MBAH 10 Food Trip Report by Yen

Dear Prof Jorge

I received this message po, so I am removing the pictures po and resending the message in plain text po

Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

    jorge.saguinsin.sentrep@blogger.com

Technical details of permanent failure: 
You have exceeded the the allowable number of posts without solving a captcha.

Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

    profjorge.entrep.ateneo@blogger.com

Technical details of permanent failure:
You have exceeded the file size limit per mail or mobile post.

yen

On March 9, the class went on a learning trip at 3 different food establishments at Rockwell Power Plant Mall in Makati. As we enjoy each others' company, we started to understand the heart of each business and know their unique selling proposition. Here are some of my observations and key learning:

I.                    Banana Leaf  - The place where we had a feast after a morning session loaded with lots of learning from our classmates as they presented their individual reports on topics related to entrepreneurship.

·         Business Concept: They offer a wide range of Southeast Asian cuisine particularly Singaporean, Thai, Malaysian, Indian, Indonesian and Vietnamese dishes. The staff wore Asian costumes and the set up of the dining area infuses an Asian culture. Their place is suggestive of group dining either as a family, business associates or group of friends who may want to take an hour or so to eat and chat.

·         Location: Basement, Food court area

·         Service Delivery: The management was able to deliver the food fast, starting with the appetizer in 5 minutes followed by the main course.  The dishes are served hot and there is an assigned crew to take care of customers in clustered areas. This would allow them keep up with the number of customers coming in as groups who tend to stay long. They also provide delivery and catering services.

·         Price: Generally, the price is not too expensive but not too affordable for a rank and file Pinoy. A regular employee who would want to try this restaurant must definitely need to save up before going to this place.

·         Marketing: They have a website and uses social media like Facebook and Twitter to extend their marketing reach. They also have discount coupons in partnership with some malls where they are located particularly, Ayala Malls.

·         Business Model: Franchise – Banana Leaf is open to franchising.

·         Innovation: They made use of banana leaves like what Asian countries do as plates. This completes the Asian look and at the same time saves them time from cleaning plates after diner finishes their course.

II.                  Sugarhouse – After taking a nice sumptuous meal, we went here for a dessert and had the chance to taste their Apple and Chocolate Bliss cakes.

·         Business Concept: Best spot for customers with a sweet tooth. But not for kids, the ambiance is set for an adult population who wants to have an afternoon chat over coffee or tea with a matching sweet pastry. They also offer other cold drinks like shake, juice and soft drinks. They also offer catering services since they also offer other meals like pasta, salad, etc.

·         Location: Basement, Food court area

·         Service Delivery: The crew was very accommodating with our requests when we both two cakes and asked for the cakes to be sliced based on our numbers and even prepared plates and water for all of us.

·         Price: Not for the lowly Juan. This place is intended for the A & B market.

·         Marketing: They started by word-of-mouth then eventually they now have a website and uses social media like Facebook and Twitter to extend their marketing reach. They also have discount schemes like Birthday Blowout.

·         Business Model: Chain Stores – They have 13 branches including 4 kiosks.

·         Innovations: None observed except having an ambiance of an English tea house.

III.                The Draft Sports Bar & Grill – The class initially wanted to go to a coffee shop since we had sweets but to no avail, we ended up moving to The Draft which offers coffee and of course, alcohol, just in time to relax our minds and end our food trip. I had the chance to drink Mojito, a rum cocktail drink. It was quite a different experience because we had 4 classmates present their report inside the bar.

·         Business Concept: Basically it is a sports bar and grill popular in Concord that offers a wide range of high-class beer. But they are not limited with drinks, but they offer also a selection of meals where people who wanted to have lunch or dinner as a couple or as a group of friends and even as a family.

·         Location: 3^rd Floor (Has entrance from outside and linked to the mall area)

·         Service Delivery: The dishes came out fast and hot. Since alcoholic beverages are their forte, it was served right on dot and met the requirements of an alcohol drinker. As for the coffee, two of our classmates had to return their cups of coffee because it was not hot at the time it was delivered.

·         Price: Not for the lowly Juan. This place is intended for the A & B market particularly, business executives and foreigners.

·         Marketing: They have a website and uses social media like Facebook and Twitter to extend their marketing reach.

·         Business Model: Franchise – This concept was brought to the Philippines from Europe.

·         Innovations: Full of widescreens to watch their favourite game and a huge bar counter.

It was a fun-filled learning trip, full of surprises and had the best time with my classmates while enjoying meals at different places.

MBAH 10Food Trip report - Danae Madel Orig

Food Trip

Submitted by: Danae Madel Orig

Last March 9, 2012 our class finally pushed through with the planned Food trip. It was one of the requirements for the Entrepreneurship course. Due to heavy traffic and hot weather, the class decided to conduct the food trip at the Power plant Mall in Rockwell. We visited three restaurants, our lunch was held at Banana Leaf Restaurant, then we had dessert at Sugar house and lastly coffee and beer at Draft.

Banana Leaf

Banana Leaf is a multi-awarded international restaurant that introduced Filipino diners to the delights of modern Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese and Indonesian cuisine. This restaurant as also awarded as one of 2012's Best Philippine Restaurants.

Most of the customers in Banana Leaf are the residents from surrounding condominiums and mall goers. We saw families, expats and couples having their Lunch. The place was spacious and can accommodate big groups. They have extensive choices of good quality South East Asian cuisine which tasted very authentic. Although we didn't have reservation and we didn't pre-order, I was surprised that the food was served really fast and we didn't have to wait long for them. The servers were also dressed in a traditional Malaysian outfit which really adds up to the South East Asian experience.

One of the good innovations that I've noticed is how they made use of banana leaves as plates which sets them apart from all the other restaurants in the mall. By doing this, I assumed that they only needed minimal man power for dishwashing. This also gives them opportunity to provide additional livelihood to banana growers.

Sugar House

Sugar house is a pastry shop that is located in same floor as banana leaf. They serve cakes, sandwiches, light meals and other types of pastries. It's a small space with several tables and compared to Banana Leaf their space felt a little cramped. Here we had our dessert of banana pie and chocolate truffle cake. Since they are in within the same are, they served the same market.

What I liked about them was that again, they were able to accommodate our big group even without reservation and when I asked if they can divide the cake to 10 or 12 slices (more than their usual serving) they willingly obliged.

What's different thing about them is that they have cake choices which are normally not available on other pastry shops. Examples are their Almond Sansrival, Chocolate truffle and French Apple Pie topped with whipped cream.

Again, the service was fast and efficient, the pricing reasonable and the food quality is good. They also serve freshly brewed coffee at a much affordable price compared to other restaurants in the vicinity.

Draft Gastro Pub

This European gastro pub is one of the new restaurants in Power plant Mall. They serve some of the best international beers on tap. They also have a food menu that has has some of the European pub staples such as fish and chips, german sausages, mussel pots and schnitzel.

Its high ceiling and wall glass panels give this restaurant an airy, open ambiance. Same as the other 2 restaurants, they serve the A and B market and because of their huge space which can accommodate serve big groups easily. There is also flat screen TVs that continuously shows the TV ads of the beers.  Doing this makes their customers more curious to try their different beer offerings.

What sets them apart is their product offering which are the imported beers that can be served on tap (draft) or bottle. This allows then to reach their target markets which are the A and B class and the expats. <exercise on business concept, differentiation, business model -->prep for bp making

SPEntrep Food Trip Report by Alvin Bilolo

Food Trip 

The food trip that we've done last March 5, 2013 shows us a lot of business opportunities and improvements to be done to those existing businesses that we've visited. It helps us develop our critical thinking of observing and learning what made these businesses exist and stay in the industry of food service.

Our first destination is the food stalls in A-venue. There is a combination of different cuisines here since most of its target customers are foreigners living and roaming around Makati Avenue. It caters different types of food from a complete meal to desserts and even street foods! What makes this place unique is that it doesn't cater food alone, it also has some stalls for several merchandise such as perfume, dress and even books. You may then visit this place not just for food but also for a mini shopping experience.

The stalls in A-venue are located in parking area of the mall. This is a great concept! Parking areas are profitable right now but making it a business place makes it more profitable. The owner of this area may then be making a lot of money every night! The usual fee for one stall is around Php 30,000.00 per month and this is a big business if you have over 50 stalls in your parking area!

The challenge of marketing these stalls to the public was resolved by having a loud sound systems and live band that will attract more people. This is also a unique business idea for this food stalls since customers may be entertained while they are eating their dinner or while shopping and roaming around. The lights are also an attraction due to its fascinating shape and color. It is elegant, yet simple.

Another new experience here is the concept of different food preparations. We can actually see how food is being prepared such as the cooking of Ilocos' empanada (Taco Wana) and the 'Falafel' balls which is made from a lot of different vegetables. I actually have an idea of cooking those foods and I want to try it at home!

We also have a chance to try the Korean Restaurant 'Dona Dona' near A-venue. This is an international concept of restaurant located in busy streets of Makati Avenue. At first, I thought this is not a good business establishment since its target market is those people from class A or B. But I was wrong! Korean food in this establishment is affordable! And that is worth noting. This restaurant actually caters a Korean experience to a lot of Filipinos and foreigners at an affordable price.

'Dona Dona' shows its uniqueness by the way they serve food. The owner of the restaurant herself supports the business and assists in serving food to its customers. This is a good experience since customers will really feel that they are well accommodated. Food is actually satisfying at a less cost. The concept of 'shabu-shabu' is also great! This is an awesome experience for Filipinos since only restaurants cater this way of cooking food.

We've finally ended our food trip with a cake from Goldilocks. As usual, desserts are good. Its products carry its name. I cannot find any new in this establishment maybe because they already have an established name. I would then suggest that they innovate their food and services to attract more customers. One way of improving their product/services is let's say they will offer a free drinks if the customer purchases a certain amount of pastries or food. They can also have 'Goldilocks Card' where they will give its customers a free cake at their 7^th cake purchase. The management of this bakeshop can think of a lot of ways to strengthen their industry.

I would then say that food stalls and restaurants are still a successful business nowadays. What they need to do is to improve their products and services from time to time because this will attract more customers. A lot of people are still attracted by food and new ideas about it makes it more attractive to the public. People love eating and trying different food types available in the market.