Thursday, July 20, 2017

Love at First Bite: The Oriental Spice Gourmet

Cebu has become a foodie destination with awesome local restaurants and cheap finds. One of the restaurants that seem to be off the social media radar is this Asian restaurant that is known by, surprisingly, expats, as one of Cebu's finest gems.

Hello, The Oriental Spice Gourmet.


It is easy to miss this restaurant located along Maximo V. Patalinghug Jr. Avenue as it's huge signage simply says TOSG, the initials of the restaurant. But thanks to Waze, we didn't miss our stop.
We were greeted by a multi-storey building owned by Mary Ann and her husband Chef Cyril who started The Oriental Spice Gourmet. Only the ground floor is currently available for use but they are already working on the second floor to cater more guests and eventually open up for private bookings.

I was impressed by the very hands on Mary Ann when she approached us and asked if it was our first time to visit her restaurant. At first I thought that I must have looked like a total noob while reading the menu. But it turned out that she knows all of her customers and love to talk to them. She even knows JP who is more known as Chubby Pero Happy.

She suggested that we try Mee Goreng (PHP200), Spicy Beef (PHP200) and Roti Paratha (PHP50/piece). But we thought that it wouldn't be enough to satisfy our grumbling tummies and opted to also order Nasi Goreng (PHP200). Mary Ann told that that it's way too much for us but the proud foodies in us were confident that we could finish those dishes with ease.

For drinks, we went with Avocado Juice (PHP75) and Milk Tea (PHP75).
First served were our drinks and both were great! I wasn't able to try the Avocado Juice but E kept raving about how fresh it was. Mine was pretty good too. It had a beautiful blend of roasted tea, milk and sweeteners.
Service was really fast as our food was served in less than 10 minutes.

After a few snapshots here and there, we began to feast on our Asian lunch and it was love at first bite!

The Spicy Beef (or beef rendang) was just mildly spiced making it very enjoyable for me. The meat was so tender that you don't even have to exert effort to chew it. The sauce was thick and flavorful that you'd feel like you're elsewhere while savoring this dish. 
And true enough, it went absolutely great with the roti paratha.
Mee Goreng was great too! I usually go for Pad Thai whenever I see it so it was actually my first time to try Mee Goreng. I enjoyed its slight crunch from being lightly fried. Topped with generous serving of chicken chunks, Chinese leaves and onions, each mouthful was packed with flavor.
We were getting really full when we started to eat the Nasi Goreng. But it's hard to resist ordering this classic Asian dish.
This beautiful plate of fried rice with egg, chicken, Chinese leaves, onions and crispy anchovies could be a meal of its own. The various textures of this dish was addicting that I didn't even notice that I was already eating more than a quarter of it. It also went well with the spicy beef as the contrast between the very succulent beef with the crispy anchovies was divine.

Before heading out, Mary Ann gave us a complimentary bowl of Bah Kuh Teh (a Saturday special, priced at PHP250 per bowl). The first slurp left a lasting impression on my taste buds. It was great! It was a very comforting dish that would be awesome on rainy days like we have now. But I wouldn't mind having it too during summer. If you're lucky, they might have some leftover soup on Sundays.

I can't wait to visit Cebu again and try the other dishes.

The Oriental Spice Gourmet is located at Maximo V. Patalinghug Jr. Avenue, Basak, Lapu-Lapu.It is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 11: 00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.. Note that there are months when this restaurant is closed as the owners source their ingredients in other countries. Best to give them a call before heading over. You may reach them at 032-406-0814 or 032-340-6084.


Oriental Spice Gourmet Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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