Little India, in Cebu. Bharat Spice- My new favorite restaurant.

in #food7 years ago (edited)


One day after finishing our coffee,

My boyfriend and I weren't ready to go home yet so we decided to drive around IT Park, in Cebu- To see if we could discover any new buildings and establishments. IT Park is our favorite hangout spot, since its close enough to travel to, even in the worst of traffic. I guess, from our condo it only takes 10 minutes by car. Less, when we feel like taking the motorcycle out.

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Masala Dosa

Since we didn't have anything else to do and were pretty hungry- (We always fast, so our first meal is lunch around 12-1pm), we had a plan to go get some tacos at Red Lizard Taqueria. But today, we discovered what may end up being- Our new favorite restaurant in Cebu.

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We have drove past this same building dozens of times when we take the back exit out of IT park, but this time a new sign caught our eye. A new place called Bharat Spice. At first, I wasn't so sure it was even a restaurant since the adjoining building is a massive salon.

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I actually at first thought it was maybe a grocery store that would sell bulk bags of spice :) We pulled over, and I looked it up online. I was exhilarated when I saw that it's an Indian restaurant! Our last Indian restaurant we used to go to, has been closed down at this point for more than 2 years! We both absolutely love Indian food, the spicier-the better.


The owner of Bharat Spice, in gray shirt.

Since its run by an Indian owner and Chef - I told him to make my dishes the way he would eat them himself.** Otherwise, they tend to go light on the spice. :D As much as I love Indian food, I would love to visit India, but unfortunately, I believe most areas aren't too safe for me to visit :(

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Appetizer: Potato Samosa

For our first time going to this place, we decided to order multiple dishes. Not only because we wanted to try a lot of different ones, but we honestly just didn't know what most of them where. It was if we were playing russian roulette :p

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We ordered first, the Masala Dosa. (The very first photo in this blog), because we overheard an Indian couple a table over also ordering a Dosa. And if I learned anything about how to get the best food, order and eat like the natives.

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Chicken Curry


From the time we first discovered Bharat Spice up until this blog we've already been back six or more times.

Every Indian place must have Naan, it is a very famous smoky flatbread made with Ghee, which is clarified butter. I remember the first time I had my it on my plate, I was just amazed how it looked along with the texture. I took my first bite, it was great! I ordered 3 more lol!


Garlic Naan


Butter Naan


Plain Naan

My favorite naan on their menu is the butter, I think it's the simpleness and the taste of the ghee. They even make one with sweet-potato soI recommend to try different flatbreads see which one you like the best.


We asked the owner to recommend a dish that we haven't tried yet, and he gave us the Punjabi Chicken.


Punjabi Chicken

We didn't ask what kind of sauce or what comes with it, I like the randomness not knowing what I ordered till it's delivered to the table and then we can take turns guessing what it is and what ingredients they used to cook it.


Chicken Tikka Masala

The only difference between the Punjabi Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala ( I noticed), is that the Punjabi is slightly spicier, and its full chicken quarters.


The other time we went, we tried the plain dosa, butter chicken, and vegetable biryani.

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This place has a massive menu. A great variety for meat lovers, vegans, and vegetarians to eat together and not feel secluded. I forgot the names of all the dishes we ordered; but you can look up there menu here.

This time we decide to have all vegetarian dishes.

A lot of restaurants we go to in Cebu, seem to drop the quality of service and food over time. For the past 6 times, we went here, it only gets better. The only negative point about this place is that the waitresses could smile a bit more. ^_-

What I think I like the most about Indian food, and this also goes for Thai food, is that every bite has an amazing depth and complexity of flavors. Even with the most simple dishes, I can roll the food around my tongue to try and guess the (sometimes dozens) of ingredients that they used in order to make me smile. Mission accomplished.


Location:
CJRS Bldg., Cebu IT PARK
Opens daily: 11 AM - 2 PM and 5PM - 11PM
Contact #: +639427185388

Thank you for taking the time to read. Have a wonderful weekend!

XOXO,

Gilaine


Originally posted on Purepinay. Hive blog powered by ENGRAVE.

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Mmmm, everything looks very genuine and yummy. I've been considering going to the Philippines for some time, but want something less busy than Manila. Would you say that Cebu is more peaceful?

In my opinion, the people in Cebu are more laidback compared to Manila. Plus if you want more of the province life, it's easy to get to the smaller provinces of Cebu via land transportation :)

Oh cool! Thanks for the tip! I will keep that in mind =)

you're welcome ;)

btw, why you haven't blogged anything yet? (if you won't mind me asking)

I don't mind at all. I will start releasing some posts soon actually :)

I definitely prefer province life

I've actually never had Indian food before. It's a part of the world my tongue has yet to visit, so to speak. Is there a certain Indian dish you could recomment for starters for an Indian-food complete noobie?

I'd recommend the butter chicken, naan and biryani rice ^_- If you like spicy food try punjabi and masala =)

The food looks so delicious!I was planning​ to go there for vacation. Is it​ worth to go there? :D

Yes, you should come and visit this place it's worth it. =)

eh yo wut da mouf do doe

What language do you speak? :D

My favorite food! I posted similar dishes, yours look much better, great job!

Thanks for appreciating my blog. =)

All the food looks delicious, I was hungry hehehe @originalworks

YUM!

Thank you for stopping by. =)

O wow, Indian food. I hope you had good time eating Indian food. Those samosas and biryani are just love.
I am from Indian region, so this food even tastes more yummy when you are away from home and find it in another country.

I also like indian foot . @suf1an

Oh that's great joy. Where are you from and what do you like the most?

@suf1an, thank you, yes I really enjoyed it ^_^

What's your favorite dish?

That's good if you enjoyed it.
My favorite is biryani and paneer palak. I just love them.Have you tried paneer palak?

It is what palak paneer looks like.

Insert images by dragging & dropping, pasting from the clipboard, or by selecting them.

Yum, Take me there when I visit Cebu soon and ate i want to taste the different flavors of Naan.hehe
I MISS YOU ATE!

XOXO
GEREL

hopefully am still in cebu when you visit, hehe.. Am getting my passport renewed this month and I have a lot of paper works to do..

How are you? I miss you!

My lovely Friend @purepinay.

Again Sorry for again late Respond on your lovely and tasty post. I am too much buzy in office matters now a days, So could not gave proper time on Steemit.
you Shared everything while visiting Indian Restaurant. "Bharat Spice" I am also glad to see these all food items here in pictures. because Same kind of food also available in our country pakistan.I think you are also fond of eating different variety items. I hope you enjoyed here much with your B/Friend.

I Always Pray For your Success because you are Multi-talented and do your job here Brilliantly. My support and Hope always for you. Keep it Up. Good Luck.

Here i shared for you a Special food item("Makki Roti") made with Maize corn Flour.

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hello @rabeel

Hope you are doing well. It's okay Steemi will always be here, don't stress about it, okay? Sorry also if I only see your message now. It's harder to keep up but I always look for your name haha!

Thank you for the motivation. Today, I am feeling better after having a long tiring and not so well week. I hope I get my energy back very soon.

Yes, I enjoy a different variety of food, it's really, every culture has its unique food. If I am correct Pakistani food is almost the same as Indian food, right?

That roti looks really good, I never had one made of corn. I wonder if I can find this on the menu at the Indian restaurant or anywhere here.

Thank you for the time you put in writing me and so thoughtful of you to share this image.

TC

  • Gilaine
Thanks Gilaine for your positive response filled with love and appreciations. If you will visited here in Pakistan Then I Served you by my mother hand made "Makki Roti"
My best wishes always for you @purepinay.

aw! thank you, my friend. That's really nice of you. ^_-

I'll remember the genuine offer ;)
btw, how's your mom?

I've never met an Indian food I didn't like. This looks amazing, and I've never heard of it before!

If you love Indian food and if you haven't come to India, seriously, you're missing out on a lot. In India, you'll get to taste more authentic cuisines. From north to south, east to west the food differs for us. I'm sure you'll love it and you could eat new food everyday during your time in India. Street foods are one among the best and you'll absolutely love it since you like it spicy.

I agree it is not as safe as western countries but it's not as bad as you think either. Some people might try to charge you more than whatever it costs; if you're aware of it, you'll be good. Also if you avoid roaming around at odd hours, you'll be good to go anywhere in the country. You'll be most welcome!

india sucks

You'll need to justify your comment mate.

smelly, rude people, food sucks

Hello there! How are you?

Very well said. You can be a really a well tourist advisor :)

I really look forward to visiting India, it's on my bucket list. Not only the food is exquisite but I am very interested to learn more about the culture. Last night my boyfriend and watched two Indian movies, Queen and Dhanak. Have you ever watch these movies, yet?

I'm fine, doing great. I hope you and your boyfriend is doing fine as well.
Thanks but I have never been an advisor. Maybe, I can guide you lil bit here and there when you travel to India someday. That will surely help you out. India has a broad culture and a lot to learn. Make sure you plan a long vacation if you wanna see the whole country. Hehe!
Nice to know you watch Indian/Bollywood Movies too, you must have learned a few words in Hindi, did you? I have seen Queen but not Dhanak. Now that you've asked me, I think I'll see it when I get my free time. :)

Thank you for thinking of me and my boyfriend. Everything is doing a little better, catching some more sleep, we've both been working way too much online, working hard for our future ;)

I haven't learned any words, to be honest, I only read the subtitle ;D maybe I should a little.

Thank you for the genuine offer to show me around India. Hopefully, someday I can visit.

TC always!

  • Gilaine

Hope you have successful future ahead. I'm sure one day all your hardwork will surely pay off.
I'd love to show you around.
And thanks for taking your beloved time to reply and upvote the comments. It actually feels honoured to see your support and care towards other users.
Thank you. TC!

My good friend Gilaine!! You have excellent taste!!
I love Indian food too!! In fact I recently made an authentic Indian dish!!
You can see my post about it here.
The dish is called "cauliflower fry" and I received the recipe from a Indian friend here on Steemit.

Look her up and say hi, tell her I sent you!!
Love and hugs my friend!! x0x0x You will love her, she is @thegoddess!!

It looks delicious :)

Thank you :)

happy that you njoyed the food there, but dont agree with your statement "I believe most areas aren't too safe for me to visit " There are many people all around the world visiting india and trust me it is one of the safest places on earth where there is no gun culture and people of all religions roam around together. You will surely be amazed by the culture of the country. Welcome to India. Visit us once, you will keep coming back.

thank you for this, I'll do more research about traveling to India, would be nice to see Taj Mahal and try a lot of good food. :)

You are always welcome :)

I could see you are really having fun, really love the way you making me feel interested to travel down to @cebu @purepinay.w

thank you, @brindocorp, food makes me happy. It's my other way to get relieve stress ^_-

I hope you visit the Philippines, it's always good to see new places ;)

how are you doing?


Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following categories:Congratulations @purepinay!

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thank you, @arcange!

Hope everything is well with you. TC always!

Awesome post. Would love to travel to India and experience the culture and history and food! Thank for sharing awesome to read!

We are actually planning to come and visit hopefully soon. =)

all photos are so great and the food is so yummy..

the best of the best food photos i ever see on this community..

Upvoted with thumps up

XOXO

^_^

haha you are funny, Mr. blu. Thank you for the thumbs up, I hope you are not soaked in the rain though. Mahal magka sakit okay?

How are you?

im so ok..thanks to you..^_^..

@purepinay great to know that hou liked Indian Food. Travel to India for authentic taste. Especially food in village is the best. Most parts of India are safe to travel except few places. You should also try some Desserts like gulab jamun, Shrikhand, Jalebi. The desset list is very long. Enjoy the Indian food. From north to south Indian food habits are different amd taste as well. You are welcome to India.

I'm planning to visit India hopefully next year since we do have a prior commitment with my partner. =)

Welcome to India. Which place you will stay in India? You can contact me when in India.

I still don't have any idea, depends on how things are in the near future ;)

No Problem. Whenever you plan just send me details on shrinivasdontul@hotmail.com

I am based out in Mumbai. Here you can do posts on Wadapav, Panipuri, Gate way of India, Taj hotel and many other places.

Bharat Spice ....!


All the dishes you mentioned in your blog are commonly used in our daily routine.Early in the morning you made my day @purepinay. These Indian dishes are purely my home dishes. As I belong to PAKISTAN and you know the food of both the countries (India & Pakistan) is almost same.

  • paratha (desi ghee, potato, saag, daal, qeema and many more)
  • nan (potato, rogni, simple)
  • Chicken karhai
  • Chicken tandoori
  • chichen handi
  • bonelss
  • Manchurian
  • Alu palak

This colud be a long list. A very lengthy variety of vegetables is still not mentioned. And some other dishes are very commonly used in our country. I invite you in my country and you will love the food here.

All the best and Stay Blessed !


Sorry for the late response, I have been having troubles with my replies not actually posted, am not sure if it's my internet connection or just the steemit website:(Hello @jawad09

Thanks a lot for the list. We went back to the same restaurant today and hoping to have another Indian meal but sadly the chef wasn't there :( the crew said maybe he'll get back in about an hour or two! *Sigh. So we went to a Mexican place instead.

How's your day? Did you have any Indian dishes today?

Yeah it could be your internet connection problem or steemit maintenance. By the way I have got your reply here and its okay for me.
Today is Sunday and every Sunday we eat Potato Parathas. This is amazing dish and our every Sunday starts with this delicious breakfast. You should try Potato Parathas and I bet you will must enjoy. All the best @purepinay!

I love indian food!

The Punjabi chicken looks amazing! Looks like a great experience over all :) made me hungry! Thanks for sharing with all of us.

Thank you @lpreap. Have you ever had Indian food before?

Well hello there! i think i might've seen ur posts before.. u are pretty good! :P i thought u were gonna say how the waitress was flirting with B.. that would be kinda a negative.. :P

Haha I'm confident when it comes to my boyfriend and I'm not going to post negative thing unless provoked. =)

Looks incredible! Indian food is one of my favorites

hey, @drewley! wow that's good to know, what's your favorite dish?

There’s a place in my town that has really good chicken dishes. Butter chicken, tikka and other dishes that I’m not sure how to pronounce haha

hahaha some are really hard to pronounce but definitely must try dishes. I love butter chicken and masalas, punjabi... now am starting to crave! lol

Oh My Friend @purepinay

Wow! That punjabi chicken and butter Naan this is my favorite dish and i had it last Sunday ;)

How beautifully you are promoting the culture amazing.

Thank so much for showing us the beauty of culture through food items ;-)

Those Potato samosas are my favourite too ;-)

You look pretty when you smile, keep smiling The great soul @purepinay

May the God shower His more blessings upon You, upvoted you as well ;-)

Stay blessed, Steem on

@salmanbukhari54

How are you? Sorry for the late response.

Oh nice! Punjabi is very delish, I wish I can get all the ingredients here to make it at home. Do you also cook Indian food?

Yes we have almost very similar Cultural traits both India & Pakistan. We have common foods as well.

Samosa and Biyani are good example of it @purepinay

No worries my Friend for late response, i can understand your situation <3

hello, @salmanbukhari54

Thank you for getting back to me, that's really nice of you.

I just came home from lunch and the Indian place is closed today, I still can't get enough of my cravings, I really want some Chicken biryani ^_-

I hope everything is well with you.

My Mom & Sister in law are busy in the Kitchen as they are Cooking Biryani for the Family ;) Spicy smell of Biryani has watered my Mouth, You're most welcome to join us on Lunch @purepinay <3

You have a wonderful weekend too, I adore vegetarian Indian food. Hope you ate using the fingers of your right hand only !
Lets hope that bully whale stays away.
Keep inspiring your Philippine posse.
And thank you :-)

thank you, @nathen007

haha am right handed so, yeah haha

thank you, ^_-

I love Indian food as well but not too spicy. Did you build up a tolerance for spicy food or are you always into the really spicy stuff?

I build up my tolerance for spicy food, I used to not like too spicy food but this time I really enjoy very spicy one. Though there are times that I want to eat less spicy food so I can taste the other ingredients, depends on my mood. ^_-

Thanks for sharing delicious Indian dishes.

Thanks for taking time to read have a great day. =)

amazing south asia food
wow you can really handle spicy foods... awesum!! :D

Hahah yes I can handle spicy food. =)

It looks delicious!

I love Indian food. The food you ordered looks so delicious and make my mouth watering! Thank you for sharing.

Good to know that you love Indian food, and thank you for taking time to read my blog. =)

I was countless times in indian restaurants and even cooked for myself, but masala dosa was a new for me, thank you!

wow, you cook Indian food at home, good for you! When I am not too busy on Steemit maybe I can get back to cooking again hehe... maybe when I finish replying to all the comments, oh no! hehe

How are you doing? I hope everything is well with you. Thank you for visiting my page :)

I admire that you still try to answer any comment, nobody will be mad at you if you step back a little and enjoy something you like to do :) I’m actually really good, the 8 day cleanse had a very good effect on me, had a very good sleep today and my energy and endurance improved vastly too. Hope all is well with you too!

hello, @streetyoga

Thank you for getting back to me :) I really try to respond to a lot of comments, it's one thing that really keeps me going here. There are times that I really feel bad if I missed some people but am sure they will understand ;)

wow, you already passed the one-week crucial stage! Good for you.

I am doing okay, just having trouble sleeping lately, so started to skip coffee but then I get tired so easily. Maybe I build up a high tolerance for caffiene, so am making some adjustments ;)

You are always welcome. I feel bad too, so much nice people and everyone deserves some time, why are we only human :)

I’m kind of adjusted to It, I did once a 7.5 day pure water fast, so this was almost a feast for me :)

I’m an nocturnal being since I can remember, so It’s very difficult for me to cultivate a regular sleeping pattern, coffee does not show its magic in the morning on me :)

There was a time when I drank a lot of black and green tea, which like coffee contains tannines (herbal teas are fine). The problem is that tannines block the absorbtion of iron, especially if your diet consists largely of vegetables, which can lead, and in my case did led to an iron deficiency of which the symptoms are fatigue and weakness, which I eventually overcame relatively fast.

Here is a little theory of mine, you crave coffee because you are tired, but its coffe thats is making you tired in the first place.

I read in your blog that you practice intermittent fasting, so probably there passes enough time by til your iron rich meal(no coffe for you one hour before and two hours after your meal :)), but then again intermittent fasting slows down peristalsis.
I don’t know, just some food for thought :)

Glad to know that you love to eat Indian food. As i am an Indian i felt so great about reading this article.
You made me so hungry. i would love to visit this place once. thanks for sharing your experience.

Thank you, I hope I was able to give justice to your culture. =)

Happy to know that :)

:) TC always!

@purepinay don’t worry dear friend, india is safe for tourists and you will definitely love their hospitality...do visit whenever possible as we want to see one of your blogs from India visit ...keep posting....lots of love

thank you, @ahlawatkavita for the wonderful thoughts ;)

Looks yummy. Right now we are on our Asia tour. Maybe Cebu will be on our list ;)

That would be thrilling I hope you find time to visit Cebu. =)

You will know it :) Well if you will check mine posts of course. Have a great travel!

good article to promote the hidden gems of Cebu...


your post is very good to me..just i voted & commeted on your post...
_______i like this food.........
U5dtvLCAqT2SjQUPgqVtCj6vdksQC6Y_1680x8400.jpegdear friend @purepinay

your work is well you are very intellengt writer i hope your success is very soon?? Thank you i support you everytime but i want to you support me alltime thanks for this post,,,,

thank you for taking your time to visit my page and for the support ;)

how are you doing?

Hello friend, very good post, thanks for showing us that place, the dishes look spectacular and very rich, you see they enjoyed it a lot, a hug

thank you for your dropping by, @blivarense! I appreciate it. Have a wonderful Sunday!

It is delicious indian food. We would also want to try that one day.

It is delicious yes please find time to try it. =)

please give me some food medam.i am verry hungry.i love your food..

I hope I can send it via Bluetooth so you can have it. =)

ha ha ha.its ok medam..My bluetooth name is Hasib..my fb id name Hasibul Hasan Mintu..
please send me medam..!!i am verry poor man..!thanks again..god bless you..!!

Please bluetooth me some haha.

Hahahahahahaha, oh damn. You should Google what Bluetooth is.

Isn't that a teeth with a blue color on it?

Wait, what? What is going on here? Hehe

Haha just messing around.

Omg i super duper love indian food , they mostly have healthy dishes and i love the aroma , should definitely go there! Helpful blog Gil 😍💖

Oh, good to know that you love Indian cuisine. =)
You should come and visit this place it's awesome!

I also love masala dosa and onion dosa.

Have a great day and stay blessed.

@chireerocks

I haven't tried the onion dosa but I'll remember to get this on my next visit :)

thank you, you too. have a good one :)

Welcome and thank you. 🙂

Food looks delicious. I was in Cebu two years ago, wish I found this place then. All I can think about are all the dried mangoes I ate. Can't wait to re-visit your country this year.

This is just new I guess, I love dried mangoes too. =)


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The biggest evidence of your love of the restaurant was when you said 'From the time we first discovered Bharat Spice up until this blog we've already been back six or more times.'

When next you visit, enjoy your meal.

hello, @sungbojus! thank you for dropping by

yes, I have been back to the same place many times, in fact I did today, sadly the Chef ran away on me! lol kidding, the Chef wasn't around when we got there, we got there 15 minutes before they open, though they only have one service crew and she's new. she told me she didn't know if the Chef will be back.

I told her she should know because she works there, but I didn't argue much. My boyfriend and I just left and a bit frustrated, I was really looking forward to trying some new Indian dishes on their menu.

There's probably just two Indian place that serves good food in town, the other one, I still can't find on the map lol

i love love love Indian food. My favotirw in cebu has been Bollywood Tandor, but il most definately give this one a try.. My taste buds ...and my tummy currently doing somersaults .. I AM HUNGRY.. haha. Thanx for sharing Gilaine.

Hahaha yeah I guess I'm hungry too my pleasure to share this post. =)

Glad You like Indian foods. We have different foods for different occasions.
Realy mouth-watering pictures am feeling hungry now

Namaste :)
hand-drawn-namaste-hands_23-2147702367.jpg thanks for posting @purepinay

You're welcome and thank you for appreciating my blog. =)


My favorite. Thanks for sharing mam

My pleasure, I love this food can't help not to crave for this. =0


Thanks for update important blog regarding IT park travelling.
Its good & delicious foods serving here. Display Awesome looks to customer. All the best and keep it sharingHey @purepinay

Amazing...you have little India 🇮🇳 In Cebu...do visit Bombay Masala in Manila, the little Samosas served with green gravy is something you can’t ignore 👍

Oh, thank you for this suggestion but I'm not pretty sure when can I visit Manila especially the traffic pretty hurts. :(

I've walked pass this place so many times thinking that I should try it. Never have but might give it a try now. Thanks!

Now you have the biggest reason why you have to try it. =)

I love Indian food. My girlfriend is Indian and introduced me to the yummy flavors! Glad you found a cool restaurant to enjoy

That's nice so for sure your loving Indian dish even more. =)

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