The Origin, Structure, and Food of Royal Café Restaurant
Most, if not all students of the University of the Philippines Cebu College have stepped foot in the renowned and frequently visited carinderia known as Royal Café Restaurant. But despite their seemingly ritualistic visits, they probably gave no thought to the deeper part of the carinderia. I am not referring to unused tables or secret rooms, but the essence of the place. No one probably contemplated why they kept going back to the place or how and why it was built in the first place.
I, for my Communications 1 project, have chosen to write an article on this carinderia not only because is it close to home, but I frequent there myself; thus I feel a sense of convenience and excitement in studying the place.
After I politely asked if I could conduct an interview about the origin of the place, I was warmly welcomed and handed on to an old employee; who, according to them, was one of the first. “The restaurant started around 2004” Lydia Amabao confidently answered my inquiry about the date of the founding of the place. Although she couldn’t remember the exact date, she was sure that the Royal Café Restaurant was founded at that year.
I inquired about the person responsible for the genesis of the restaurant, and with breaths of certainty she said that a Camputhaw resident named Damiana Chan, or ‘Nene’ as they like to call her, was tasked to manage the place.
If there was one thing I learned from the restaurant’s origin, it’s that whenever I dine there, I am eating for a good cause! Imagine my surprise when I found out that the carinderia was only a branch of the project of the Children’s Joy Foundation. “A part of the profit is used to put a lot of children in elementary and high school” she said with a caring smile. I asked if their charity work is still continuing and she gave me a jaunty YES! The other branches were in San Carlos Talamban, Goledo, and Gulleas (of which the latter two have been shut down). I asked about Nene because I wondered why she wasn’t working there anymore and she said that it was because she was assigned to do “field work” or to travel around holding bible studies.
Talking about the carinderia structure-wise, I could say that the place is pretty large for a restaurant of its kind. Most carinderias are small, often accommodating 10 people at most, and by those standards, it’s safe to say that Royal Café Restaurant is a big brother to its smaller kind. Although the employees admitted that they did not know the exact measurement, they estimated it to be around 42 square meters. If that doesn’t make your dining experience better, the ambience surely will.
Every time I eat there, I always feel somewhere between home and a fancy restaurant. Maybe that feeling is due to the fact that place gives off a very home-like vibe whilst serving home cooked food with a twist of eloquence. I think another factor is the people; they talk and act in a way where you would feel at home, unlike the pressuring waiters in fancy restaurants that are metal body parts and an electronic voice away from being your robotic servitors.
The appliances are strategically installed so that it would be convenient for the users and at the same time avoid ruining the customers dining experience. Maybe an exception would be the tables, because they are situated in a way where people could pass only if they arranged themselves in a single file. Despite the handicap, the customers don’t really mind as their hunger possessed most of their attention, and the tables are large enough to accommodate approximately 5-6 people for the small ones and 8 for the large ones.
Aside from the tables and chairs, Royal Café Restaurant is infested with six ceiling fans. I applaud the electrician who installed the electric fans because I observed that almost all of the dining areas would be hit by the air of the cooling appliances.
Even the cashier’s area was properly placed. Situated exactly at the end of the long line of trays of food so that the paying process would be ala pick-and-pay (pick your food from the display and then pay at the cashier who is at the end of the line), thus being more convenient and conducive to a neat flow of customers.
The restaurant is usually packed by lunchtime because both workers and students alike flock to the place to have their noontime meal, but that doesn’t mean the carinderia is not enjoyable at night. There are perks of dining there at night, such as receiving more than the estimated amount of food so as to finally empty the tray and to be able to dine with the luxury of a television set turned on.
During my time in the carinderia, I perused the foods and viands for that day whilst asking about them. According to Mrs. Amabao, only menudo and humba were recurring viands. She said, in a confident manner, that they do not serve the same foods consecutively. A wise strategy, I would comment, because people lose interest in recurring foods, a habit of most carinderias. She was partly flabbergasted and astonished when I asked her about their specialty and informed me that Royal Café Restaurant does not have such a specialty due to the fact that all of their food was special. After she said this, I realized that every person has their own preferences and favorites and that the concept of a ‘specialty’ was impractical.
She also shared that their foods were obviously cheap and affordable for the convenience and relief of the minimum wage workers and students. She stated that their vegetable meals such as pakbet, adobong kangkong, chopsuey, ginataang gulay, langka salad, eggplant, pipino salad, and camote tops salad were priced ten pesos, their meat meals such as chicken mami, chicken or pork adobo, chicken curry, fried chicken, dinuguan, meatballs, and pork ginaling on twenty-five pesos, and their rice on six pesos. They also serve spaghetti and bam-i for fifteen pesos. “Our foods are cheap because students (she gave more focus on the students; I think it was because she knew I was one) need to eat cheap foods because it is their parents who pay for it and they have other things they need financial support in such as their dormitories.” She added that it was also convenient since it was close to the University of the Philippines Cebu College and the University of the Philippines High School, the schools which hold most of their student customers.
Moving on, I inquired about their desserts; a kind of food that I was certain they had. Mrs. Amabao thought for a while and then said that they served mango float, bico, maja, and shakes; with the options of mango, mocha, and coffee. I am certain that one of the reasons why Royal Café Restaurant is well-known in the University of the Philippines Cebu College and in the University of the Philippines High School is because of the mango float and mango shake. I have observed for countless times students ordering these delights; which is not a surprise since it is priced humanely on ten pesos a slice and twelve to twenty pesos a glass respectively.
After inquiring about their food, and taking down the important notes and insights, I knew the next subtopic in my article relied mainly on interviews with the customers. For some unfathomable reason, I felt a sense of hesitation in approaching some and interviewing them because I visualized in my mind a grumpy customer getting vexed by my humble request and working himself to a rage. I took a big gulp and a leap of faith.
The first person I interviewed was a long haired, stern-looking man who was apparently enjoying his meal. I was hesitant to approach him because of my irrational imagination of what would happen, but then I convinced myself to just do it. At first he was stupefied and shocked that I wanted to interview him, but after I said it was about his dining experience, he warmly accepted. “Yes, of course, it fills my stomach with delicious and cheap food! Why wouldn’t I be contented?” Alejandro Santillan, a congress staff member, said when I asked him if he was satisfied with the dining experience in Royal Café Restaurant. “’Way lain suki!” he jokingly answered my question of why he frequents the place.
Another person I interviewed is a BA Management graduate of UP Cebu. She said that she was satisfied with the dining experience and it was worth coming back to because it was cheap and near the school.
The last person I interviewed was a call center agent and a graduate of AMA. “Yes, I enjoy frequenting this restaurant because it is cheap, affordable, delicious, near the highway, and makamasa ang pagkaon” says Zhen Laquio.
So far I share their contentment with the eatery, I see nothing needs improvement. I suggest the readers to try their meatballs in sauce or their chicken skin chicharon, my favorite foods there. At the end of my stay, I took down my final notes, said my thanks and farewells to the staff and headed towards the internet café sipping mango shake.
