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.

First Bite: Warung Kapitolyo

I hardly frequent Kapitolyo these past months but when I do, I always notice the numerous cars parked in front of Warung, an Indonesian restaurant that opened a several months back. It sure made me curious as the place seemed to be packed every lunch and dinner. But I’m always hungry whenever I visit Kapitolyo and I lack the patience to wait for a table. Luckily, I passed by this place again around 2 pm on a weekday and my mom and I had the place all to ourselves! 

Hello, Warung Kapitolyo!

This restaurant seems to be an old house converted into a spacious and well-designed restaurant. Upon entering the dining hall, I noticed the beautiful dangling lighting fixtures and wooden window panes that made the frustrated interior designer in me jump with glee.

I’m not exactly familiar with Indonesian cuisine but the overlap of Asian dishes made me feel comfortable with ordering Sate Ayam (PHP195), Ikan Pepes (PHP210), Nasi Goreng (PHP185) and Soto Ayam (PHP190). For drinks, I got Cucumer Shake (PHP95) while my mom ordered Coconut Shake (PHP95).

First served were our drinks which were perfect thirst quenchers! 

I loved that our drinks were not that sweet and were very refreshing to combat the intense afternoon heat.