By Robbie Pangilinan
When in Ormoc City, don’t miss the chance of dining in two of its most famous restaurants: Big Roys and JO’s Milagrina restaurant.
Big Roy’s Restaurant serves Spanish dishes,right from the legacy recipes of the Pangilinan family. Owner Roy Pangilinan says the restaurant’s specialties are lamb adobo, pasta ala goma (named after Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez) and lamb kaldereta which is actually wild boar.
Though located far from the city, the restaurant is always jampacked. In fact, this is not its original location. They moved six years ago to make way for more parking spaces for its patrons.
“We are humble and proud to say that we are far from the city but when you really want something, distance is not a problem. When you have guests coming to Ormoc, you would rather bring them to try our delicious food,” beams Roy.
Also, Big Roy’s is one of the few restaurants that is close on Sundays to give all the staff much-needed rest and family time.
“Service before profit. Love for the craft before profit,” he says. True to this, back in 2013, when the tragic Yolanda typhoon happened, leaving 8,000 dead and billions of infrastructure destroyed, Big Roy’s re-opened in eight days.
“Business was tough, but we were one of the very lucky ones that didn’t really suffer much. We just had to give time for our staff to attend to their families but we made a deal that after a week they have to come back because we could not continue providing for them without income coming in, so we opened immediately. We served all the NGOs that came to help Ormoc and we made them sign their plates to remember the tragedy,” recalls Roy.
Many loyal customers have been asking for more branches, but Roy says, “Since we are very hands-on, it will be hard to open another branch so dito lang.”
Roy would want his children to continue the business, but he says it depends on them. For now, Big Roy’s stands strong and proud to serve the Ormocanos and everyone who steps in.
On the other hand, JO’s Milagrina Restaurant is set to open its fourth branch in Calbayog, Samar. They have branches in Tacloban and Catbalogan as well.
What makes Milagrina unique is its ever-changing menu.
“We serve Filipino food but we actually add a twist to our menu every six months. We add new dishes on the menu that’s why everytime people come here, there’s always something to look forward to,” says Apple Anido Alagan, who manages the restaurant with husband Albe. It was actually her husband, a Boholano, who started the restaurant back when in 1999 when he was still single. He met Apple in 2004 and they got married in 2008. Since then, they have been a husband-wife restaurateur tandem.
“My husband and I are a good team. We always make innovations sa restaurant and we have been in the business for 18 years. Konti lang mga nagla-last that long di ba,” says Apple proudly.
Milagrina’s is known for its chicken inato, buko halo-halo, and turon with ice cream, which is Apple’s personal favorite.
“I really really love that dessert kasi mainit siya then you mix it with ice cream so hot and cold at the same time,” she says.
Other unique dishes are the green salad with sili and daing with tomato dressing. Apple also makes her own apple and salted egg potato chips.
“I actually started buying from different suppliers in September of last year tapos namamahalan ako sa shipping fee kasi mahal from Manila to here.I decided to make my own version of it tapos pinatikim ko sa mga friends ko and then puro positive ang feedback so inisip ko why not make a business out of it so I started selling December last year here with just 15 tabs,” shares Apple.
Though Milagrina’s is a big restaurant, Apple and Albe always make sure that the ingredients are fresh. The grilled chicken is cooked fresh every day and the vegetables are bought from the Ormoc farmers and market every day.
“When they come here, they’re assured of good food that’s affordable and also tastes home-cooked. That’s what we want our guests to feel – to be at home,” ends Apple.
Next time you are in Ormoc, do not taste only the Queen Pineapple, but do drop by Big Roy’s and Jos Milagrina’s restaurant to complete your Ormoc experience.
