Lauriat | Chinese-Style Fried Chicken

There are things you crave to have that you can only have once in a while. You can never have too much of it, because of watching your health and what you eat. Sometimes, it’s best to have it when the opportunity arrives, like being at a party, and never set to stay over when your time to leave the crowd, as the way you eat. If the metaphor is too much to comprehend, then in simple terms is never too much of the same thing. Of course, the same thing means you want it again like tomorrow. But in reality, it is best left to enjoy what you can consume with Chowking’s Chinese-style Fried Chicken; there’s no stopping from having some crunchy and meaty meal that is quite like seeing an old friend again.

Fiesta Dabaw | Native Comfort Food

You call it “Fast Food” because it is literally and figuratively quick with no dramas. Dining at a local Food Hall inside a Shopping Mall can be crowded, but it all depends on how it is managed properly while you take chances when you order your food as the servers give it to you as efficiently as possible when you get it in real-time. Fiesta Dabaw is a local and original “Native Restaurant” capturing the masses with its take on local food found in Davao and the rest of the Mindanao region that is affordable as well as keeping the essence of what it is meant by having “Fast Food,” which is surely not like the American way of how you get your food with that style.

Foodie Spotlight | Chicken French Quarter

In some ways, Popeye’s have truly made the Chicken Sandwich the go to meal that has every local food establishment take notice. Prior to the Louisiana–based restaurant landing back to the Philippines it is just about beef burgers and majority of rice meal consuming population. The interest for chicken sandwich has been at all-time high. Of course, a healthy competition brings on the winner, and it’s not Popeye’s but the local consumers that have given new choices and things to try out from the conventional Filipino taste. The American dish is such as burgers and sandwiches are a challenging product to market into a country that takes rice meals as their main thing to see in their plate. Although it did not change that it opened options & choices.

McDo Dian | Extortion for a Large Cup

The day would be just fine dining at McDonald’s Dian with the new Ugly Dolls ‘Art toys’ for the month of May 2019 as their Happy Meal toys. Taking an early lunch to avoid the huge crowd lining up to get the Happy Meals at the same time taking advantage of the use of the self-service machine. It was a convenient way to avoid any more delay time with a staff. There was a new option for the self-service kiosk which was one of the concerns I had when they introduced the service and that is the staff bringing your food to the table instead of waiting for pick-up that is only for take-out orders. I’ve always address this concern whenever taking advantage of the McDoListens.com survey to put this reason why McDo Philippines is using the service wrongly.

McDo Sta. Cruz | Blind Pineapple

There must be a reason somewhere that if your store has so many deficiencies that means there is something with wrong management, and how the staff has been trained to be efficient and show the value of the company that they represent. Unfortunately, in the Philippines that seems to be obviously ignored despite the complaint by the customers that had a terrible experience. With the McDonald’s Sta. Cruz branch there must be an urgent need to find what makes this place such bothersome store. Putting up a survey to ‘help improve’ the company’s images that means they should have taken critical action to help fix those chinks in their armor. This is not the only branch that had so much lack of service it just happens their competitor was closed early for their “company outing.”

Tropical Hut | Why They're Irrelevant

Tropical Hut is one but probably the oldest fast food restaurant in the Philippines founded in 1962. Before there was Jollibee it WAS that burger joint that families and friends troop for a scrumptious meal. Over the past decades, the invasion of American fast food restaurant in the Philippines changed all that with the arrival of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and McDonald’s. But there are local fast food restaurants has stepped up their game to continue its Filipino relevance to this industry namely Jollibee, but what happened to Tropical Hut is like most have with a culture like a Jeepney which eventually tries not to change and this leaves both what they used to be.

McDo Bankmer | Robotic Service

McDonald’s Bankmer is one of the frequent branches that have so many customers due to foot traffic just across the Ayala Triangle Gardens that is also the Makati Stock Exchange. It would consider this branch to be located at the heart of the Central Business District despite smaller than the former store at JAKA 6780 near Valero Street that closed sometime in 2018. With all that this branch should have incorporate the “McDo NXTGEN” store concept, a change on the ordering process of the food and probably added a self-service kiosk. But even though this branch didn’t get any upgrades it gets so many customers that it can compete with the one in Buendia due to the strategic location and with that you’ll notice how things are chippy with this place.

McDo Buendia | Stone Cold Service

11.21.2018 – McDonald’s Buendia in Pasay City near the Gil Puyat LRT Station has a better location to getting customers than the other side with its competitor Jollibee. It’s the busiest branch even in the late mornings as people definitely stand in line event the breakfast to lunch turnover, which is supposed to be slow during these hours. Having the most customers making a stop means this place never runs out of foot traffic since it opened. Usually, this is the first stop for those heading south before making a ride to their respective destination. With all that you should be wondering how the service works out for a branch that doesn’t run out of customers. That’s the experience that should be addressed here…

Sweet X Manila | A Hole in the Wall Place

10.29.2018 - Sweet X Manila, or known originally as Sweet Ecstasy, is a local burger joint founded in 2012 by three people. From then on, this family-owned burger joint has carved out a place in the local scene with its high-quality menu and good service from the hardworking staff, which is why this place is successful and continues to serve not only its regulars and friends but also those who discover it. I’ve been wanting to visit their closest branch, as their original store is way too far from where I was. But the opportunity to visit was on Sunday night after a long day of traveling to places I rarely visit. But this one was just right up where my route was while heading back from this Sunday’s adventure.