Sumptuous Sunrise Buckets!

There's nothing more comforting than the mere thought of deep fried chicken wings tossed in good old buffalo sauce, a cold drink in one hand, the sun kissing your skin, and the music of ocean waves crashing upon the rocks and sands.  Ahh, such an idyllic moment.

Sunrise Buckets seem to capture this snapshot, despite no trace of ocean for miles around it.  The shop has been a fixture in the Ortigas area for quite some time now, a regular haunt for budget conscious students, weary office workers, or simply those longing for a piece of the beach, and good times. 

The place is a portal that whisks one away to another place.  One that's sunny, happy, bright and gay.  The walls are studded with beach-themed ornaments, complete with surfboards.  The only thing that seems lacking is real beach sand.  The shop was quite small but cozy, comfortably seating around 40 people or so.

The menu consists mainly of American comfort food, but the wings are the centerpiece, of course.  Only a few can rival Sunrise Bucket's vast array of wing flavors, surpassing even that of Wingman.  But is the quality at par?

Frings, P295 (+10% service charge)

The perfect way to start any comfort dinner is to chow down some potato fries and onion rings.  Dubbed as Frings, this huge basket arrived with a gargantuan sized onion rings!  Breaded and deep-fried to perfection, the onion rings were succulent and delectable.  The fries were crisp and plenty, but lacked some flavor.  The blue cheese dip should have added some punch but seemed to be tamed and watered down.

Picking the flavor of the chicken wings seems like a daunting task, with over 15 flavors to choose from.  The menu, though, helps you out by dividing flavors into 3 categories.  "Awesome" includes the tamer and milder flavors.  "Wipeout" amps up the spice a notch higher, including the original buffalo mix and Sunrise's own concoction.  The category also encompasses other more adventurous flavors: hickory, black pepper, and garlic.  The last, more flamboyant category, dubbed as "Cloud 9", truly is the heaven of wings.  With unique mixes infused with liquor such as Jim Beam and Jack Daniels, the taste is out-of-this-world.  We picked at least a flavor from each category for variety.

Spicy Jack, Half Pound, P245 (+10% service charge)

The distinct taste of liquor was evident but not overpowering in their unique, Jack Daniel-infused Spicy Jack.  The fruity overtones of alcohol blended well and was tame enough to let the zest and spice of buffalo sauce shine through.  It's nearly inexplicable, yet it works.  The chicken meat itself was crisp on the exterior, but a little dry within.  Nevertheless, the sauce is enough to make it finger-lickin' good, to borrow that famous punchline.  Trust me, there's no other flavor in this world like this liquor infused Spicy Jack.  Hands down, the best of the night.  For that price tag, it should be.

Smokin' BBQ, Half Pound, P165 (+10% service charge)

A simpler, more straightforward choice, the Smokin' BBQ was probably lost in the limelight hogged by the Spicy Jack.  The smokey flavor was nearly non-existent, although there were a few traces of a grilled taste.  Too tame or too watered down?  This one was a bit disappointing, tasting just like a lowly common fried chicken.

Garlic Parmesan, Half Pound, P245 (+10% service charge)

I'm a sucker for any garlic and cheese flavor combo, and this pick looked promising.  My palate has since been longing for this taste ever since I grabbed a bite of Wingman's own parmesan mix.  My expectations were thus high for this flavor.  Sadly, Sunrise's version was overboard salty.  The saltiness was overpowering, perhaps due to an overflowing seasoning as evidenced by the leftover powder in the bucket.  The garlic taste was hard to find, subdued by the oiliness of the butter and the overeager flavor of the parmesan powder.  This would have been mind-blowing, had it been executed carefully.

Real American Buffalo Hot, Half Pound, P175 (+10% service charge)

We opted to sample their version of the original buffalo flavor, and it was spot on.  The zest and kick was evident, along with the familiar sourness of the buffalo wing taste.  Available in 3 degrees of spiciness, this should be the usual pick for those who prefer no-frills buffalo wings.  

One fact about Sunrise Bucket's wings is that the serving is small - too small for the price tags.  The cheapest bucket comes at a tad above 150 bucks, but the wing joints appear minuscule.  Some pieces appeared thin and lacked enough meat.  This is in contrast to bigger wings seen in Buffalo's Wings and Things, Wingman, heck even the budget B. Wings.  

Pound for pound, it's not the best bargain in the metro out there.  But what Sunrise Buckets offers and keeps hooking and reeling in their customers is the wide variety of flavors and their really unique alcohol amplified concoctions.  I would be willing to shell out a few bucks more just to sample their Jack Daniels or Jim Beam wings again, even if the sizes are less than average.  It's as ground-breaking and other-worldly as that.

Jones

Sunrise Buckets

Madison Square, Madison Street corner Ortigas Avenue

San Juan City

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