever heard of a boodle fight? Well, I just learned about it this month thanks to Captain A's Seafood Grill. In Philippine usage, the boodle fight is a military academy terminology for "eating combat" or "attack the food." It is a Philippine military eating tradition, originally practiced by the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadets, wherein members of the military -- regardless of rank, no pretentions whatsoever -- gather around a long table where a jumble of food is spread over banana leaves or old newspapers, and eaten with bare hands, as a symbol of fraternity and equality. It's a very typical Filipino way of eating, I must say. It is usually prepared in celebration after a successful event or for a special occasion.

            Belonging to a military family and thus knows the boodle fight by heart, one of the members of the corporation of Captain A's brings the experience to the public so we too can share in our own camaraderie with our family and friends. 

            Cebu media were gathered one fine noon to experience this fraternal dining. Each table was set up with different boodle fight meals that the resto offered. They offer 7 different meals to choose from for that special occasion or if it's just one of those days you and your friend wanna pig out. 

1. Battle of Mactan - P1,080
         bagoong rice, plain rice, grilled shrimps, grilled tilapias, 1/2 chicken bbq, kinilaw na tangigue, beef kare-kare, ensaladang manga with bagoong, salted egg with tomato

2. Loakan Fiesta - P1,080
          java rice, plain rice, grilled squid, grilled pork belly, steamed crabs, grilled clams, nilasang na hipon, sinigang na bangus, pinakbet, ensaladang labanos with dilis

3. D' Original - P1,240
          sardines rice, plain rice, chicken and pork adobo, grilled squid, grilled prawns, deep fried crabs, ensaladang talong, tuna and crab meat sisig, grilled tuna belly, salted egg with tomato and onion

4. Sinugba Festival - P1,175
         garlic rice, plain rice, inihaw na pork belly, inihaw na manok, inihaw na pusit, inihaw na bangus, baked scallops, mongo soup, inihaw na okra, inihaw na talong, ampalaya with dilis

5. Sinulog Fiesta - P1,175
         puso, plain rice, 1/2 lechon, 1/2 chicken inasal, chorizo bbq, danggit, hipon with gata, nilarang soup, fresh tomatoes and calamansi

6. Birthday Boodle - P1,265
           plain rice, pancit canton, lumpia shanghai, pork bbq, chicken leg bbq, grilled prawns, grilled tilapia, grilled squid, sauteed kangkong with garlic, clams in corn with malunggay

7. Crab Temptation - P1,499
         Think, steamed crab fest. :D

 

JM (Big Food) and I with our birthday boodle! :D

It was indeed a fun way to eat and be in camaraderie with the Cebu media as a lot of us hopped from one table to another to get a taste of the different meals. 

*All boodle fight meals come with UNLIMITED plain rice, a platter of fresh fruits, and one (1) round of iced tea (five glasses).

Wanna fight? Let's bring it to the table. ;)


Captain A's Seafood Grill
Don Jose Avila St., Capitol Site
Cebu City 6000

Operating Hours:
Mon - Thurs    6 am - 2 am
Fri - Sat         6 am - 3 am
Sun               10 am - 12 mn

Contact:
(032) 505 9594
captainasseafoodgrill@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/CaptainASeafoodGrill



*This is a Cebu Secret Chows segment. Check out the page on my homepage's menu bar for the complete list and more posts like this. :D


To know Cebu, eat Cebu! :D

oink oink,

Babe for Food

- your BFF in Cebu dining! :)

Sprockets Milk Tea Giveaway Winners

Hello there, foodies!


          My Sprockets milk tea giveaway contest ended last Friday. So.... here are the 3 winners according to Rafflecopter.com:

CONGRATULATIONS to Patricia Tan, Joan Torres and Jessamine Jimeno!!! Thank you so much to all the participants and especially to Rachel Arandilla of Sprockets Cafe for the coupons! You may now claim your coupons from me. I've sent emails to the winners so please check your mail! :D


        And again, not to worry dear readers, I have another exciting giveaway real soon! So, please keep posted. Eat well!

oink oink,

Babe for Food

- your BFF in Cebu dining! :)

Cebu Secret Chows: Buddies - Home of the Ultimate Burger Challenge

           It's rare for me to visit a resto twice in a week but this one was a pleasant surprise. Actually, it's a funny story I wanna tell you; one of my biggest blogging bloopers to date. So it's epic. Sit tight and enjoy the ride. :))

FIRST VISIT:
           One of my foodie family friend couple whom I meet in church every week invited me to this new resto for lunch one Sunday. They're just such a nice couple -- Tito Nic and Tita Rachel -- who support my blog by reading it or occasionally treating me meals out and telling me about new places they found through other blogs as well. Tita Rachel was the one who led me to Surfin Ribs with her resto update one time. 

           This new resto, BUDDIES, was a bright, neat place that has a diner setting. What's special about it is it's the only legit resto with a burger eating challenge like the ones you hear about or watch on TLC, more popularly on Man Vs. Food with Adam Richman. They have a wall of fame for victors and give out free shirts to the worthy. It seats around 40 people. 

              Like most fastfood diners, self-service is the system here. It's still convenient though. They have condiments and what else you need on a tray at the end of the counter.

           The ultimate burger challenge is to finish their quadruple burger in 5 mins and you get a souvenir shirt and your photo on their wall of fame. It's the real thing! :D 

the wall of fame

burger slayers

These huge posters on the wall make me drool!

It's a great way of enticing customers and recommending the best dishes of the resto. 

           Since they have a burger eating challenge, I went for the basic Buddy burger to know the taste in case I join the challenge someday. ;)

         Who knows, I did join Dong Juan's burger challenge last year. Would be nice to see a girl on that wall of fame. :D

Buddy Burger - 89 php

              I was excited to taste their burger but after the first bite, I found the patty too soft for my preference. I like my burger patties charred crisp and juicy on the inside. It wasn't bad though. 

           Tita Rachel made the orders and she asked for the philly cheesesteak sandwich, chilidog and steak burrito. We all cut up the orders and shared it to get a taste of everything.

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich - 150 php

           This was a pretty thing. I loved the steak and the bun. It wasn't just an ordinary bun, it was a hoagi bun; much like a baguette, crisp exterior and chewy interior though a little softer than a baguette. The steak was flavorful and juicy. 

           I missed to take photos of the chilidog and the steak burrito but anyway, the chilidog was nothing extraordinary. The hotdog used was a good quality but I think it was quite pricey for a sandwich. The steak burrito, I loved. They got the distinct Mexican flavor just right and the tortilla wrapper was also good. That's something to go back for. I noticed they're steak products are pretty good. 

What we had:

Buddy burger - 89 php

Philly Cheesesteak sandwich - 150 php

Buddies Chilidog - 130 php

Steak Burrito - 135 php

SECOND VISIT:

     

             Now for the funny one... I had received a text from an unkown number inviting me to Buddies for a feature. He said he was JP. I know two JP's and I thought this was one of them -- JP Fernandez, a close friend of Doyzkie of iluvcebu.com, since he'd be the one most likely to invite me to features. We agreed to meet on Wednesday. 

           I was wondering why he was the one who invited me when Doyzkie could've asked me himself. And when I asked him if Doyzkie was coming, he said he wasn't but that I could invite him. And I wondered even more, why he'd tell me to invite him when they're the closer friends. (you must be as confused as I was by now) 

           So, when I arrived at Buddies with my food blogger classmate, JM of Big Food, I saw a man wave at me and I figured he'd be the owner so I just waved back. Then, he approached me and introduced himself as JP. WOW. Mind blown. This wasn't the JP I was expecting to meet. He had some friends as well and introduced me to them. I was just so stunned, I was speechless. I still didn't know his family name so I wasn't sure if he was familiar or not.

            He welcomed me warmly into the resto and when we settled down, he ordered his recommendations for me. I then explained myself, why my text messages were unusally casual and how I mistook him to be just one of my friends. I was just really so embarrassed I couldn't stop laughing at myself. (Yes, I laugh at my own bloopers.I'm silly like that.)

             Anyway, so, laid before us were steak tacos, nachos, a Buddy burger and sizzling burger steak silog. 

steak tacos - 120 php

        I think most of us would usually picture out the hard shell tacos at the mention of the dish but Buddies offers the soft shell type which I think I prefer more than the hard shell type. 

nachos - 85 php

         This, I loved! Well, I've always been a fan of nachos but the carne asada's flavor pleased my palette well and I just couldn't stop popping this in my mouth despite being stuffed with the rest of the dishes before us. This serves two but if you want a medium heavy snack or an appetizer, have this. 

sizzling burger steak - 85 php

         This is one of my favorites in the menu. I liked the consistency and flavor of the gravy and it went really well with the burger patty. Buddies isn't just about the buns and the burgers. This is a rice meal you'll be coming back for once you've had a taste. :D

JM (Big Food) with her Buddy burger - 89 php (not inclusive of JM. hihi.)

Big Food, Babe for Food, Bethany's Luis

            I needed these foodie friends to help me finish all the food! We were so stuffed. Happy bellies! :D

the Babe and the Buddies (from left) JP Chongbian and Nino Bascon with their friends Miguel and Rany :D

             So, I found out JP's complete name -- JP Chongbian, and that's when things started clicking in my head. He's actually the owner of Vudu and Formo. Oh well, funny encounter with this guy but he sure can be a 'buddy'. He explained that the resto was named Buddies because it is owned and managed by 3 high school buddies, JP Chongbian, Blake Go (not in the photo) and Nino Bascon. 

             It was definitely a pleasure meeting these buddies. I'm glad that another decent resto is finally added to Talamban (nearby my residence), where it isn't as resto-endowed as Banilad. Haha. Now, residents of Talamban and Cabancalan can hover at Buddies for a decent quick fix for quality fastfood cravings. 

Buddies
Piazza Elesia, Talamban, Cebu City 6000

Operating Hours:
Mon - Thurs     11 AM - 2:30 PM, 5 PM - 10 PM
Fri - Sun          11 AM - 2:30 PM, 5 PM - 11 PM

Like them on Facebook - facebook.com/BuddiesBurgers


To know Cebu, eat Cebu! :D

oink oink,

Babe for Food

 - your BFF in Cebu dining! :)

Cebu Secret Chows: Chez Toztar -- FIRST and ONLY Organic Hydroponic Garden-Themed Resto in Cebu!

          I read from Hydroponics and Organics blog about the first and only hydroponic-themed resto in Cebu and I couldn't wait to check it out. I was so excited I didn't bother acquainting myself well enough with the given map of the blog post or even the name of the resto! But Cebu's small enough to get around anyway. A little adventure wouldn't hurt. 

          I had my trusty foodie partner, Luis, join me for the adventure. We both just walked around the corner of Joven's Grill at Capitol and he figured it would most likely be located at Orchid St., the breeding ground of home restaurants at Capitol. And he was right! We found it across Yayoy's Grill with the affirmation of the hydrogarden tarp on the gate. A waitress was also stationed outside to welcome customers.
  

the organic hydrogarden 

             This resto is owned by Chef Willester Yap. It uses the fresh organic produce of its garden in its menu so you're assured of fresh, quality organic herbs in your dishes and you can even buy some potted herbs here! This is also like a sub-outlet of Ms. Ulyssa Torbiso, the young passionate entrepreneur and pioneer of hydroponic gardening in Cebu. You can contact her through her blog: Hydroponics and Organics. She is an inspiration to me and coincidentally goes to the same university (University of San Carlos) as I do. She developed her own hydroponic garden at home and worked for its success until she introduced it to the market through her blog and business fairs in the university.  

basic black and white-themed interiors

          The interiors of the home restaurant have a simple theme of basic hues -- black, white and grey -- and the place also looked clean. I liked the plates because blue is my fave color. The place was really small, seating only approximately 30-35 people. It was not so cool inside because the air conditioner was on low setting aided by an electric fan. In consideration, there were just two tables of customers (including us). 

from the Babe's perspective :)

               The menu was quite extensive, offering international and local fusion cuisine. Since the resto claims to be a 'House of Roasts', I wanted to try their roasted dishes but I yielded to Luis' preference of the cheesy deep fried pork belly in teriyaki sauce. He was intrigued by the pairing of cheese and teriyaki sauce. I also wanted to try the Seafood Thermidor and Beef Kansi (a hybrid of pochero and sinigang -- something I've tried in Bacolod once) but we only wanted a light lunch. We added the exotic green tea salad to our order since we wanted to try something from the garden. 

            From the menu, I discovered that the resto offered unique and interesting items. They were particularly proud of their home-made flavored sodas which they showed in a table illustration has less calories and sugar than regular sodas in the market. I got the lemon strawberry green tea flavor and Luis just had cola. 

             Indeed, it was less sweeter than regular soda. I was also surprised by the big serving and the unusual use of a carafe as the glass. Felt like drinking from a vase. Haha.  

their home-made flavored sodas: lemon strawberry green tea (mine) and cola (Luis) - 50 php each

Exotic Green Tea Salad    140 php

             hand-picked organic green tea leaves, organic lettuce, carrots, apples, fish flakes with yogurt dressing

             This was a suggestion by the waitress. It was my first time to try eating fresh green tea leaves and it was interesting. The leaves had a distinct, mildly spicy/minty flavor to them and it also had a slightly rough texture like fresh oregano. The combination of flavors and texture were pretty odd to me. I found the carrots too thick as well. It was an interesting experience but I don't think I'd order this again.

             

Cheesy Deep Fried Belly in Teriyaki Sauce     148 php
       fried pork belly with a splash of teriyaki sauce and grated cheese

           I'd usually prefer grilled pork belly than a deep fried one. According to Luis, it was like pork belly in hawaiian sauce. The teriyaki sauce was not the usual Japanese flavor I expected. It was sweet and fruity, and the consistency and strength was lovely on rice. To my disappointment, the pork belly was tough and dry. I think the estimation of cooking time with the employment of at least 2 cooking methods was the cause of failure. 

           Though I was not completely satisfied by the dishes we ordered, I am still curious about the rest of the menu that I left undiscovered, especially the roasts. The prices are also surprisingly affordable for an organic resto; everything for 200 below! They may not offer a full blown organic menu but it's worth a try. 

          Customers also receive free ballers (those rubber bands made popular by Nike before) in black and white as souvenirs. That's a first for any restaurant I've been to so far. Their contact details are conveniently found on these which I must say is ingenious marketing. 

free ballers

What we had:
Exotic Green Tea Salad - 140 php
Cheesy Deep Fried Pork Belly in Teriyaki Sauce - 148 php
2 Home-made Flavored Sodas - 50 php each

Chez Toztar House of Roasts
0392 Orchid St., Capitol Site
Cebu City 6000

Contact:
(032) 412 6452
+63 932 7806 176

Operating Hours:
Mon - Sun   10:30 AM - 2 PM
                   5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Price range: 98 - 225 php

click to enlarge

Like them on Facebook for updates or reservations. 

To know Cebu, eat Cebu! :D

oink oink,

Babe for Food

- your BFF in Cebu dining! :)

BFF First Anniv Giveaway 2!

Hey dear foodies!


         I promised a second giveaway,so here it is! So sorry for the delay. The babe is busy with school. Tough love. 


         Let's cut to the chase...What's up for grabs? This time, I've got (3) Sprockets Cafe Gift Certificates which gets you not 1, but 2 Grande Milk Teas!

           Sprockets Cafe has been my top post after just 2 weeks since I posted about it, which is a record breaker among my posts! Read about it here.


So how do you get your hands on this? Just follow the ff. mechanics and you'll be one step closer! :D


1) Leave a comment on this blog post with the ff. details:
       Name:
       Email:
       Twitter:


2) Like Babe for Food's page on Facebook.


3) Like this blog post on BFF's page.

4) Like Sprockets Cafe on Facebook.


5) Follow Sprockets Cafe on Twitter. 

6)  Follow Babe for Food on Twitter.


7) Tweet this message: "joining @babeforfood's @sprocketscafe #milktea giveaway!"


            No fuss, really. Grab this chance to visit Sprockets Cafe if you haven't been and try their milk teas and great food! You won't regret it. :)


            Rafflecopter.com makes joining this giveaway a breeze. I've placed the widget on the right side of my homepage, right under my logo. Please join the giveaway through that widget. It's way easier, trust me. :)


            (I have) 3 coupons = 3 winners. Winners will be picked out by rafflecopter.com and they will be notified by email or Facebook message 48 hrs after the end date of the giveaway. 


P.S. Remember, you have to follow ALL the steps of the listed mechanics through the Rafflecopter widget on my homepage. So, please double check if you got them all right. Thanks! ;)


*This contest is only open to Cebu City residents.


God bless you guys! 

oink oink,

Babe for Food

- your BFF in Cebu dining! :)

Tito Mark's Chocolate Meat

              I've mentioned my dear Tita Issa Cusi in one of my old posts here on the blog, specifically about Cafe Elysa. Tita Issa is the wife of Tito Mark, my dad's best friend. This couple is dear to my heart because they're like my second parents and they're the most adventurous foodie couple I know! We could talk on and on about food and such (if you wanna strike a conversation with me, you'd figure the best topic -- FOOD). :D


              Both partners love to cook and eat. Tito Mark rocks the hot kitchen while Tita Issa can play both hot and cold sides of the kitchen though she's more of a baker. Whenever they invite us to their home for a meal, it's always an amazing gastronomic experience. 


          Last Sunday, I visited them at their welcoming home and Tito Mark immediately invited me to try a dinuguan he just made. He said I'd say it's the best in the whole of Cebu. Of course, I was more than willing. :D

          Dinuguan is a Filipino savory stew of meat and/or offal (typically lungs, kidneys, intestines, ears, heart and snout) simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar. The term dinuguan comes from the Filipino word dugo meaning 

"blood". It is also sometimes jokingly called chocolate meat. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinuguan)

          It is usually eaten as a main course with rice (the way I love having it) but it can also be enjoyed as a snack with puto. Some lechon proprietors even give this away for free when you order a whole pig. When cooked the right way, at par excellence, it is something you could actually crave for. There is no trace of unpleasant smell from offal or the blood. 


          I'd already had quite a heavy lunch (a Cebu Secret... posting about it soon!) before visiting them but I can never resist any of their cooking. So this was an unusually heavy snack for me. It may not look like much, unappetizing even, but looks can be deceiving. Just dig in. No buts, no ifs, no questions. :D 

           This version was made with excess lechon pork belly that Kuya Carlo (Tito Mark's son) had made and  a special red wine vinegar, along with lemongrass (one of my favorite herbs) and some finger chili. 


           The first spoonful had me. It was just bursting with flavor from the lechon pork belly and the lemongrass which was excellently infused into the dish and the heat from the chili was just right for me. The sweet red wine vinegar played a key role in completing the dish as well. Oh my... You'd forget your name if you tried this. Undoubtedly the BEST dinuguan I've ever had in Cebu so far. WOW. Those flavors were just spot on. Sorry, only available at Tito Mark's house for now. But I think he's planning to sell this and some of their newly developed specialty dishes soon. I'll definitely let you know when they do. Everything they make is a must try! :D


Okay, so this post was just something for you to drool on. ;)




To know Cebu, eat Cebu! :D

oink oink,

Babe for Food

- your BFF in Cebu dining! :)