Upgraded Concept of the Local Quick-Food Service by ORANGE KARENDERIA in Cebu City, Philippines

If you are a Filipino, you would easily understand the word KARENDERYA or spelled differently as Karenderia or replace the letter "K" with a "C".  

WikiPilipinas has defined this local term as:

a local eatery selling and serving and viands with wooden benches. It's also known as a "turo-turo" wherein customers literally point what they want to eat from an array of cauldrons. 

The carinderia was considered as a respite of travelers having originated as a quick food service in busy crossroads. Today, carinderias have evolved according to the needs to Filipinos there are now variations including the travelling carinderia and the high-class carinderia.

A not-so-new eatery in Cebu City that upgraded the concept of a typical karenderya is 

ORANGE KARENDERIA, bringing street food taste to a whole new level.

 This view would welcome you upon entry into the mid-sized eatery. With the modernity and a bit of rustic hints of the interior details, the ambiance certainly fitted to the descriptive word I used in the title post: upgraded.  You see, they even have waitresses to list your orders, to serve your food and take charge of any requests made by the customers.

Let's jump into the food that we ordered.  I was with my parents that time and I was grateful that they succumbed to my request to dine at Orange Karenderia.

Starting off with the soup: 
My parents love eating fish and so they ordered for the TINOLANG MAMSA which costs Php 95.00 per serving, as pictured below.

My comments: 
Taste: Honestly not acceptable as the soup still have that distinct "fishy" taste which was reminiscent of the seas and it was also saltier compared to other tinola soup recipes from other eateries. 
Serving Size vs. Price:  The serving size may somehow match with its affordable price though.
Final Impression / Evaluation: Unsatisfactory

I had the liberty to choose for the appetizer. My choice was the  ITLOG MAALAT which costs Php 45.00 per serving.  See their presentation of the appetizer as pictured below.

My comments: 
Taste: The combination of the Itlog Maalat (salted egg) Plus Onions and Tomatoes was always the expected mix.  Thumbs-up for sticking to the basics.
Serving Size vs. Price:  The serving size may somehow match with its affordable price too.  
Presentation / Suggestion: The tomatoes and onions were sliced bigger than expected and it made the dish less acceptable to my taste, despite how much I loved salted eggs.  I hope the vegetables can be sliced a bit smaller for ease in munching and swallowing the aftertaste of the fresh onions.

Final Impression / Evaluation: Fair

For the grilled foods from their menu: I selected PORK BARBEQUE which costs Php 45.00 per stick.  

My comments: 
Taste: Honestly not totally acceptable as the meat is quite gristly and the taste of the marinade was a familiar taste, similar to the street BBQ somewhere in Cebu.
Serving Size vs. Price:  The serving size is somewhat smaller against its price.
Final Impression / Evaluation: Unsatisfactory

Another main dish, under their Special menu: LECHON KAWALI which costs Php 175.00 per serving.

My comments:
Presentation:  Unique
Taste:  A-ok.  
Serving Size vs. Price:  The serving size may somehow match with its affordable price too. 
Final Impression / Evaluation: Good




For my thirst quencher, I decided to try on their RIPE MANGO SHAKE.  I was not mistaken with my choice since it somehow tasted okey despite I find it a bit more saccharine.

This wall painting summarizes the dishes the modern karenderia offers.  And below were the pretty kawaii calligraphy frames with meaningful messages that were hanged on a wall near the washing area.

The place was entirely clean and service was good too.

This particular branch of Orange Karenderia is located at the Ground Floor of Park Mall, Ouano Avenue, Tipolo, Mandaue City.

This food review is more detailed now as I am emphasizing that GOOD FOOD is equivalent to GOOD TASTE.  If cost is an issue, I dearly hope that the taste must not be sacrificed.  There is always room for improvement and I hope my comments will be taken constructively.

As food consumers and also conscious-spenders, we always necessitate to extract the most of what goes out from our pockets, and that would mean a re-visit of a food establishment or re-purchase of a dish, if that requirement is ultimately satisfied.

Photos taken using Samsung S Duos cellphone.

Eat good food, everyday!