New Restaurants: Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar Opens in Cebu

If I am asked to declare a favorite restaurant in the past 8 weeks then I would say it is the Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar.   I have been to this new grilled chicken place four times already in that period. This new dining place is making Meerea High Street one of the up and coming dining hot spots in Cebu City and Mandaue City.

How I Discovered Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar

Way back in the Christmas season, I was finding ways to avoid the Christmas Rush traffic and I ended up in Ouano Avenue.  I passed by the Meerea Hight Street Complex and I got pretty curious with Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar.  I was pretty excited because I really liked Portuguese-style Chicken. My wife and I have been craving for that kind of flavor ever since we tasted Oporto's Chicken in Sydney.  It has been 7 years since we last visited Australia and the chicken at Oporto is still on top our favorite grilled chicken list.

First Visit

I wanted to eat there immediately but it was the Christmas season and the food options then are just limitless. Plus, I hated the traffic.  Peri-Peri Chicken Cebu had their soft opening on December 23, 2016.  Five days later, I ate my first meal there with my friends whom I consider more of nieces and nephews.  There were four of us so I ordered the Rio that included a whole chicken plus some sidings. We also had some Nachos and drinks as well. 

It was not so crowded then that I even made the Peri Peri Chicken Cebu crew do a #mannequinchallenge with us. We enjoyed our lunch and our meal looked wonderful on Instagram. My favorite sauce then was the Sheik Chic's Harissa Exotica because I liked it spiciness.  My companions liked the Tokyo Tori's Sweet and the Apachee'kn Mesquite Barbecue.  Ka Tuka's Honey Pinakurat also made an impression because of the fact that the Peri-Peri Chicken included a Pinoy-inspired sauce in their line-up.

2nd Visit

Apparently, I had a former officemate who was working with the group behind Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar.  She asked if I am interested in bringing some bloggers to check the restaurant out. I immediately said yes. So I recruited BCBA 2015 Top Food Blogger +Brennan Mercado , BCBA 2016 Top Tech Blogger +Jullian Robin Sibi, Cebu Blogging Community's +Rome Nicolas and fellow Adober +Kiddie Rodaje to join me for dinner. So, here is a video of what transpired that night:

We had a great time and we wanted to do more collaborations in the future.  The dishes that stood out during that dinner were the appetizers.  The place is not all about chicken and ribs, they also have yummy appetizers that Cebuanos should try.

3rd Visit

I got invited by +Rei Niñal of Bigseed PR to join the grand opening of Peri-Peri Chicken Cebu.  By the way, Peri-Peri Chicken got its name from the African Bird's Eye Chili that was discovered by Portuguese explorers centuries ago.   The first restaurant opened in Greenhills, San Juan in 2006 and now the brand is bringing the spicy chili-flavored chicken to Cebu.

During the grand launch, I was able to try more dishes like their tortilla wrap, pasta, and pizza.  I got to appreciate the chicken more since I ate it hot. I did not waste time taking food photos since I have too many Peri-Peri Chicken pictures already.  The organizers also put a display of the food so that photographers can take pictures.  I realized that the chicken is best eaten right after it was served.  

#PeriPeriChicken Cebu Eating Tip: Do not take too much time taking pictures so that you can taste the spit-fire chicken at its best.

Here are some of the photos I took during the launch:

4th Visit

I was ready to write a blog post about this new chicken place weeks ago but I felt that my blog post will not be complete if I never dined at Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar with my wife. It was the weekend after Valentines and I thought it was perfect to have dinner with her there.  It was my 4th visit and her second but it was our first visit together.

I made her try the meal with Chicken and ribs while I had the one with battered shrimps. My wife loved the chicken so much that she practically gave away the ribs to me.  In turn, I gave her some shrimps and some of my chicken.  She loved the sauces.  Her favorites were the Poulet Vous Cajun Remoulade, and the Foul-Mouthed Chili Peppa.  The other sauces are Count Cluckula's Garlic Brew and Hen Dynasty's Hoisin Sesame.  You can actually buy their 8 signature sauces by the bottle.

Kalami Cebu Recap

I am quite happy that there is another unique dining place in Cebu.  This is not your same old chicken restaurant.  The menu here is pretty unique and there is no grilled meat place in the island that offers 8 signature sauces. Meerea High Street might be out of the way for most of the Cebuanos but this place will be very busy this year as the management team is bent on opening more unique dining concepts. Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar is just a start and as a foodie, I am very excited to check out the upcoming restaurants here.

Better check this restaurant out and try their chicken and their other awesome dishes.  If you have dined here, my only question is "What is your favorite sauce?". Hit us up with a comment and let the #SauceWar begin. ;)

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