A Bucketful of Sunrise, A Pocketful of Sunshine

Mouthwatering and irresistible Buffalo wings. That's what we always expect whenever we visit a food place that claims they have the best chicken wings in town. We gotta admit, most of what we tried aren't kidding at all. With the unique taste of their wings, they're bound to bring more customers to their place. If you ask us what the perfect chicken wing would taste like, we might not be able to answer you. Each chicken wings place we tried has that uniqueness that stands out from the others. What we can tell you, though, is what to expect at a chicken wings place, that is, if the chicken is tasty, if the sauce is delicious, if the skin is crispy, and if the dip goes well with the chicken. That's our job as food bloggers in the first place. To give you an example, we'll feature a chicken wings place that we think you might just love.

Just along Ortigas Avenue near Greenhills is a chicken wings place known as Sunrise Buckets. From it's name you wouldn't quite realize that it offers chicken wings. But, it already has attracted some loyal customers from nearby schools and establishments. Sunrise Buckets offers affordable and delicious chicken wings that you will surely add to your chicken wings list. The food place made sure that their wings would be close to the taste of the authentic Buffalo wings abroad. Sunrise Buckets actually categorizes their chicken wings into 3 - Awesome, Wipeout, and Cloud 9.  Included in the Awesome list are those that are suited for the Pinoy taste. Wipeout flavors are those that are similar to the American flavors. Cloud 9 are original flavors of Sunrise Buckets. Whichever flavor you choose, you won't regret it because every category has a best-seller. In fact, most of the flavors are must-tries. Aside from chicken wings, Sunrise Buckets also has burgers, shakes, and floats to satisfy every hungry customer. There absolutely is no excuse for you not to try this place out.

The place actually is summer haven. It really gives you that beach feel with all the surfboards and other designs that would depict the famous summer destination. The place, in fact, looks like an endorser of Roxy and Quicksilver products. They have a corner where they sell some merchandise. We saw some t-shirts and some mugs that had the Sunrise Buckets logo. Needless to say, the ambiance is something that's not typical to any restaurant or food place in the Metro.

Service is another excellent aspect of the Sunrise Buckets experience. We were really awed by the service the people at Sunrise Buckets gave us. The cashier greeted us with a smile, and even suggested some must-tries for us first-timers. We think they always do this to foodies who are clueless as to what they want to order. It's actually a good help, in our opinion. This would make things easier for those who wanna try something that's exact for their palates.

Here's what we tried at Sunrise Buckets:

Sunrise Iced Tea, 55 php


Glutton Girl: Okay, this is not the usual iced tea that you order at other restaurants. It's Sunrise Buckets' own concoction. What's really good about this drink is that it's not overly sweet. Plus, it's not instant! This Sunrise Iced Tea is a very very refreshing drink. It's a perfect drink for a hot day in Metro Manila. It's not a bad starter for my Sunrise Buckets meal.

Chocolate Milk Shake, 95 php


Glutton Guy: It was a hot day so I gave their milk shake a shot. In all honesty, I have never been to a food place that sells milk shake that is this cheap. Usually, milk shakes at restaurants would cost 150 pesos at the very least. But, you could have a delicious milk shake at Sunrise Buckets for only 95 pesos. It's a good buy, I must say. It's also very delicious. It's very creamy and very chocolaty. It also comes with this cute straw and served in a pretty glass. I really liked it. It's a thumbs up sign for me for this drink. : )

Corn On-D-Cob, 60 php


Glutton Guy: This is a usual side dish to some American food places like Friday's or Kenny Roger's. I actually thought that one serving would actually be the whole corn. But, when I got mine, it was just half of the corn. It was still big, though. And, it was served in a cool mug, just like the one they sell with the Sunrise Buckets logo. The corn was salted just right. It had a bit of that sweet taste and a little saltiness from the salt that didn't really overpower the other flavors. It also had a little bit of pepper for that added flavor. I really felt like I was eating at an authentic American diner or restaurant because of the corn. : )


Glutton Girl: The corn was actually a delicious side dish to the chicken wings. For me it was a perfect combination. It also had a different presentation. Rather than serving it on a plate with butter sand salt, Sunrise Buckets opted to serve it on a barbecue stick inside a Sunrise Buckets mug. I did have some trouble eating it because the stick wasn't strong enough to really hold the corn. But, flavor-wise, it was really good. It had the right amount of seasoning for me.

Buttered Rice, 50 php


Glutton Guy: If you're very keen on watching commercials you'd think that this is James Yap's Star rice. Kidding aside, this rice was actually good. You could really taste the butter. It's like every grain of rice was infused with that butter flavor when they cooked it. I wish it had a bit more flavor, like some garlic maybe (then again, that would be fried rice now, wouldn't it? hahaha). But, it was delicious for me. I'll probably try the Wild rice next time, but this was not bad. : )


Glutton Girl: I wanted something that was a bit simple, and I really didn't want a lot of other things in my rice since the chicken would give the flavors for the meal. So, I decided to go for the buttered rice. I actually liked this one. It had that buttery flavor that I expected from a buttered rice dish. For me, however, it lacked a bit of seasoning. A little bit of salt and pepper would do the trick for me.

Sunrise Original, 155 php (1/2 pound - 4 to 5 pieces), 295 php (1 pound - 8 to 10 pieces), 655 php  (2 1/2 pounds - 20 to 24 pieces), 1,395 php (5 pounds - 48 to 52 pieces)


Glutton Guy: The lady who took our order suggested the Sunrise Original flavor for us to try since it was our first time. She told us that this was the usual recommend for people who visit Sunrise Buckets. The sauce of the chicken wings was a bit similar to the Buffalo chicken wings sauce which was very delicious. The dip that came with the chicken wings really complemented its flavor. The sauce really had that sweet and spicy taste that was really good when it's all mixed in your mouth. When you have that first bite, you definitely wouldn't stop munching on the chicken wings. I dare you to have a go at the 5 pounds! hahaha : )


Glutton Girl: When in doubt, stick to the original. Sunrise Buckets' Sunrise Original flavored chicken wings was really good. The sauce was perfect for the chicken wings. I loved the spicy flavor that I get from the sauce. The sour cream dip was also good. It gave that tangy flavor to the chicken wings which was just delicious. You could order as little as half a pound, or you could opt to go for the 5 pounder if you're with a big group. The chicken wings are served in a bucket (now you know why there's that 'Bucket' word in the name hahaha). They'll basically get your name when you order and write your name in the small metal pail when they serve it to you. Talk about customization hahahaha But, it's a really clever and fun way of serving yummy chicken wings.

Chicken wings can always be given some kind of twist to satisfy every person's hungry palate. But, when you want the original Buffalo wings taste, you should head over to Sunrise Buckets and try their delicious chicken wings. They have it all here, from sweet and spicy chicken wings, to smokin' barbecue flavored wings that you're sure to come back for. They also have the original yet recommended flavors such as the Jack Daniel's wings and the Garlic Parmesan chicken wings. The place also offers beers for groups who just want to have a good time. Clearly, Sunrise Buckets' objective is to assure that you leave the place full and satisfied with their wings and their service. Tell you what, we just did. And if you want to have the same experience, you should add this on your next food trip list. As Sunrise Buckets would say, "Lick 'em! Bite 'em! Crave for more!" ^_^

Here's how we rated Sunrise Buckets:


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(Sunrise Buckets is located at Unit 1, Madison Square, Ortigas Avenue corner Madison Street, North Greenhills, San Juan City. Just look for the blue overpass near Madison street and you'll see Madison Square. It's near the Immaculate Conception Academy, Xavier School, and Ash Creek Center.)