Big Tom's Charbroiled Burgers in Juana Osmena Street, Cebu City

One of the hottest food stops in Cebu City right now is this charbroiled burger joint in the middle of the city. It is known as Big Tom's. The place used to be a house if word around town is to be believed. Entering the place, one can't help but notice the jars overhead used as makeshift lamps. The atmosphere is especially perfect for the Instagram generation with wifi available and social media icons drawn using chalk on one of the place's walls displaying the establishment's name prominently. Now let's go to the meat of this post.

The menu

The above photo shows the menu highlighting the different choices at one's disposal depending on your preference for burgers. Available sizes are 4 oz and 6 oz burgers.

Burgers are served with a knife and fork along with a wooden chopping board to help you dissect your prey with ease. Many would wish some more fries will be added though. Now for the burger itself.

This is the Deluxe Cheeseburger. The bun has just the right degree of fluffiness and firmness so as not to hinder your appreciation of the meat.  Inside, there's tomato, lettuce and Big Tom's sauce.

If you noticed, the cheese is Cheez Whiz-looking. Since they put in their blackboard that they are using cheddar cheese, I was expecting the quite solid cheddar cheese slice. Some might prefer to have the traditional cheddar cheese slice for their burger.

The burger is charbroiled, well done, not flat with just the right thickness. Big Tom's claimed that the patty is freshly prepared daily, never frozen, 100% pure sirloin beef. So let's do the taste test.

The patty is quite juicy, not dry. The sauteed onions are small enough that it will not stop you from savoring the patty. The add-on veggies and sauce complement well the burger's taste which was blended with just the right mix of ingredients and charred just right, not overcooked or burnt. Approve. Thumbs up. Although I personally wished they have the solid cheese.

They also have other items in the menu aside from burgers like spaghetti and meat balls and some more.

Correction, it's spaghetti and meat ball without an S. Just a single meatball although the meatball was big and yummy. Again, I don't know. I'm for grated cheese instead of the quick-melt kind with my spaghetti. The serving is for someone with a big appetite but it costs around 150 or 160 PHP if I remember correctly.

Overall, Big Tom's offer great tasting charbroiled burgers. And I forgot to tell you there is wifi.

So want to visit Big Tom's today? Pa-burger naman dyan?

Ah Phets Noodle Haus and Rice Toppings

One Sunday, me and my wife were randomly looking for something new to eat and we chanced upon one in Escario Street in the same vicinity as Buddies and near Best Western Plus Lex Cebu. It is Ah Phets Noodle Haus and Rice Toppings and we were in for a surprise.

Since their name has noodles in it, we tried their bestseller, the Beef Brisket noodles.

Tasting it, one can tell that they are indeed Chinese style noodles. Ah Phet is generous when it comes to their meat and other ingredients with a reasonable price of 65 pesos. Can't wait to try their other noodle dishes soon.

But it's not just the noodles which deserve a thumbs up. They also have other satisfying items in their menu.

Oriental Spring Chicken

One is the Oriental Spring Chicken. At 110 pesos, you get one half chicken serving. Big, isn't it? And it comes with pickled cucumber and carrots and matching sauce. And fried rice. Again, the dish is really Chinese style.

Humba Pata Tim

That picture above is Humba (Pata Tim). The Cebuano favorite is combined with a Chinese restaurant staple to produce a very tender, delicious dish which comes with rice, a separate Pata Tim broth and cucumber with carrots which serve as a good partner to most of their dishes.

Looks like she can't wait to eat it.

If you are looking for a hybrid of a traditional Cebuano Chinese restaurant and a Chinese fastfood chain, Ah Phets is a very good alternative. Below is some of their other dish offerings.

They may not be well known but they are worth the try.

Greenwich New Pizza Thins Now In Cebu

Last Friday, no less than Greenwich long time endorser and kabarkada John Lloyd Cruz was in town at the Radisson Blu Hotel to introduce the New Greenwich Pizza Thins to Cebuanos thru the local media and bloggers in the #PizzaThinsInCebu event which I was fortunate to attend.

But you don't have to take his word for it. You can try it for yourself. Well, I tried it for myself and so far, I liked it. I am a thin crust pizza person so it was not surprising that I liked this new pizza offering of Greenwich more than their thick crusted counterparts.

The Pizza Thins have four varieties. Thw Hawaiian, Peperroni, Signature Special and (not in the picture) the All Meat starting at a price of P189 for a double size pizza.

Hawaiian

The Hawaiian balances the taste of the ham with the sweetness of the pineapple.

Pepperoni

 The pepperoni is where you can appreciate the thin pizza's crispiness best.

Signature special

The Signature special along with the Hawaiian is my favorite. It is the combination of all the other three plus (as you can see in the photo) some more spices and ingredients like onions, mushrooms and green peppers.

What's nice about this new offering is that the thin crust allows one to appreciate more the ingredients making it more flavorful. And even if it is not obvious, the pizza still taste cheezy. The pizza is best eaten while freshly made as it is crispy to the bite. You are not shortchanged of the meat even.

Senior marketing manager for brand development Lulu de Castro shares, "The new Greenwich Pizza Thins is our answer to the requests of pizza enthusiasts who wish to savor our pizza toppings in a whole new way."

Kusina ni Nasing Boneless Lechon Review

A lot of my friends consider the liempo in Kusina ni Nasing as one of the best. From their humble beginnings with liempo as their flagship product, Kusina ni Nasing has added more like their lechon manok, grilled panga and now, the Boneless Lechon. Here is my review for their Boneless Lechon.

Like their liempo, the Boneless Lechon is full of flavor probably because of the spices added to it. However, it appears to be more oily that its liempo counterpart and unlike other Boneless lechon, the pork lechon taste is not evident. I have tasted other boneless lechon brands which retain the typical lechon flavor and kusina ni Nasing's boneless lechon is not like that. However, this is not to say that it isn't delicious. But between their liempo and their boneless lechon, I still like their liempo more which by the way also has a pork rib sibling.

To "remove the guilt" of eating lechon somewhat, brown rice is available along with their sukang tuba, sili and onions to make the boneless lechon experience complete.

Below are the other food products offred by Kusina ni Nasing with the price of some varying depending on their weight.

A reminder before we end this post -- Eat moderately, OK?

Restaurant review: Choobi Choobi in Parkmall

One of the latest restaurants to open in the vicinity of Parkmall is Choobi Choobi, a restaurant that offers mainly Filipino dishes. Choobi Choobi means lingaw lingaw because the owner believes that when you dine in their restaurant, "ma-lingaw" jud mo. You will not get bored eating.

The restaurant itself is located on the second floor and is open-air type.

It's location and it's being an open-air type establishment is a blessing for food lovers as you get the feeling you are eating on the beach especially if you order seafood or grilled dishes as you get to feel the breeze. "Makagana ug kaon," as they say in Cebuano.

The place is quite spacious and I noticed a TV screen in one end of the venue showing cable TV program.

Let us go to the food. First up are the dishes not usually served in other establishments.

Ever tried balbacua minus the sabaw? Yup, this is the first time I saw crispy balbacua.

Crispy balbacua with bagoong at 168 PHP

Then you have some sort of sprouts (I forgot the name, sorry). But it's not alfafa sprouts.

Then there is the crispy adobong kanding. Usually, kanding (goat) dish is prepared as kaldereta. Not in this dish. It's pinirito.

Crispy adobong kambing at 168 PHP

Next is my personal favorite... LOLA PEPANG's Fried Manok, the owner's family recipe. The chicken is one of the tastiest fried chicken I have tasted. It's not lechon manok but fried chicken. Whole fried chicken. Cooked whole, not half to ensure the recipe's desired taste remains intact.

Part of the whole chicken serving upclose (costs 300 to 360 PHP)

Lola Pepang's chicken (Pardon me for the lighting..I'm using a smartphone)

Then we have a constant presence in Filipino restaurants which is also offered in Choobi Choobi, the Crispy Pata.

Choobi Pata priced at around 320 to 350 PHP and comes with sauce 

Those who are health-conscious need not worry visiting Choobi Choobi because they offer good fish dishes like the Pampano....

Grilled pampano

Their tuna belly is fresh, "hindi malansa". No itchiness after eating and cooked just right.

Too satisfy the Japanese in one's taste, Choobi Choobi also has Shrimp Tempura.

Shrimp tempura

My fellow blogger loves this dish best....the Shrimp in the bag. The shrimps are plenty inside the bag and could come with gata or without. I prefer the one with gata as it complements well the shrimp's natural taste. There's some broth in the bag to put in your rice if you want.

Shrimp in the bag with gata

Choobi Choobi actually provides a lot of choices like Tinolang Manok Bisdak, Utan Monggos to name a few. Another thing I like about Choobi Choobi is their iced tea which is not powdered iced tea but natural and somewhat fruity. It is said to be the the same iced tea offered in a popular hotel.

You get your money's worth eating at Choobi Choobi's. Really "choobi choobi" as it's name suggests.

Krispy Kreme 76th Year Brunch Specials

Assorted Pull Aparts

During an informal meetup with my fellow bloggers at Krispy Kreme (KK) IT Park, I just learned that KK in Cebu (IT Park, Ayala Center and SM City) offer Brunch Specials in celebration of their 76th year. For your brunch (until 2 PM), you can have a choice of any of the Krispy Kreme Pull Aparts as shown in the photo above and pair it with Brewed Signature Coffee 8 ounce for 110 PHP.

Alternatively, you can choose any Kruffin as shown below instead of Pull Apart and partner it with the same coffee for the same price of 110 PHP.

Assorted Kruffins

If you want a lighter Brunch Special, you can have the Original Glazed and 8 oz coffee for 76 PHP or any of the other Assorted Doughnut with 8 oz. coffee for 85 PHP.

Original Glazed

Happy 76th year Krispy Kreme!

Bintana, a hidden coffee and food hangout

In the heart of the busy city but hidden from plainsight, just across the Aboitiz property in Elizabeth Pond St. is a coffee and food hangout residents and students nearby may want to try  -- the Bintana.

Bintana is not your usual coffee shop. It's like you are having coffee or eating meals comfortably at home. It is a homey coffee shop which is said to offer various kinds of coffee like Kalinga, Costa Rica and Colombia. Instead of cakes and pastries, they mainly offer palabok, which is said to be one of their bestsellers, as well as set meals like Mechado with rice and cucumber (pipino) and chicken or meat dishes (like Fried Chicken, Sweet and Fried Porkchop, Pork Bistek and Paksiw Pata).

The menu is written in the blackboard above me.

They offer coffee and their bestsellers, Bintana Burger and Pancit Palabok

Like I mentioned, the atmosphere is homey as it looks to me that it used to be a house with many windows (bintana). The walls are adorned with paintings and cool music feels the venue. The place can be perfect for celebrating private occasions with a small intimate group of family and close friends. Or it could be a good study area for students living nearby. Or it could be an ideal place for casual talk among friends or even an informal date. The space outside has lamps and tables if people wish to reserve the entire place for a celebration.

With regards to the food, what we tried as of now is the Burger and the Mechado.

The Bintana Burger is juicy and the size is just enough for one to have his fill. It has tomato, pipino, pickles, cheese and mayonnaise if I remember right. It's worth the price of 80 pesos.

The Mechado is pork-based. It is soft and cooked just right. Too bad, I think my photo of it was inadvertently erased. The Mechado (Tagalog-style) comes with pipino in vinegar and black pepper. The tomato sauce is quite rich and the serving generous as it can feed two persons actually.

I haven't tried yet the palabok but the owner recommends it. Since Bintana is just new, the choices are not that many but the owner promises to add more items as time passes.

Being a student once I think Bintana gives for students a study area feel.

And also I think they are sometimes having an acoustic night in the near future.

It could be a hidden gem, a potential casual hangout for friends and students having a friendly meal together or coffee in the midst of the "jungles" of Elizabeth Pond Street.

You may visit Bintana Cebu Coffee Shop's Facebook page first.