Restaurant Feature: Dong Juan in Centrio Mall – Cagayan de Oro
My first encounter with Dong Juan was in good ole Cebu a few years back courtesy of good friend A. The one thing I remember from that restaurant encounter was the chorizo pasta I got to try.
Back to the not-so-present time last December 2012, I got to spend some time in my hometown – Cagayan de Oro and I was very surprised to note that there was a Dong Juan branch in Centrio Mall. I immediately hauled off the mum and aunt to treat them to a lunch date.
We started off by ordering some appetizers to tide us over the waiting for our main dishes since it looked as if they were on a full house. We got their Popeye Shrimps. Breaded and fried to a crisp outside while still juicy on the inside, these shrimps were served in a very unique way – inside a funnel shaped paper-laden container.
Our iced teas were served in jar-like containers. They were house brews and not the run-of-the-mill Nestea or Lipton which I liked. Brewed iced teas taste so much better to me.
We also ordered their Steamy Seafood soup and as you can see from the picture, there is a faint shadow of that steam! It was nothing really remarkable but a good clear-broth soup with clams, shrimps and squid.
We also had their Caesar salad for some green input in our lunch.
I also ordered the chorizo pasta for the mum and aunt to try. The paste was light and al dente with chorizo bits and olive oil, olives and Parmesan cheese. I like this kind of pasta because it’s not too heavy on the tummy.
For our main star dish, I ordered their Baby back ribs in bbq sauce. The mum and aunt both loved it and I did too. Tender and fall-off-the bone meat soaked in Dong Juan’s own bbq sauce. It was tasty and we finished every last piece of this dish.
Overall I think Dong Juan is a great restaurant. The food is okay and it’s not too heavy on the wallet as well. They also have some great dishes worth coming back for.
Congrats on opening your Cdeo branch Dong Juan! Will try out your BF branch soon!
XoXo