Reaction Paper to Food Trip by Joseph Cunanan

1.       The Tent A. Venue Makati

I have been to different “ tiangge” stores and mercato and I must say that The Tent A. Venue offers almost the same thing. From street foods, bargain apparel, to perfumery & accessories and all other stuff, all these you can find in any “tiangge” store around the metro.

If there is one stall that really caught my attention, that is the stall that showcases different kinds of lamps and lightings as shown above; this is none other than Light’em Up! The stall offers innovative decorative lights from Thailand which can be used at home or during special events like birthday parties, weddings etc.. The materials are shipped and are easily assembled. Customers have an option to buy it as it is, or buy the materials alone and assemble them at home for that extra creativity and functionality. The product comes with an instructional material which customers can use as a guide in coming up with different light forms out of the same set of materials. Price ranges from P500- P1,300. I must say that the product is innovative, and is easily accessible to the public. The store is also successful because it catches the attention of many especially at night because of the different colors that light up the actual venue.

2.       Dona Dona Korean BBQ

This is the first time I ate at a Korean restaurant and I surely have enjoyed the experience. The food tastes great, and the service is personalized by the owner herself Dona Dona. Looking at the Makati Avenue strip, I think Dona Dona is the only restaurant that offers authentic Korean food. This makes the restaurant appealing to the Korean primary target market, and of course to locals and other foreign tourists around the area. Most of the meats are served raw for the total barbeque grill experience. The recipe that I liked the most is the JAP-CHAE noodle. From the taste of it, you can tell that the ingredients are truly authentic.

If there is one thing that Dona Dona should innovate on is her actual location. The ambience is ok, but it would have been better if the place is more cozy and relaxing. She can also add some soothing Korean music to make the whole dining experience remarkable.

I think that the store is successful if we’ll look at it from a service perspective by providing great food and good service.

 

3.       Goldilocks Bakeshop

After our sumptuous meal in Dona Dona, we head on to Goldilocks for our dessert and cup of coffee. There is nothing remarkable about this store except that if offers Filipino favourite desserts like classic polvoron, signature cakes and stuff. The store is successful in terms of its strategic location because I think it has no competition in the venue. Foot traffic is high from mall goers, restaurants, supermarket store, and the busy street of Makati Ave.

Food Trip Report by Athens Cruz

Athens Cruz

SENTREP – S20

Prof. Jorge Saguinsin

Food Trip Paper

When the food trip was announced, I was ecstatic. It was good news for me because I really love food. I arrived early at the venue so I scouted the place before everyone arrived. Great people bonds over great food.

I.                   Appetizer. A-Venue Parking Lot Food Bazaar

Food bazaars are the most amazing place to have a food trip. It offers a wide variety of food you can choose from.

In general, this food bazaar was surprisingly good. There were foods I am not familiar or never heard of like the Peri Peri. What surprised me the most was foreigners lined up for this one.

There were Mongolian, Korean, Middle-Eastern foods available. I noticed that the foreigners who went to the food bazaar knew exactly what they want to eat. I could not resist trying the falafel although it was not in the list of foods we planned to try.

I was at my usual self whenever I’m at a bazaar, asking too many questions trying to establish rapport with the stall owners. I have tried joining bazaars before (but my goods are children clothes) and I often ask them about their income. The concept was good for the food bazaar. To me this is the most different food bazaar I have tried so far. The variety of food makes it unique.

In my opinion, this concept was a success judging by the number of people going to the area.

II.                Korean Restaurant – Dona Dona Korean BBQ Restaurant

Nowadays, there are many Koreans that comes here in the Philippines for too many reasons. The most common reason is education. Korean restaurants proliferate too. The experience was exciting especially the grilling part.

It is not as different as other Koreans restaurants, but they tamed the Korean flavors of the food they offer to suit the palate of other nationalities.

The experience of grilling adds value to the experience of customers, cooking their food. They also help the customers in grilling. For people who wanted to try Korean cuisine this can be the first restaurant they can try so that their palates can get used to the spices and flavors of a typical Korean food.

III.             Dessert. Goldilocks

After all the stops, I was so full and I couldn’t dare bite another. When I found out that we were headed to Goldilocks I was not happy. I’m not fond of their cakes, so I really don’t think it was the best choice for the group. Unfortunately, it was the only place where we could have dessert.

I already have a prejudice about what it would taste like but I was wrong. I did try both cakes and it exceeded my expectation. Goldilocks is really pushing the standard of their cakes. I might have to try buying cakes from them in the future.

We knew the business concept behind Goldilocks, but what is striking about this particular shop at this location was the many opportunities it caters. It is a very strategic location, since it is the only store that offer cakes, pastries and other sweet products Filipinos are fond of. Because of this, it made the store different.

This venture is a success because at this specific location they are the only one that offers cakes and other sweet products.

The overall experience of the food trip was great. The businesses that we visited offer a diverse food. I just realized that a food business never really goes out of fashion.

Entrep Food Trip - Arlo Cristobal

Entrep Food Trip

By Arlo Cristobal

 

A-Venue Tent

                I have always been a fan of Banchetto style food exhibits. It’s a place where you can find a wide array of food choices that are relatively affordable compared to restaurants. It is also a good avenue to try out innovative food products for vendors since the capital is smaller compared to renting a space for a restaurant.

                For the food concept, there is a variety of offerings, ranging from isaw to different pasta dishes. Besides the food option, what makes this place unique is the experience itself. A lot of times, we find ourselves deciding which place to eat, often thinking of the food offered in the restaurant. In the A-Venue Tent, you can just opt to go there without planning and simply decide which food to buy without the need to break-up the group. For this reason, this had attracted a lot of young professionals who want to enjoy different types of food, while keeping the cost down. I also noticed a lot of foreigners in the area, which can be attributed to the location.

                To add to the variety of food, there was also a stage set-up for a band. This also gives the place a restaubar feel, where you can hang-out for an extended period of time. This set-up creates a lot of interest to passers-by and, in my opinion, is successful in pulling customers in.

                This venture is definitely a success if the product that you sell caters to the interest of the crowd. Also, since this isn’t a high-end place, the price of your food should also be affordable. Another proof of its success can simply be traced to the volume of people in the area, which is quite significant given that we visited on a Tuesday.

 

Dona Dona BBQ

                Normally, I stay clear of Korean restaurants in Manila. The main reason being the cost. The concept of the Dona Dona BBQ restaurant is quite straight forward – bring the Korean food experience in the Philippines. Although the ambiance of the place doesn’t feel very Korean, the food certainly did. Being served by the owner, Dona from Korea, also pushed the experience to the next level.

                The innovation part of this restaurant would have to be the price. For me, authentic Korean restaurants are relatively the same in terms of the food they offer. The main differentiator for Dona Dona BBQ would be how they managed to lower the cost, yet still offer authentic Korean food. Lower price in this case is relative to other Korean restaurants both in the Philippines and in Korea. I’m actually quite interested on how they source and make their ingredients. If it’s imported, they are doing a really great job to keep the price down. If it’s sourced locally, then they are doing a really good job transforming it to a Korean delicacy.

                Given that the restaurant had been there for 5 years, it’s obviously a successful venture. However, success is really subjective, and it seems that the success that they are getting is quite limited to their view of success. They may be profitable, but their profitability may be limited. They are located in a good venue where traffic of people is high. But still, competition in the area is also very high. If they really intent to maximize profit, they should differentiate their restaurant from the competition by starting with the ambiance. They may offer authentic restaurant food, but I would not have known that from the outside. To add, the place looks a bit shabby and would greatly benefit from a good scrubbing.  

 

Goldilocks

                To cap the night off, the group ordered cake and coffee in Goldilocks. Goldilocks had already made a name for itself so we can’t really argue with their success as a dessert chain. One thing that could be noted in the branch, however, is that it was the only dessert place I saw in the area. It’s also quite convenient since it’s along the street.

                Aside from location, the convenience of buying in the place is also quite genius. They were able to maximize the small place, placing a shelf in the middle, while still allowing customers to browse through their products. Their range of offering also doesn’t compete with the surround restaurants, but instead complements it. They have cheap, but good coffee. They have snacks, desserts and even cakes that you can buy to surprise the birthday celebrant in the neighboring restaurant. They aren’t renting a big space because they don’t need to. It won’t surprise me if they are generating better profit compared to some of the restaurants in the area.