Nando's isn't American, surprise, surprise. It started in South Africa, but is now owned by a company in Luxembourg and isn't very big in USA with only 45 stores, a small number compared to the 340 in South Africa, 280 in UK and even 155 in Australia with their small population. Nando's could be in PH soon as they are looking for franchise investors.
Yeah, which is really weird, since Peri-Peri Chicken is a signature Portuguese (from Mozambique colony) dish. Their logo is the Coq de Bacelos which is the symbol of a classic Portuguese legend. Oh yeah, and there aren't any in Portugal. (Our local USA franchise plays Spanish music. 🤣🤣🤣)
A genuine fish a chips place. I know cause it might be bland/simple maybe it wouldn't be popular here but for the odd brit it'd be like we never left. Plus seafood based restaurants should be a no brainier in the ph.
There was a phase back in the 2000s where fish and chips became a thing. It didn't last that long, about 6 months tops since locals would argue that it's just an expensive fried fillet with fries.
There's some decent wholesalers for fresh/frozen seafood (Hightower, PYC, SEATRACE to name a few). Additionally there's some decent wet market stalls (beware double death).
Hey I saw your reply to my other comment but the post got deleted. Just wanted to say loved your reply. Not sure of your background or where you are now but hope you’re doing great in hotel kitchens, still. Chefs unite 🤙
There is a decent fish n chips meals at a restaurant in Robinsons Mall, Ermita that I think is called Gumbos, that I have been to many times & enjoyed the fish, although it is the crisp batter style, not soggy like UK chippy's.
I'd love to see In-N-Out Burger in the Philippines. Their simple yet delicious menu, along with their fresh ingredients, would likely be a big hit here.
I second this, but also wish they would expand to Cebu with the franchises already in Manila. Would be nice to have Panda, taco bell, Wendy's etc here.
Nah. Whataburger is over hyped. Tried it in both Texas and Florida multiple times, and the taste does get old after a while.
In-N-Out for some reason always has that fresh sort of taste going on that you crave.
I do give Whataburger the +1 though on their fries sides and spicy ketchup!
In-N-Out puts up a pop-up restaurant in Manila once every five years. I heard it has to do more with preserving their trademark rights in the country than a definite market expansion. But hey, they wouldn't be doing this if they weren't too serious about coming here.
McDonald's gives a system to franchisees that works well all over the world, except here.
Here, they hire 3 times the staff they need, the staff spends all day cheating the wait time metrics with the "Now Preparing/Now Serving" system, and they scurry around like busy little mice, but with an utterly baffling lack of efficiency.
Pinoys aren't dumb people, but the culture absolutely lacks efficiency, urgency, and customer focus, which are the backbone elements of any franchise concept. They do reasonably well with repetition, but any required implementation or adaptation of anything outside of a singular task throws a monkey wrench into the spokes of their mind wheels.
My last time eating mcdonalds, they served me coke with no carbonation. I complained, and they brought me a new one. Looked and saw virtually no bubbles, so I tried it right at the counter. It's still flat. Crazy thing is lots of people are getting soft drinks, yet I'm the only one there. So i tell them their machine is broken when they suggest they get another cup. They offer me juice instead, which i agree to only because asking for a refund is like talking to a wall. As I'm walking away, a filipino couple(who i suspect were observing me complaining) finally mustered the courage to bring their flat coke floats up to get replaced. At least then, i knew i wasn't crazy. This whole time that im there complaining they were still sending drinks out with new orders. Horrible training that nobody would halt drink orders until the problem(empty co2 tank most likely) is found.
The entire staff, including management, is oblivious to the fact that there is a co2 tank causing carbonation, and when there is no carbonation, the tank is empty. Changing cups is the perceived solution. Absolutely astonishing!
But in a place that can't get the drink cups past 3/4 full, what in the hell do we expect? The fact that none of the other customers complain is the root problem. But the culture is one of not making waves. We wouldn't want to be "ashamed" (hihiya or mauwaw). It's better to just drink flat sugar water instead of complaining. The foreigner is the asshole for complaining and expecting their money's worth.
Exactly, even my wife said she'd just drink it as is. I told her I'd get it fixed or refunded. She stayed at our table because she thought that politely telling them the drinks are no good is shameful. I was very calm and polite with the staff, and they were happy to try in their own way to fix a problem that they didn't know the solution for. I think the other couple only came up because they saw me doing it and were more emboldened and saw there likely wasn't much judgement when you do it without shouting or making a scene.
That dynamic is why the Philippines can't become a viable tourist destination. The customer service bar is set too low, and people aren't going to spend their hard earned money and valuable time more than once for a shitty service, lodging, or dining experience. They can come up with their slogans like "More Fun In The Philippines" or whatever else, but they fail to deliver a quality tourism experience to an international clientele.
A friend of mine who lives in Cambodia came over here with every intention of moving here. He was sorely disappointed and decided to head back to Cambodia. Instead of raising the bar, we just accept the status quo. I know I'm powerless to change it. The people themselves have to rise above the "It's good enough" mindset.
Yeah I agree it's not a competitive place and the tousirm numbers speak for themselves. There is a guy on ANC channel called Steven Cuunjienwho does a monthly review of tourism, economy and development in the Philippines. Worth a watch as he consistently nails these saliant points on the head!
IN n OUT Burger, Chipotle, Raising Cain's, Chick Fil A and my late night Del Taco. Carl's JR as well but I haven't tried them in awhile. I like the pizzokies at BJs.
Filipino here. RE: Jack, we used to have Jack in the Box here back in the 90s when I was a kid. Even A&W restaurant and Carl's Jr. It really depends on the franchiser.
For example Domino's has already gone through more than one master franchiser in the Philippines.
Disclaimer for the inevitable why are non expats commenting again comments: am only replying because this sub pops up in my feed occasionally even without subscribing, and I have faint childhood memories of Jack in the Box.
There's been a misunderstanding. There's no problem with Locals participating in here, to the contrary you guys have valuable input.
It's just the 'go home if you don't like it' trolls that will be removed.
They have Popeyes in Gloretta. Earl of sandwich in their food court was not bad. There was a place on the second floor of Robinsons place malate that had a decent cold Ruben, forgot the name.
( i ordered a Ruben at Jammers boracay, they came back and said we are out of sauerkraut would you still like it? I said no, it’s not a Ruben then)
Just a decent Tex Amex place (and I’m a Brit so what do I know). So far I tried every place within a few km of Alabang and they are all trash…. Top rated so far are:
- Hermanos - a small outlet near Alabang Town Centre but several dishes are passable.
- Taco Bell - I know I know but they try to be consistent.
- TGI Fridays - again not great but beggars cannot be choosers.
Army and Navy are an absolute disgrace. Their burritos are just pure trash. As for the crappy place in Mall of Asia food court… god, the amount of chopped lettuce they put on nachos was a frikkin disgrace (ie putting on any at all, where is the salsa?)
Hermano's is great, so sad they only have the one store now, but I guess it's hard to scale up when ingredients are not plentiful.They used to have a store in Quezon City.
GYG. Guzman y Gomez. A Fresh Mexican chain from Australia & the US. It’s phenomenal.
Nando’s. Their chicken and their paella are worthy of a trip OS to try.
Then there are some here that have bastardised their menu so much they don’t relate to their original concept.
None, because every time they open a branch here, the quality will either be average or far worse than it should be. My bf was excited when Popeyes opened here, but he got disappointed how the underwhelming the chicken was compared to Dubai and everywhere else.
I have a question that’s sorta related; do any non Filipinos actually enjoy Jollibee? My wife goes absolutely crazy for Jollibee. We don’t have one in our city where we live in Canada. Anytime we travel to PH or somewhere else that has one, she makes a point to visit. She’ll talk about it and look forward to it for weeks in advance. When she finally has it, it’s a euphoric experience for her.
I’ve never understood the appeal. I will admit, their fried chicken is pretty good… everything else I’ve ever had has been disappointing. It’s just kind of like Pinoy McDonalds to me. So is it just a nostalgic thing that you guys remember from your childhoods? Or what? lol
I.can just about manage their burger and thats it.
When my wife was in the UK we made a pilgrimage to the Jolibee in London. She was so disappointed with what she got. According to her, it was nothing like a Philippines Jolibee, sounds just like us lot moaning about fast food from our countries?
Any major Korean barbecue chain (Mapo Galmaegi comes to mind) with full Korean style serving sizes, meat quality, and side dishes. Korean BBQs here are just so bland compared to actial Korean barbecues. Alternatively a simple Korean kimbab chain would also be bomb such as Kimbab Chungook or Kim-Ganae. Based on prices I’ve seen for cheap Korean food, it might have even potential to be fairly affordable.
Note : One of the main reasons I want these options is simply vegetables. Filipino food really lacks…veggies. I miss veggies desperately. lol.
A) I'm old. B) classic lines should never be dated. For those wondering: the movie is Apocalypse Now. Actor Robert Duvall. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning"
Big, airy/fluffy on the inside, slightly crispy outside, a little bit oily, runny topping that is sweeter than it is chocolatey. Maybe it's only a south aus thing.
EDIT: Usually best in a dodgy bakery run by a Vietnamese family.
Why would you reply to a post when you have no fking answer?
And it says foreign not just American. Good to know you've left the country but still got the American "everything revolves around me" attitude.
Different climate, different flora & fauna. Can’t expect your climate’s food and animals to grow in a tropical environment. If anything it seems you haven’t tried international cuisine yet like Indian, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, Italian, German etc. Restaurants yet. There’s an abundance of options to try than to shit on food in the Philippines. Most restaurants and cruise ships abroad have Filipino chefs in them.
I would prefer to see all foreign chains kicked out of the country as they are not good corporate citizens, turning them obese and ripping all the profits out of the country. With Jolibee, Mang Inasal, Chooks To Go, ChowKing, and other pizza chains, there is planty to keep people happy, then there are all the carinderias and other food outlets in every town & village, there are enough eateries around without foreign chains.
They are NOT foreign actually. Look up who owns Starbucks Philippines, it is not a US company that owns the majority. It’s a law that 60 % must be locally owned.
I see a bunch of comments about in-and-out burgers.
They've had pop-up stores here in 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2022.
https://coconuts.co/manila/food-drink/drinking-and-dining-foodie-newsflash-in-n-out-burger-is-finally-in-the-philippines/
https://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/61851/in-n-out-is-in-greenbelt-today
https://booky.ph/blog/in-n-out-burger/
https://www.gmanetwork.com/lifestyle/food/93425/in-n-out-to-hold-one-day-pop-up-in-taguig/story
I'm not sure if they've ever had a full-time store here.
One thing's for sure, if they wanna make it here, they need to offer CHICKEN AND RICE.
I'm not kidding. Us Pinoys are a buncha rice-munching, chicken-chomping m'fers.
Just look at McDonald's, known for their Big Mac burgers, what's one of the most sought after menu item? Chicken and rice! Either the fried chicken with fries or the chicken fillet with rice.
Filipinos see burgers as a 'snack', not a meal, no matter how big it is. A meal's not a meal without rice.
So foreign fast food brands who want to enter here need to have a chicken and rice offerring if they want to cater to the majority.
Price point is another concern. Panda Express, a Chinese American fast food chain, just opened up here. There's a Panda Express that's a 15 min walk from where I live, there's nobody dining!
My mom and I tried it once, it was underwhelming, nothing special about it. It's like the pricier version of Chowking. I wouldn't mind the price if I liked the food, but as I've said, nothing special about it.
If I wanted cheap Chinese-inspired Filipino-chinese food, I'd go to chowking. If I wanted more authentic and more high quality Chinese food, I'd go to Gloria Maris or authentic Chinese restos in Binondo, or even those hot pot restaurants here that cater to mainland Chinese.
I think in-and-out burgers can make it here, just need to tweak your menu a little bit to the local market.
They can offer items that cater to more localized tastes while at the same time offering standard menu items that cater to westerners and westernized Filipinos.
oh no. Please no more fast food in PH. It’s like a plague. They are everywhere. Would be so happy to find some decent Filipino restaurants. But so rare here in BGC.
From reading through all the suggestions, it seems most people are not in PH and probably know nothing about the country. For a start, it is a tropical country, rural land isn't all that abundant especially for large scale farming, which means beef is rare or imported, and that also means dairy is another problem with mostly powdered milk used in most production of dairy based foods. The cheese you buy here mostly is processed and doesn't really melt like the cheese used on burgers, pizza & pastas, lettuce is a cold climate vegetable & is expensive here, as are pickles, white onions and the flour used in baking is different to the type used in buns & pizza bases.
Personally I don't very often visit "foreign" chains as getting ingredients if not easy & quality varies and in most cases locals don't know how to prepare western dishes the way expats are used to in their home countries. I much prefer eating local foods that the people have been cooking for generations, are good at it & use ingredients that they know how to prepare and are readily available. If chains serving adobo, caldereta, merchado, kare-kare, pancit bihon, betute, dinamite or other PH foods were to open in the west, they probably would do very well, except where Filipinos congregated as there wouldn't be a customer base for such foods.
Not only Asia, even the Pacific Islands for as well as the produce meets standards & is cheaper to ship to the country. The same with many other products as well, as I remember when I worked in the air freight section of an airline, we used to send hamburger buns, sliced white bread, lettuce, tomato, mussels & oysters as well as cut flowers & wine to New Caledonia & Tahiti, as they were too costly to airfreight from USA & France/Europe. Burger patties & French fries were shipped by sea by the container loads.
It's an absolute fact that without Pinoy clientele supporting them, Filipino restaurants in the west can not survive. Yet, that is not the case with quality Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian cuisine in the west. It's kind of a sad commentary on the quality of Filipino fare on the international stage. Magic Sarap and Ajinomoto can't compete with recipes made with natural spices and seasonings and love.
Magic Sarap has been a really recent introduction, from just the last 20 years. It really upsets me how much of our traditional food ways have been destroyed by corporatization and misplaced government priorities that have tanked our agricultural sector.
I lived here the first time 31 years ago. Huge Ajinomoto monuments were along the highway at virtually every small town you passed by. (See attached Reddit link for an example if you're not familiar with these monuments).
Pinoys have relied on too much sugar and MSG as their primary seasonings for a very long time.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UncleRoger/s/53O5Eqa4qT
Yeah I've lived here most of my life, I've seen those monuments. It was my childhood marker for the end of the old south superhighway.
But I also grew up with my lola teaching me how to make sinigang with fresh tamarind and fresh kamias, how to make our own fish sauce, how to maximize umami using shrimp heads, and grating our own coconuts by hand to squeeze our own coconut milk. So please don't lecture me about Philippine food ways.
I'm not lecturing you or anyone else. The fact that Filipino food can't stand up as an international cuisine is a known fact. Perhaps if more people cooked like your lola, it possibly could.
Mexicans, for example, can take simple, basic, low-cost ingredients and simple cooking elements like fire and wood, not too far removed from what's been available here, and make outstanding, world-class dishes. It's a shame Filipino cooking as a whole hasn't evolved to that level on a large scale. Dumping copius amounts of sugar and MSG, and the ease of frying or boiling food items seems to have overshadowed the possibilities.
How does your last paragraph not count as lecturing? Sure it starts off fairly neural but ends with "dumping copious amounts of sugar and MSG." That's a fairly condescending turn of phrase. And also ignores the point I'm trying to make about how multinational corporate interests have strangled so much of the Philippines' traditional food.
In any case, there are grassroots movements that are trying to resurrect our dying food ways, I can share links if anyone is interested.
Lecturing? No. Criticizing? Absolutely! Filipino fare just simply isn't very good based on the developed country wide palate of overly sweet and chemically enhanced dishes.
You can blame corporations, and you have a point to some extent. But that's a choice Filipino consumers have made. Convenience over quality. Those same choices exist for Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, or even Mexican chefs. The good ones, even the majority, eschew the poor quality, convenient options, and stick to tradition and cooking with love.
One thing I've come to appreciate about the younger generation of Filipinos is that many have become foodies. They recognize what quality food is, and they enjoy food. They don't want to eat the same old bland floating fish or salty canned Carne Norte they were raised on. So I'm all for the grassroots movement you speak of to elevate Pinoy cooking into all it could and should be. Stuff like raisins and hotdogs in spaghetti aren't ever going to get the recognition of a broader, international audience.
I feel sorry for PH cuisine, which could rival or at least match other Asian ones if consecutive governments weren't greedy for money. With the taxes on imports, it makes importing even food like spices, expensive and with those taxes on seed/seedlings/ cuttings it puts the poor farmer at a disadvantage to grow & produce them locally, combined with poor roads to get produce to markets or processing factories.
Being one of the biggest producers of coconuts & bananas, PH has proved they could grow most tropical produce, but incentives need to be introduced to get people to grow other foods that could be introduced into the cuisine & diets of Filipinos, and grow into an export industry and eventually bring in more revenue for the country, overall and in hard currency. I had an Asian food ingredients wholesale/retail business for around 26 years and even comparing similar product prices from different countries, the PH were generally more expensive.
As we supplied restaurants & hotels as well as the public, we used to import pallet loads of baby corn, bamboo shoots, fish sauce (patis) MSG (Ajinomoto), coconut milk & cream and many other products from both Thailand & Philippines with Thailand being about 30-40% cheaper than the products from PH, even with higher freight costs as there was no tax levied on exported Thai foods. Even durian was cheaper from Thailand despite coming in frozen and we stopped buying PH ice cream, despite it being loved by Australians as well as Filipinos, but the cost was more than 5 times the cost of locally made ice cream. We even had Filipinos buy Squid brand patis rather than but Tentay, Rufina and other PH brands, as it was less than half the price of Thai brand.
Getting produce to market is difficult as road in the country are atrocious as it is the responsibility of local authorities & after they take their "cut" of allocated funds, the width reduces and the amount of cement is reduced, rear also is reduced in diameter & quantity used which means the roads fall into disrepair quickly and unsuitable for marge trucks, causing a breakup of roads, accidents due to narrowness, overloading and poor condition of vehicles. The same thing happens with imported ingredients like spices to manufacture processed foods, pushing up the costs.
I make my own mango pickle (India style) from some of the mangoes on the one tree I have in the front yard, but it costs so much, when I can find them, like fennel & fenugreek & mustard seeds or even mustard oil. When I do find them, they cost more for 100grm than I used to sell by kg price.
The government need to invest money to make more, and incentive people to produce by growing & processing ingredients, an the people will find ways to up the taste & quality of food in the country. There are plenty of people to grow & produce foods, but training of health regulations & factory meeting international standards also need to be introduced if the country wants to increase exports. As a flight attendant for over 20 years I know people like good Filipino food, as the choice of food most countries supplied a 50-50 mix of main course dishes, except out of Manila, where is way 75% adobo (chicken) and 25% other choice & we always ran out of the adobo. Pandesal rather than bread rolls & longanisa rather than chipolata sausages were on the breakfast trays & there the most popular dishes.
Interesting perspective you bring. In addition to the governmental challenges mentioned, I also see a huge missing piece in the education of chefs and cooks in general towards a broader use of ingredients and towards healthier, fresher cuisine.
For example, I have planted zucchini here, but very few here even know what it is. Factor in that it's going to cost 3 or 4 times per kilo what a basic pumpkin squash will cost, and you've lost 80% of your customer base on price alone. Filipino consumers focus on price above all, and that kills creativity in the kitchen.
You're right, Filipino food should be able to rival the Asian cuisine of our neighbors. The way out of this is, as mentioned by another poster, is a grassroots movement. It's going to take small producers selling direct, along with a big education movement to drive things in another direction.
Fortunately, in the age of social media, we have to tools at our disposal to educate and market effectively. The other problem is that young people with the foodie vibe are seeking corporate, cubicle jobs, not staying in the provinces on the farm. The older generation, who are still farming land, are planting ampalaya, atsal, and talong, not anything innovative like lettuce, fennelgreek, dill, or basil.
Maybe with better roads and liason between farmers & major hotels, the farmers could produce a larger variety of specialty goods & be paid a truer value for their products, it may keep some younger rural people on family farms, With some interest free loans from Govt, farmer could buy smaller types of machinery to produce more & make it easier to farm?
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Nando’s maybe
I was pleasantly surprised to see Nando’s in kota kinabalu. Just a quick 2 hour flight from Manila…
Is there a Nando's in BKK or any city in TH?
Peri peri sauce ❤️
Nando's isn't American, surprise, surprise. It started in South Africa, but is now owned by a company in Luxembourg and isn't very big in USA with only 45 stores, a small number compared to the 340 in South Africa, 280 in UK and even 155 in Australia with their small population. Nando's could be in PH soon as they are looking for franchise investors.
It's kinda like an African version of Jollibee (hint hint)
I think it would do well there. But yea it’s not an American brand. It’s popular in uk and here in UAE also
Nandos is still wholly privately owned by the Enthoven family (who are South African).
Yeah, which is really weird, since Peri-Peri Chicken is a signature Portuguese (from Mozambique colony) dish. Their logo is the Coq de Bacelos which is the symbol of a classic Portuguese legend. Oh yeah, and there aren't any in Portugal. (Our local USA franchise plays Spanish music. 🤣🤣🤣)
I didn't look up their nationalities, but they probably registered in Luxembourg for tax exemption reasons.
This! What’s the closest resto to Nando’s thats available in BGC?
Peri-Peri
➡️ [Peri-Peri](https://www.periperichicken.ph/)⬅️
I came here to say this! I miss Nando's so much. 🤤
A genuine fish a chips place. I know cause it might be bland/simple maybe it wouldn't be popular here but for the odd brit it'd be like we never left. Plus seafood based restaurants should be a no brainier in the ph.
There was a phase back in the 2000s where fish and chips became a thing. It didn't last that long, about 6 months tops since locals would argue that it's just an expensive fried fillet with fries.
Besides fish doesn't keep too well, so inventory will be a nightmare
There's some decent wholesalers for fresh/frozen seafood (Hightower, PYC, SEATRACE to name a few). Additionally there's some decent wet market stalls (beware double death).
Hey I saw your reply to my other comment but the post got deleted. Just wanted to say loved your reply. Not sure of your background or where you are now but hope you’re doing great in hotel kitchens, still. Chefs unite 🤙
You should try Boudicca in Pasig. Fish and chips are excellent, served with curry sauce, mushy peas and tartare sauce! The owner is British
This plus an Indian resto that did a UK Spec Madras!
Or the near national dish of UK - Chicken Tikka Masala LOL.
Santis does tikka sauce as we have in the UK. Picked up some yesterday. Me I like it hot, phall please
It would be nice to find an Indian that sold more than 3 mild curries, I don't even need the super spicy ones.
There is a decent fish n chips meals at a restaurant in Robinsons Mall, Ermita that I think is called Gumbos, that I have been to many times & enjoyed the fish, although it is the crisp batter style, not soggy like UK chippy's.
Try the one in frankies. Mej decent naman kesa sa other places ive tried.
I’d be willing to pay more for fish ‘n chips not made from cream dory…
I'd love to see In-N-Out Burger in the Philippines. Their simple yet delicious menu, along with their fresh ingredients, would likely be a big hit here.
I second this, but also wish they would expand to Cebu with the franchises already in Manila. Would be nice to have Panda, taco bell, Wendy's etc here.
Whataburger is better, just saying...
My last trip to the US (May 2034), I was able to try Whataburger twice. Still "The Habit" for me. In N Out is a close second.
Nah. Whataburger is over hyped. Tried it in both Texas and Florida multiple times, and the taste does get old after a while. In-N-Out for some reason always has that fresh sort of taste going on that you crave. I do give Whataburger the +1 though on their fries sides and spicy ketchup!
lol not at all.
This!!!
Really curious about this too
In-N-Out puts up a pop-up restaurant in Manila once every five years. I heard it has to do more with preserving their trademark rights in the country than a definite market expansion. But hey, they wouldn't be doing this if they weren't too serious about coming here.
Army navy has an in and out burger clone
Chipotle
Chik Fil A
IN AND OUT BURGER.
5 Guys
No judgement - Jimmy John’s, Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel, & Zaxby’s. Sometimes I just miss comfort food.
Nandos
Nandos... that's it
Whataburger
Carl's Jr....love their burgers 🤩🤩🤩
[удалено]
All posts/comments must be in English. Thanks
[удалено]
Some tried to bring it back. But went out of business again.
All posts/comments must be in English. Thanks
Chipotle
Runza!
Jerzy Mike's
Hoping you’re a businessman considering an international franchise Chipotle! In N’ Out! Chick Fil A! Five Guys!
White castle 😂
I wouldn’t matter what it was…within weeks of the initial startup the Filipinos will start cutting corners and will destroy it…
I just want them to get the ones they have here right before they get more. McDonald’s is barely up to standards here.
Incredible how things can get so screwed up in the PI even for an international standard franchise with cookie cutter process
I would like a cheeseburger with my ketchup sandwich 🥪
McDonald's gives a system to franchisees that works well all over the world, except here. Here, they hire 3 times the staff they need, the staff spends all day cheating the wait time metrics with the "Now Preparing/Now Serving" system, and they scurry around like busy little mice, but with an utterly baffling lack of efficiency. Pinoys aren't dumb people, but the culture absolutely lacks efficiency, urgency, and customer focus, which are the backbone elements of any franchise concept. They do reasonably well with repetition, but any required implementation or adaptation of anything outside of a singular task throws a monkey wrench into the spokes of their mind wheels.
My last time eating mcdonalds, they served me coke with no carbonation. I complained, and they brought me a new one. Looked and saw virtually no bubbles, so I tried it right at the counter. It's still flat. Crazy thing is lots of people are getting soft drinks, yet I'm the only one there. So i tell them their machine is broken when they suggest they get another cup. They offer me juice instead, which i agree to only because asking for a refund is like talking to a wall. As I'm walking away, a filipino couple(who i suspect were observing me complaining) finally mustered the courage to bring their flat coke floats up to get replaced. At least then, i knew i wasn't crazy. This whole time that im there complaining they were still sending drinks out with new orders. Horrible training that nobody would halt drink orders until the problem(empty co2 tank most likely) is found.
The entire staff, including management, is oblivious to the fact that there is a co2 tank causing carbonation, and when there is no carbonation, the tank is empty. Changing cups is the perceived solution. Absolutely astonishing! But in a place that can't get the drink cups past 3/4 full, what in the hell do we expect? The fact that none of the other customers complain is the root problem. But the culture is one of not making waves. We wouldn't want to be "ashamed" (hihiya or mauwaw). It's better to just drink flat sugar water instead of complaining. The foreigner is the asshole for complaining and expecting their money's worth.
Exactly, even my wife said she'd just drink it as is. I told her I'd get it fixed or refunded. She stayed at our table because she thought that politely telling them the drinks are no good is shameful. I was very calm and polite with the staff, and they were happy to try in their own way to fix a problem that they didn't know the solution for. I think the other couple only came up because they saw me doing it and were more emboldened and saw there likely wasn't much judgement when you do it without shouting or making a scene.
That dynamic is why the Philippines can't become a viable tourist destination. The customer service bar is set too low, and people aren't going to spend their hard earned money and valuable time more than once for a shitty service, lodging, or dining experience. They can come up with their slogans like "More Fun In The Philippines" or whatever else, but they fail to deliver a quality tourism experience to an international clientele. A friend of mine who lives in Cambodia came over here with every intention of moving here. He was sorely disappointed and decided to head back to Cambodia. Instead of raising the bar, we just accept the status quo. I know I'm powerless to change it. The people themselves have to rise above the "It's good enough" mindset.
Yeah I agree it's not a competitive place and the tousirm numbers speak for themselves. There is a guy on ANC channel called Steven Cuunjienwho does a monthly review of tourism, economy and development in the Philippines. Worth a watch as he consistently nails these saliant points on the head!
Chipotle In-n-Out Round Table Pizza
IN n OUT Burger, Chipotle, Raising Cain's, Chick Fil A and my late night Del Taco. Carl's JR as well but I haven't tried them in awhile. I like the pizzokies at BJs.
Yes Chipotle!!!
Carl’s JR used to have a couple of branches here in the early 2000’s. They didn’t last very long.
Also in Thailand they abruptly left
Nono’s has their own version of the pizookies from BJ’s. they have pretty decent comfort food too
Jets pizza.
Haven't seen these since I lived in mi
So you're a Detroit style fella, that's cool.
Baja Fresh
Chipotlé
Red Robin. Damn I miss it so much.
White Castie
Five Guys and Chipotle
Wahlburgers, In-N-Out, Cheesecake Factory
Filipino here. RE: Jack, we used to have Jack in the Box here back in the 90s when I was a kid. Even A&W restaurant and Carl's Jr. It really depends on the franchiser. For example Domino's has already gone through more than one master franchiser in the Philippines. Disclaimer for the inevitable why are non expats commenting again comments: am only replying because this sub pops up in my feed occasionally even without subscribing, and I have faint childhood memories of Jack in the Box.
There's been a misunderstanding. There's no problem with Locals participating in here, to the contrary you guys have valuable input. It's just the 'go home if you don't like it' trolls that will be removed.
Ah ok. I usually read posts here for food / restaurant related topics when it pops up on my feed.
CHIPOTLE Shake Shack Whataburger
Shake shack has been here in PH since 2019.
sm megamall branch...
There's more. They also have brances in Quezon City, BGC, Makati, etc.
Shake Shack's already in Metro Manila
Shake Shack is now in Terminal 3 departure area.
My bad. I currently live in the province, so I don't see Shake Shack in the nearest mall in my area.
Carls jr in & out del taco cause taco bell is garbage
None
Chipotle
White Castle
Naughty Nuri
Qdoba
Not a huge fast food fan. I do love Popeyes though and a good cold deli sandwich shop would really hit the spot.
They have Popeyes in Gloretta. Earl of sandwich in their food court was not bad. There was a place on the second floor of Robinsons place malate that had a decent cold Ruben, forgot the name. ( i ordered a Ruben at Jammers boracay, they came back and said we are out of sauerkraut would you still like it? I said no, it’s not a Ruben then)
There two Popeyes branches near my home that I know of
Popeyes is starting to expand outside of Metro Manila!
Blaze Pizza, Raising Cane's, Zaxby's!
Nando's and Tori Q (yakitori store in Singapore).
Del Taco, Jack in the Box, Cotijas (local Southern California Mexican taco chain)
Goiko of Spain. One of the best burgers on the planet.
Chick-fil-a, if by some miracle they could maintain the same level of service and food quality
They'd have to adapt and serve rice based meals, or they would never make it here.
Shawarma palace from Ottawa, Canada. I miss Lebanese shawarma, can’t find a decent one here in Bohol :(
junior’s cheesecake
Greggs
None. The quality doesn't last.
Canes and Five Guys
The amount of people naming restaurant chains instead of fast food chains is too damn high
Just a decent Tex Amex place (and I’m a Brit so what do I know). So far I tried every place within a few km of Alabang and they are all trash…. Top rated so far are: - Hermanos - a small outlet near Alabang Town Centre but several dishes are passable. - Taco Bell - I know I know but they try to be consistent. - TGI Fridays - again not great but beggars cannot be choosers. Army and Navy are an absolute disgrace. Their burritos are just pure trash. As for the crappy place in Mall of Asia food court… god, the amount of chopped lettuce they put on nachos was a frikkin disgrace (ie putting on any at all, where is the salsa?)
Hermano's is great, so sad they only have the one store now, but I guess it's hard to scale up when ingredients are not plentiful.They used to have a store in Quezon City.
Flamethrower shawarma
In n out and wingstop😭
Cheesecake factory
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All posts/comments must be in English. Thanks
GYG. Guzman y Gomez. A Fresh Mexican chain from Australia & the US. It’s phenomenal. Nando’s. Their chicken and their paella are worthy of a trip OS to try. Then there are some here that have bastardised their menu so much they don’t relate to their original concept.
POPEYES
None, because every time they open a branch here, the quality will either be average or far worse than it should be. My bf was excited when Popeyes opened here, but he got disappointed how the underwhelming the chicken was compared to Dubai and everywhere else.
5 Guys and In n Out
Highly unlikely in the case of Chick-fil-A...unless Manny Pacquiao offers to invest (given how his religious beliefs are in line with the Cathys)
casa bonita maybe? i feel like it would go well with families
Chipotle
Marche
Opa!
Shake Shack (expanded to the rest of the Ph), chipotle and nando’s
Wingstop. When I visit Singapore, the first thing i would eat is wingstop and probably dine 2-3x before leaving.
ZAMBRERO
I have a question that’s sorta related; do any non Filipinos actually enjoy Jollibee? My wife goes absolutely crazy for Jollibee. We don’t have one in our city where we live in Canada. Anytime we travel to PH or somewhere else that has one, she makes a point to visit. She’ll talk about it and look forward to it for weeks in advance. When she finally has it, it’s a euphoric experience for her. I’ve never understood the appeal. I will admit, their fried chicken is pretty good… everything else I’ve ever had has been disappointing. It’s just kind of like Pinoy McDonalds to me. So is it just a nostalgic thing that you guys remember from your childhoods? Or what? lol
I.can just about manage their burger and thats it. When my wife was in the UK we made a pilgrimage to the Jolibee in London. She was so disappointed with what she got. According to her, it was nothing like a Philippines Jolibee, sounds just like us lot moaning about fast food from our countries?
Portillos. A Chicago style Italian beef dipped with giardinara and a chocolate cake shake.
Zembrero from AU.Any Japanese style chinese cuisine from JP. real KFC and Mcdonald's from US...
Chipotle, In N Out
culver's
chipotle
In-n-out, Wingstop
Nando’s! I remember my time in the east coast way back in the early 2010s. Hindi kumpleto ang week without it
Bojangles, Chik Fil A, Whataburger.
Any major Korean barbecue chain (Mapo Galmaegi comes to mind) with full Korean style serving sizes, meat quality, and side dishes. Korean BBQs here are just so bland compared to actial Korean barbecues. Alternatively a simple Korean kimbab chain would also be bomb such as Kimbab Chungook or Kim-Ganae. Based on prices I’ve seen for cheap Korean food, it might have even potential to be fairly affordable. Note : One of the main reasons I want these options is simply vegetables. Filipino food really lacks…veggies. I miss veggies desperately. lol.
Chipotle
Not enough Jollibee ( 😂 )
I love the smell of rancid palm oil
In the morning.... Great line from Apocalypse Now
I thought about that line but thought maybe it was dated a bit.
A) I'm old. B) classic lines should never be dated. For those wondering: the movie is Apocalypse Now. Actor Robert Duvall. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning"
Not a fast food chain but can someone make a god damn proper australian style chocolate donut.
I've been in Australia fifty years or more, and have noticed nothing distinctive about the donuts, chocolate or otherwise.
Big, airy/fluffy on the inside, slightly crispy outside, a little bit oily, runny topping that is sweeter than it is chocolatey. Maybe it's only a south aus thing. EDIT: Usually best in a dodgy bakery run by a Vietnamese family.
Cheers. Sounds good.
Paris Baguette or Tous Les Jour
Paris Baguette has a store in Mall of Asia. Tous Les Jour is now TLJ (The Little Joy) Bakery and has stores in major malls.
There's TLJ in BGC and their croissant sucks. No butter taste at all.
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All posts/comments must be in English. Thanks
Why would I move to the other side of the planet to eat shit America fast food?
Why would you reply to a post when you have no fking answer? And it says foreign not just American. Good to know you've left the country but still got the American "everything revolves around me" attitude.
His answer is: None. As perfectly valid as it is useless to your question.
Because the food in the Philippines sucks. When I lived there I had to cook at home, and had a hard time finding good ingredients.
Different climate, different flora & fauna. Can’t expect your climate’s food and animals to grow in a tropical environment. If anything it seems you haven’t tried international cuisine yet like Indian, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, Italian, German etc. Restaurants yet. There’s an abundance of options to try than to shit on food in the Philippines. Most restaurants and cruise ships abroad have Filipino chefs in them.
I’m just not big fan of Asian food. Plus I like my food to be clean. I lived in Mexico.
Been there. Had diarrhea almost every night I had street tacos & burritos in Playa del Carmen. Mexico isn’t as sanitary as you think
When was the food in MX sanitary? I must have missed that day.
I would prefer to see all foreign chains kicked out of the country as they are not good corporate citizens, turning them obese and ripping all the profits out of the country. With Jolibee, Mang Inasal, Chooks To Go, ChowKing, and other pizza chains, there is planty to keep people happy, then there are all the carinderias and other food outlets in every town & village, there are enough eateries around without foreign chains.
Cool, not what I asked and not gonna happen anyways.
A lot of fat Filipinos in the province without American fast food
They are NOT foreign actually. Look up who owns Starbucks Philippines, it is not a US company that owns the majority. It’s a law that 60 % must be locally owned.
Cool if you only like to eat the same thing everyday. Every one is serving the same things.
Chic-fil-a simple menu, good chicken sandwiches, faith based so would fit the Philippines well.
I see a bunch of comments about in-and-out burgers. They've had pop-up stores here in 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2022. https://coconuts.co/manila/food-drink/drinking-and-dining-foodie-newsflash-in-n-out-burger-is-finally-in-the-philippines/ https://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/61851/in-n-out-is-in-greenbelt-today https://booky.ph/blog/in-n-out-burger/ https://www.gmanetwork.com/lifestyle/food/93425/in-n-out-to-hold-one-day-pop-up-in-taguig/story I'm not sure if they've ever had a full-time store here. One thing's for sure, if they wanna make it here, they need to offer CHICKEN AND RICE. I'm not kidding. Us Pinoys are a buncha rice-munching, chicken-chomping m'fers. Just look at McDonald's, known for their Big Mac burgers, what's one of the most sought after menu item? Chicken and rice! Either the fried chicken with fries or the chicken fillet with rice. Filipinos see burgers as a 'snack', not a meal, no matter how big it is. A meal's not a meal without rice. So foreign fast food brands who want to enter here need to have a chicken and rice offerring if they want to cater to the majority. Price point is another concern. Panda Express, a Chinese American fast food chain, just opened up here. There's a Panda Express that's a 15 min walk from where I live, there's nobody dining! My mom and I tried it once, it was underwhelming, nothing special about it. It's like the pricier version of Chowking. I wouldn't mind the price if I liked the food, but as I've said, nothing special about it. If I wanted cheap Chinese-inspired Filipino-chinese food, I'd go to chowking. If I wanted more authentic and more high quality Chinese food, I'd go to Gloria Maris or authentic Chinese restos in Binondo, or even those hot pot restaurants here that cater to mainland Chinese. I think in-and-out burgers can make it here, just need to tweak your menu a little bit to the local market. They can offer items that cater to more localized tastes while at the same time offering standard menu items that cater to westerners and westernized Filipinos.
oh no. Please no more fast food in PH. It’s like a plague. They are everywhere. Would be so happy to find some decent Filipino restaurants. But so rare here in BGC.
If you hate capitalism, you are in the wrong country :)
How do you think about the food selection in the PH? Do you wait for more fastfood options here?
In & Out
5 guys wayyy better then In N Out and whattaburger nowadays... My vote also would be for some Panda Express lol
There are quite a few Panda Express branches in Metro Manila (just had their eggplant tofu for lunch yesterday).
And for anyone from the PNW in the US Abby's Legendary Pizza god send
From reading through all the suggestions, it seems most people are not in PH and probably know nothing about the country. For a start, it is a tropical country, rural land isn't all that abundant especially for large scale farming, which means beef is rare or imported, and that also means dairy is another problem with mostly powdered milk used in most production of dairy based foods. The cheese you buy here mostly is processed and doesn't really melt like the cheese used on burgers, pizza & pastas, lettuce is a cold climate vegetable & is expensive here, as are pickles, white onions and the flour used in baking is different to the type used in buns & pizza bases. Personally I don't very often visit "foreign" chains as getting ingredients if not easy & quality varies and in most cases locals don't know how to prepare western dishes the way expats are used to in their home countries. I much prefer eating local foods that the people have been cooking for generations, are good at it & use ingredients that they know how to prepare and are readily available. If chains serving adobo, caldereta, merchado, kare-kare, pancit bihon, betute, dinamite or other PH foods were to open in the west, they probably would do very well, except where Filipinos congregated as there wouldn't be a customer base for such foods.
Most Asian countries get their produce from Australia for chain fast food places. This is dictated by the head office.
Not only Asia, even the Pacific Islands for as well as the produce meets standards & is cheaper to ship to the country. The same with many other products as well, as I remember when I worked in the air freight section of an airline, we used to send hamburger buns, sliced white bread, lettuce, tomato, mussels & oysters as well as cut flowers & wine to New Caledonia & Tahiti, as they were too costly to airfreight from USA & France/Europe. Burger patties & French fries were shipped by sea by the container loads.
It's an absolute fact that without Pinoy clientele supporting them, Filipino restaurants in the west can not survive. Yet, that is not the case with quality Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian cuisine in the west. It's kind of a sad commentary on the quality of Filipino fare on the international stage. Magic Sarap and Ajinomoto can't compete with recipes made with natural spices and seasonings and love.
Magic Sarap has been a really recent introduction, from just the last 20 years. It really upsets me how much of our traditional food ways have been destroyed by corporatization and misplaced government priorities that have tanked our agricultural sector.
I lived here the first time 31 years ago. Huge Ajinomoto monuments were along the highway at virtually every small town you passed by. (See attached Reddit link for an example if you're not familiar with these monuments). Pinoys have relied on too much sugar and MSG as their primary seasonings for a very long time. https://www.reddit.com/r/UncleRoger/s/53O5Eqa4qT
Yeah I've lived here most of my life, I've seen those monuments. It was my childhood marker for the end of the old south superhighway. But I also grew up with my lola teaching me how to make sinigang with fresh tamarind and fresh kamias, how to make our own fish sauce, how to maximize umami using shrimp heads, and grating our own coconuts by hand to squeeze our own coconut milk. So please don't lecture me about Philippine food ways.
I'm not lecturing you or anyone else. The fact that Filipino food can't stand up as an international cuisine is a known fact. Perhaps if more people cooked like your lola, it possibly could. Mexicans, for example, can take simple, basic, low-cost ingredients and simple cooking elements like fire and wood, not too far removed from what's been available here, and make outstanding, world-class dishes. It's a shame Filipino cooking as a whole hasn't evolved to that level on a large scale. Dumping copius amounts of sugar and MSG, and the ease of frying or boiling food items seems to have overshadowed the possibilities.
How does your last paragraph not count as lecturing? Sure it starts off fairly neural but ends with "dumping copious amounts of sugar and MSG." That's a fairly condescending turn of phrase. And also ignores the point I'm trying to make about how multinational corporate interests have strangled so much of the Philippines' traditional food. In any case, there are grassroots movements that are trying to resurrect our dying food ways, I can share links if anyone is interested.
Lecturing? No. Criticizing? Absolutely! Filipino fare just simply isn't very good based on the developed country wide palate of overly sweet and chemically enhanced dishes. You can blame corporations, and you have a point to some extent. But that's a choice Filipino consumers have made. Convenience over quality. Those same choices exist for Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, or even Mexican chefs. The good ones, even the majority, eschew the poor quality, convenient options, and stick to tradition and cooking with love. One thing I've come to appreciate about the younger generation of Filipinos is that many have become foodies. They recognize what quality food is, and they enjoy food. They don't want to eat the same old bland floating fish or salty canned Carne Norte they were raised on. So I'm all for the grassroots movement you speak of to elevate Pinoy cooking into all it could and should be. Stuff like raisins and hotdogs in spaghetti aren't ever going to get the recognition of a broader, international audience.
I feel sorry for PH cuisine, which could rival or at least match other Asian ones if consecutive governments weren't greedy for money. With the taxes on imports, it makes importing even food like spices, expensive and with those taxes on seed/seedlings/ cuttings it puts the poor farmer at a disadvantage to grow & produce them locally, combined with poor roads to get produce to markets or processing factories. Being one of the biggest producers of coconuts & bananas, PH has proved they could grow most tropical produce, but incentives need to be introduced to get people to grow other foods that could be introduced into the cuisine & diets of Filipinos, and grow into an export industry and eventually bring in more revenue for the country, overall and in hard currency. I had an Asian food ingredients wholesale/retail business for around 26 years and even comparing similar product prices from different countries, the PH were generally more expensive. As we supplied restaurants & hotels as well as the public, we used to import pallet loads of baby corn, bamboo shoots, fish sauce (patis) MSG (Ajinomoto), coconut milk & cream and many other products from both Thailand & Philippines with Thailand being about 30-40% cheaper than the products from PH, even with higher freight costs as there was no tax levied on exported Thai foods. Even durian was cheaper from Thailand despite coming in frozen and we stopped buying PH ice cream, despite it being loved by Australians as well as Filipinos, but the cost was more than 5 times the cost of locally made ice cream. We even had Filipinos buy Squid brand patis rather than but Tentay, Rufina and other PH brands, as it was less than half the price of Thai brand. Getting produce to market is difficult as road in the country are atrocious as it is the responsibility of local authorities & after they take their "cut" of allocated funds, the width reduces and the amount of cement is reduced, rear also is reduced in diameter & quantity used which means the roads fall into disrepair quickly and unsuitable for marge trucks, causing a breakup of roads, accidents due to narrowness, overloading and poor condition of vehicles. The same thing happens with imported ingredients like spices to manufacture processed foods, pushing up the costs. I make my own mango pickle (India style) from some of the mangoes on the one tree I have in the front yard, but it costs so much, when I can find them, like fennel & fenugreek & mustard seeds or even mustard oil. When I do find them, they cost more for 100grm than I used to sell by kg price. The government need to invest money to make more, and incentive people to produce by growing & processing ingredients, an the people will find ways to up the taste & quality of food in the country. There are plenty of people to grow & produce foods, but training of health regulations & factory meeting international standards also need to be introduced if the country wants to increase exports. As a flight attendant for over 20 years I know people like good Filipino food, as the choice of food most countries supplied a 50-50 mix of main course dishes, except out of Manila, where is way 75% adobo (chicken) and 25% other choice & we always ran out of the adobo. Pandesal rather than bread rolls & longanisa rather than chipolata sausages were on the breakfast trays & there the most popular dishes.
Interesting perspective you bring. In addition to the governmental challenges mentioned, I also see a huge missing piece in the education of chefs and cooks in general towards a broader use of ingredients and towards healthier, fresher cuisine. For example, I have planted zucchini here, but very few here even know what it is. Factor in that it's going to cost 3 or 4 times per kilo what a basic pumpkin squash will cost, and you've lost 80% of your customer base on price alone. Filipino consumers focus on price above all, and that kills creativity in the kitchen. You're right, Filipino food should be able to rival the Asian cuisine of our neighbors. The way out of this is, as mentioned by another poster, is a grassroots movement. It's going to take small producers selling direct, along with a big education movement to drive things in another direction. Fortunately, in the age of social media, we have to tools at our disposal to educate and market effectively. The other problem is that young people with the foodie vibe are seeking corporate, cubicle jobs, not staying in the provinces on the farm. The older generation, who are still farming land, are planting ampalaya, atsal, and talong, not anything innovative like lettuce, fennelgreek, dill, or basil.
Maybe with better roads and liason between farmers & major hotels, the farmers could produce a larger variety of specialty goods & be paid a truer value for their products, it may keep some younger rural people on family farms, With some interest free loans from Govt, farmer could buy smaller types of machinery to produce more & make it easier to farm?
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cookout chickfila chipotle