
'Sa'man? Larsian?
If you have not heard of the word Larsian, then you probably haven't been around Cebu. Larsian is one of Cebu's most prominent eating havens, one of the few that passed the test of time. Located at the uptown area near Fuente Osmeña and Chong Hua Hospital, Larsian's general location offers a myriad of scenes that is undeniably CEBUANO in charm.
Fuente Osmeña for one is a fountain landmark honoring one of the country's Presidents, Sergio Osmeña Sr., who hailed from the Island of Cebu. Also commonplace around Larsian are children urging you to buy one of their Sampaguita necklaces as you eat your food.
A true-blue Cebuana, it was only a few years ago that I noticed I know very little of the history of Larsian, this place that I have come to love not only for its food, but for the many memories that happened there. I then asked my mother who told me the place used to be a restaurant in the 70's called Larsian, which somehow retained its name long after the restaurant itself. I passed the information to my friends who argued that wasn't true, because what they knew was that Larsian was a combination of two names. Little did I know that my mother and friends were both correct. Larsian was an eatery in the early 70's that derived its name from the owner's (Col. Alvino Mondarez) mother named Pilar and her twin sister, Siana. Put Pilar and Siana together and you get Larsian.
Today Larsian is a place lined with a number of barbecue stands offering similar barbecue selections. Among the selections are: chicken - wings, thigh, skin, breast, feet or intestine; pork - pork liver, chorizo, tocino; seafood like squid and fish and a lot more. You get to select any of those and hand them over to the one in charge to be cooked. You are then asked how many puso (hanging rice) you want. The waiting usually takes 10 - 15 minutes.
If you allow me to take a little trip back in the past: the old Larsian set-up show tables lined up either inside the little stores or outside near a corner street. The common decorations inside were outdated calendars featuring scantily clad women, some Christmas lights and ceiling fans on low ceilings, a set-up that I personally miss.
Just recently Larsian has been transferred to another location, albeit maybe just ten paces away from the old one (yes, ten steps), and renamed The New Larsian. The new set-up features a more organized and cleaner look with uniform tables and stalls. Very little has changed, the food selection is the same as it should be and the Sampaguita vendors are still around to either bother or charm you depending on what type of predisposition you are keen to.
Larsian is neutral ground - loved by the rich and poor alike, the young and old, the popular and the not so popular, the boisterous and the meek, the poetic and unsympathetic - a place where people go to not for luxury but for the food and mere experience. It opens from late afternoon up until dawn.
'Sa'man? Larsian?


by: Darby Dunn
Copyright © CebuCentral.Com
Comments on “Larsian”
taste i've ever tasted and very affordable.
just one of a kind hmmm... cant wait to be back.
ka anhi cebu, you should be then...........:) come here.... in Cebu
I MISs everything about CEBU! =(
place so much. Soon I'll be back there.
memories of it still in me. I'll see you soon, Larsian... my suki, my chair &
table... see you soon!
It looks like a Cebuano style of
Balinese Jimbaran....
there(larsian) mememorial gyuod kaayo
barbiqueo didto lami ilang tina-i,wings
atay,chorizo og puso 100 balik pa ko
gimik diritso dayon mag stamby! order dayon ug BBQ with puso with lami kaau nga
sauce nga hang2x! pyts na!
mamilit ang baho sa aso, and it's very larsian jud. Now that i'll be leaving
soon, i'm eating here almost everyday cause i'll surely gonna miss this place
and the smell, hmmm..
LARSIAN
i think it should be promoted as a tourist place to visit....it's
cebu's pride..!
drinking beer after a long night til morning of jamming with friends and
special someone. Tatak nang Cebu........
that you cant compare with other grilled cuisine...
dining pleasure. Nothing beats grilled pork... a cheaper alternative to fresh
seafoods....
Kada uli nako sa pinas wala gyoy palsa na dili mi kakaon sa larsian
everyweekends. After gimik ,basta oi gimingaw napod ko sa Cebu....
the delicious smell of bbq, the
best bbq's ever!!!!
aroma of bbq spclly chorizo ug buwad nokos
to stop by larsian. Yum!
ang plite, mahal ang gasolina... maka adto lang ko og larsian kung naay ma
admit sa chong hua... hahay... gutom.... hahahahahhaha....
may tagalog eh friends..
" a neutral ground." Very informative too. I'm a Cebuana (from the
countryside) but never knew the origin of Larsian. You promoted Larsian fairly (
I mean, at all angles) and well.
the smell of bbq in the air. so inviting...
After our clerkship in Chong-Hua Hospital in 1996, I have never returned to the
place. The place used to be our food haven. Puso and barbecue.. hmmn....i miss
the pair.
a news about their food not being fresh.
Asean Summit .. So lets all welcome the New Larsian... Ngaon ta na! :)
ago...but fear not. a new larsian was born just a few steps away from the
original site. only too commercialized...being sponsored by coca.cola...much more
cleaner, neatly arranged and safer.
loveeeee it!..............
mangaon inig lunch break namo sa work sa Xlibris sa akong migo inig 1am..ahhh...i
miss the smell sa smoke sa bbq...it's been 2 yrs. now that i haven't been
back...haaay...
pagbalik nako gikan ko nilangyaw, sus lami-a gyud sa sauce ni manang linda
oe,yummmy
gyud ani labi nag e tuslob sa halang nga sili suka pyter kaayo ... gotom na
hinoon ko dri naka imagine lang ko sa LARSIAN !!!!
nothing like it in the world.bantay lang ka inig uli nako dira nako matulog.
puso and anything grilled in Metro Mla. Just don't know how to market. Any
suggestion?
sa kalami sa ilang barbecue ug puso!!! waaahhhH!!!! i miss larsian, i miss
ginabot sa redem ug mango square, i miss siomai sa tisa, i miss lechon sa
talisay, i miss chicharon sa carcar, ngohiong sa cheavers, manok sa tagala's, ug
daghan pa!!!!!! waaaah i miss Cebu so much!!!! :(
give me the recipe plzzzzzzzz....
The food and the atmosphere here are incredable....given a choice i'd eat at
larsians over almost any other place in Cebu....the BBQ is fantastic!! The choices
of venders to try and the people are great. My only regret is that I only managed to
visit here once during my stay in Cebu...being "Super white" as my girlfriend
calls me she thought i might not enjoy myself here as I can be picky sometimes with
what i eat. I can't wait to come back to Cebu in August this time we are staying
and Larsians will be a place you'll often be able to find me...for sure
be back, and strike on the chorizo and pork barbque.. droooool people
friend would be happy by the food..so yummy-
TOWN... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...
Hahaha!
and of course the ultimate tambayan AYALA!!
akong mga amigo ug barkada! Maginom pa mi sa Mango, Paseo, Pipeline, Voo Doo, ug
Pump! Nya magkape pa mi sa IT park ug Ayala while nagsmoke! Then hang out in
Timezone and play DRUMMANIA DDR AND GUITARFREAKS! YEAH!
plzzzzzzzzz....thesis namu.....
other bbq like fish, chicken and etc ranges from 5 pesos to 30 pesos
lalo na pag sa Revo's sizzling sisig and grill ka kakain hehe masarap don lalo na ang sisig nila. promise! it fun eating in Larsian.