A pizza place and live music venue dedicated to providing a dynamic atmosphere for both artists and audiences alike. Handuraw pronounced as han-doo-rau which means “the power to imagine” was coined by the Pescano-Smith family as a result of looking for an old Cebuano word that would embody vision and creativity.
Back in 2004, the family developed Handuraw Events Cafe as a Filipino pizza restaurant that would foster a strong sense of friendship and community brought out by great food, artistic and homey ambiance, positive energies and unhurried joyful conversations.
Alongside the growth of the Handuraw Events Café as a creative haven for established and upcoming Cebuano talents was the development of the family’s original and unique recipe of thin-crust pizzas. They also want to promote a dining experience synonymous to chill, good eats, cool music and best pizza in Cebu.
Handuraw Events Cafe specializes in fresh and oven baked pizza with generous toppings. They are committed to becoming the leading Cebuano pizza chain in the country, serving more than just the best tasting thin-crust pizzas in a venue that is supportive of local music and the arts. They say “a slice a day, keeps the sadness away” which makes ordering Handuraw Pizza even more popular among the locals and the tourists. With over fifteen choices of pizza, they simply have something for everyone. Be it the vegetarians, the meat lovers and even the cheesy ones.
With my foodie team from Cebu and Manila, we had our first try on their famous pizza – the Handuraw Special. At first glance, I thought it was just the same old pizza we could get from any other pizza place, knowing of course that it’s loaded with the usual toppings. But my first bite made me realize this is no ordinary pizza. It lives up to its name. The crust was light and crispy and the toppings retained its freshness even after being in the oven at high temperature.
I would normally add in a bit of chili flakes on my pizza to get that extra kick of flavour, but this one was good enough on its own. Generously topped with pepperoni, ham, bacon bits, Italian sausage, button mushroom, green bell pepper, tomatoes, green and black olives and their own secret recipe of homemade tomato sauce, clearly this pizza was an explosion of flavours.
Right after the pizza, the ever famous Potato Jojos landed on our table. Served hot from the kitchen, the steam suggested it was too hot to handle. This potato dish is Handuraw-style fried potato slices with a caesar dressing dip on the side. It’s quite intriguing what kind of secret spices were used to give these jojos such a tasty complement. Of course, we asked the chef. But whatever he told me will have to remain our little secret. I was saving room in my tummy for the next dish, but I wasn’t warned about these delicious jojos – once you pop, you can’t stop. Needless to say, we actually finished the whole serving.
We didn’t want to let the evening pass without trying the most popular among all the popular Filipino dishes, an all time Pinoy favourite – The Handuraw Tapsilog. Of course, they also have the other si-log dishes available on the menu, but this Tapsilog was calling out my name. Served with one sunny side up on top of the rice, the yolk was runny and that was exactly how I liked it.
Ideally, this is ordered for breakfast but the trend for all-day breakfast menu is quickly rising in Cebu. The beef was tender. It boasted a fine garlic-vinegar-soy sauce marinade upon the very first bite and the fried rice, if I guessed it right was cooked with garlic bits and seasoning.
I thought our foodie experience was over for the evening, but one last dish arrived. Sporting yet another specialty of the chef, our host delivered the Seafood Marinara. Right in front of me was Spaghetti in homemade Marinara sauce served with scallops, shrimps, sliced squid and parmesan cheese. With just enough parmesan cheese on top, the balance of sourness and saltiness of this dish gave an impressive finish to the overall presence of the seafood flavours.
If you enjoy dining with live music on the side as entertainment, this is the perfect place for you.
Handuraw Events Cafe
Address: Gorordo Ave, Cebu City, 6000, Cebu
Phone:(+63 32) 412 2230
Opening hours: Mon-Sun 11AM–12AM
Click here to order online
Cebuano born and bred, Mitz is a registered nurse turned Marketing Manager for foodpanda. A devoted lover of words and wit, Mitz wanted to try her hand at writing. She will never refuse a piece of dark chocolate or anything matcha.
