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Eats in Cebu: Orange Brutus

From being the first hamburger joint in the city, Orange Brutus marks a milestone as it celebrates 35 years of a fast-food experience that is distinctly Cebuano.

Every Cebuano, it seems, has a story about Orange Brutus. In the case of photographer Mark Philip Dales, it was fond memories of the place he used to frequent during his childhood days, spurring on a rather nostalgic conversation with the fast food chain’s chief executive officer Jocelyn Quintos Kokseng, Kristian Kokseng and creative consultant Jaclyn Abregana. “My family would bring me to the Colon Fairmart branch, since it was the premiere destination for every Cebuano before.” he recalls over a glass of Mango Brutus as we wait for the Zee Lifestyle Directory cover photo shoot to begin. “I remember my mom always ordered the Mexicali, while I would get their burgers and shakes.”

Orange Brutus, Ayala Center Cebu (Photography by Mark Philip Dales of MadWorldPhotography/Originally published in Zee Lifestyle Directory, April 2015)

“When we opened our first store in Colon back in 1980, fast food hamburgers and hotdogs were not common snack fare as we know it today,” explains Jocelyn. “As the popularity of burgers and hotdogs grew, we started opening more stores at strategic locations to be more accessible to our customers.” Eventually, in the 1990s, the demand shifted from snack items to meals, which led Orange Brutus to add more products, including their now cult-favorite Sizzling Burger Steak.

Other Orange Brutus bestsellers: The Sizzling Burger Steak, the Fried Chicken, the Palabok and the Chori Burger, along with their shakes (Photography by Mark Philip Dales of MadWorldPhotography/Originally published in Zee Lifestyle Directory, April 2015)

Orange Brutus has come a long way since that small hamburger joint back then. After 35 years, it is currently one of the biggest fast food chains in Cebu—not to mention a homegrown one at that. Currently, they have 22 outlets all over Cebu and Mactan, with a 23rd branch in Danao set to open soon. Beyond the number of branches, however, is the food that keeps people coming back for more.

“We only serve food that we ourselves eat, and we try to make them as healthy as possible,” says Jocelyn, explaining that Orange Brutus does not use MSG in most of its products. Their raw ingredients are also ozonated to eliminate bacteria, harmful hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and insecticides. They also use healthy oils for frying, and burgers and burger steaks are charbroiled.

The menu itself has evolved over the years, with an offering of about 50 items. Besides sticking with the bestsellers, Orange Brutus introduces and reintroduces their own takes on different comfort food such as humba, sisig, and pork steak on a quarterly basis. “You can say that Orange Brutus changes with the times and tries to cater to the wants and likes of its customers,” adds Jocelyn. “We have beef, pork, fish, chicken and vegetables. It’s a one-stop food stop for the whole family.”

The Choco Monster: An Orange Brutus favorite (Photography by Mark Philip Dales of MadWorldPhotography/Originally published in Zee Lifestyle Directory, April 2015)

Despite the competition in the form of international fast food chains, Orange Brutus has held up impressively on its own. The delicious food, the reasonable price points, as well as offering a distinctly Cebuano fast food dining experience has made Orange Brutus a favorite among the locals. Even with more than three decades under its belt, the fast food chain shows no signs of stopping, and it’s only going to bring more stories for people to tell as the years go by.

ORANGE BRUTUS
Delivery Hotline: 6332. 422 8000
Official Website | Facebook | Instagram

by Patty Taboada photography Mark Philip Dales of MadWorldPhotography

Originally published in Zee Lifestyle Directory, April 2015. Like Zee Lifestyle Directory on Facebook

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7 Things You Need To Know Before Watching Balangiga: Howling Wilderness

Following its premiere in October 2017, controversies still creep on “Balangiga: Howling Wilderness”.

This one-of-a-kind film with surreal takes on one of the Philippines’ dark times surely deserves our time. The story is seen through the eyes of a boy that uniquely shows humanity’s cry for help.

Before its screening at your nearest cinema weeks from now, here are seven things you need to know about this morbid film about a portion of our history.

It revolves around the Balangiga Massacre in 1901.

During the American occupation in the Philippines, Company C of the 9^th Infantry Regiment arrived on the south coast of Samar Island, Balangiga in 1901. Their arrival was to cut the contacts of Filipino guerrillas to the people.

According to sources, the Americans confiscated all the weapons of the residents in Balangiga, men were detained and were treated badly. They burned down a church and its bells were taken which are still not returned to date.

Under General Jacob H. Smith’s orders, his officers burned towns and killed all who aged ten and above. For historians and people who lived there, the massacre came after the events of Smith’s orders. Americans practiced scorched earth policy and took food and killed people.

The film revolves around the journey of 8-year-old boy Kulas and his grandfather as they fled the town after Smith’s order to kill everyone over ten years old as revenge for the “rebellion” of the people in Balangiga.

Some scenes were limited especially violence on animals.

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) mentioned that actual scenes of the film were limited.

The sickening scenes of animal slaughter, corpses and deaths will shock or excite us more.

Its tone will keep you interested

Even with gruesome scenes, the dreamy-feels tone with a mood that will continuously haunt you will surely keep you seating on your chair.

The film has minimal dialogues it will also show beautiful shots in the countryside.

It won awards in QCinema International Film Festival 2017

The film won Best Picture during the 2017 QCinema International Film Festival.

Following its back-to-back awards, it also bagged trophies in the 66^th Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) and Urian.

It will be a part of Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2018

Because of its numerous awards in different film festivals, “Balangiga” will be part of the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2018 as a guest entry under Special Features Section.

Under this section are best picture awardees in different independent festivals from 2017 to be shown as exhibition films.

The director of the film is also a musician

“Balangiga” was one of the masterpieces of director Khavn dela Cruz. Surprisingly, dela Cruz’s composition “Katurog Na” sang by folk-rock artist Lolita Carbon won Best Original Song in 66^th FAMAS.

It was intended to be a historical film for children

According to dela Cruz, the film is an unfinished project.

In his interview with ABS-CBN, he mentioned that he focused on adding and re-shooting the film to make it more accessible to a wider audience, especially for children.

History films show us more. “Balangiga” explained and portrayed more on the horrors of the armed conflict between the American forces and Filipino people.

More importantly, it showed that there is no good outcome from colonialism.

The film will be shown starting on August 15, 2018 in selected cinemas nationwide including Robinsons Galleria.

See you there!

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Butch Carungay’s 50th in Neverland

By Emmanuel Hamoy

Cebu’s glitterati came out in full force for Butch Carungay’s 50th birthday bash at EdenClub. It was a fun-filled night overflowing with Pol Roger, trivia games whilst traipsing the light fantastic.