Shawarma Gourmet's #WhileOthersImitateWeInnovate Approach in Middle Eastern Cooking

Cebu Live

I could remember Shawarma Gourmet when it opened at Parkmall but I never got to eat there. Instead, I remembered eating there at the Escario Central Mall in Cebu City to taste the shawarma. I kept hearing it was the best shawarma in town so I wanted to try it. I wanted to give Lebanese food a shot after I was so used to the Persian Palate at Ayala Center-Cebu. I did get to meet Chef Mansour Houran a couple of times after my first meal. So far, it's what I call a lighter approach to Persian Palaate (which is probably still my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant) whcih serves bigger servings. Meanwhile, Shawarma Gourmet's meals can be mixed between lunch meals and snack meals depending on which time of the day. I could go there for a snack (my preferred thing to do) though I would also eat there for lunch.

The location in itself is rather convenient though not so big. So far, the Parkmall Branch is no longer operational. Instead, we have the Escario Branch which right across Capitol Square. The place is rather cozy with the feeling of the Middle East. A good location in itself is very important though parking there can be difficult at certain times. Then again, there are plenty of people in that area who eat there at Escario Central Mall--this restaurant is no exception.

My thoughts on their innovative business

Chibuano Kini

The food in itself is rather innovative in terms of halal cooking. Some stuff were pretty new to me such as sambousek (a form of empanada) and the beef one is my favorite. My favorite shawarma there is the chicken taouk shawarma though it's kinda on the pricy side. The regular shawarma is also good though I ended up preferring chicken over beef. I'm not too much of a fan of tahini sauce in contrast to garlic sauce. Falafel shawarma is also good. I also remembered ordering manakish--a form of Middle Eastern pizza. Their lentil soup has the right blend of spices making it a hearty snack.

What truly amazed me was also the kitchen. One reason why I tend to shun the local Muslim restaurants is the quality of the kitchen. I remembered wanting to try the halal foods in Downtown, Cebu. What really ticked me off from trying most of them was the kitchen. Shawarma Gourmet has a very state-of-the-art kitchen which can be seen from the cashier. It's unlike one of those near Metro Gaisano where the kitchen was substandard. Another one near Cebu Eastern College renting in Our Ladies Dormitory doesn't seem to have a very good kitchen either. Their kitchen so far really kept me coming in for more of their food. Kitchen quality really matters and this restaurant cares about it.

There are also various groceries available. Seeing that they made their own pita bread similar to the imported ones is amazing. There's either brown (whole wheat) or the use of white flour by default. I've actually tasted both and I tend to order either depending on my mood. They also have their sauces which can be ideal to mix with anything within the halal scope. That means I definitely wouldn't be eating it with stuff like pork which is considered haram or forbidden in Islam. The labneh or strained yogurt is delicious though it's best consumed as soon as possible. I also order their garlic sauces which I love to mix with either beef or chicken steaks.

Pandemic eventually struck and having limited movement was a problem. Fortunately, there was Grab Food though they weren't in Food Panda. I did try to order their groceries and food via their mobile phone number at 0995-456-7648). Cash transactions can be done through GCash or cash on delivery. It was a rather creative way when the restaurant was no longer available on Grab. So far, I've used their delivery services to get some delicious pita bread or chicken shawarma (taouk). Free delivery is offered only if one reaches a minimum of PHP 500.00. Otherwise, there's a reasonable delivery fee with it since it's part of the selling cost. Deliveries can be easily done for free except if a minimum is met. So, I usually try to get the minimum met to avoid the PHP 50.00 delivery though there are times I end up paying it if items I look for aren't available.

So far, my experience with the restaurant has been so far, so good. I would continue to support its services as one of my favorite Middle Eastern restaurants.

Filipino First Policy Linked with Crab Mentality

Having sea crab yesterday or just eating crab, I always think of that old commercial in the 1990s. It was called, "Iwasan ang crab mentality." or "Avoid crab mentality." This makes me recall a scene when I was a child. I saw a pail full of mud crabs (called alimango in Filipino) and if one crab got out, the others pulled it down. The TV commercial showed how if the crabs got together, they could all escape their grizzly fate of becoming eaten for human consumption. Chefs are just lucky crabs pull each other down. However, it also shows that the crabs would rather all be cooked together than let that crab escape. Unfortunately, crab mentality is one of the biggest problems in the Philippines. It's not all that unique among Filipinos. However, it doesn't Filipinos should ever take comfort in engaging in a crab mentality, just because other people do it . Here's an interesting excerpt from Inquirer by Jerry Peres de Tagle PhD: Studies in human behavior ...

It's a Common, Broken New Year's Resolution Among Filipinos to Do Better with Their Finances and Economic Knowledge

Happy New Year, right? There's this statement in Cebuano that says, "Sa Disyembre nag lipay-lipay. Sa Enero, naglikay-likay." For non-Cebuano speakers, it means, "Enjoying all December. Fleeing in January." It's because of the bad habits that are common during the Christmas season. I wrote an entry talking about when a Merry Christmas leads to an Unhappy New Year . After Christmas vacation, it can be common to talk about New Year's Resolutions. Sadly, there are resolutions meant to be broken or resolutions on paper only. Several people finish high school, go to college, get a job, but never gain the necessary knowledge of economics and finances. Instead, they continue to live the same habits year after year. Even worse, the same foolish behavioral patterns get passed down f rom parent to child to grandchild. Still stuck with financial habits that put one in a financial dodo The New Year starts and it can get funny. I tend to hate December because of the ...

Rejoicing Over Filipino Businesses Getting 100% Ownership Abroad While Crying Over FDIs Getting Allowed to Own 100% Ownership

The Philippine senatorial elections are on, right? One of the many things candidates (regardless of party) need to hold is the need for economic reform. As I continue discussing economic charter change, several objections are held. One of the objections is allowing 100% FDI--a subject often subjected to mockery. These mockeries can range from promoting colonial mentality, selling the Filipino to foreigners, borrowing money from abroad (which is definitely not investment, read here ), or even the ridiculous notion that FDI includes Filipino women dating foreigners (read here ). This time, I would like to address another hypocrisy. This time, it's all about Filipinos who rejoice that Filipino businesses are investing with 100% FDI ownership. All the while, this is crying foul when there's a law passed that will allow foreigners to own 100% FDI ownership , in the Philippines. This is a meme to expose the hypocrisy. Jollibee has 158 branches in Vietnam, which I assume happened bec...

The Recent Microsoft Global Outage Should be a Wake-Up Call to the Philippines' Need to Fix the 1987 Constitution's Economic Flaws

The Express Tribune The recent Microsoft Global Outage was caused by Crowdstrike. Since I'm no IT or CS expert--it's better if I let them talk in the news. From BBC News , here's a detail from Crowdstrike that reveals the root cause of the problem has been systemic with an update: This is still a little unclear. CrowdStrike is known for producing antivirus software, intended to prevent hackers from causing this very type of disruption. According to CrowdStrike boss George Kurtz, the issues are only impacting Windows PCs and no other operating systems, and were caused by a defect in a recent update . "The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed," he said. "This is not a security incident or cyber-attack." What exactly was wrong with the update is yet to be revealed, but as a potential fix involves deleting a single file, it is possible that just one rogue file could be at the root of all the mayhem. Thankfully, those who created th...

Is Vietnam Getting More FDI Inflows than the Philippines, Because of Its Supposedly Better Fight Against Corruption?

Discussing international marketing or world economics with boomer Filipinos can be painful. Some people still believe in the Filipino First Policy. I cite Vietnam as an example of why economic charter change (called econ cha cha) should be done. Some people cite that Vietnam's increase in FDI is because of the fight against corruption. I don't deny Vietnam has a crackdown on corruption. I don't deny that fighting against corruption helps the economy. However, fighting corruption without the proper tools and not having economic development, is useless. Fighting corruption isn't a panacea or cure-all either. Spanking is part of child discipline, not the whole of child discipline. People who only spank but never teach right and wrong, render spanking ineffective . Instead, look at Vietnam's economic policy vs. the Philippines' economic policy. Some people blame the following for the Philippines' lack of foreign investments, some things Vietnam also suffers fr...

Trying to Plan Out What to Do as a Bull Market Starts

I was laughing just thinking about ignorance about the bear and bull markets. Yes, we know about social media gossipers (seldom called a marites in Filipino) tend to spread gossip. I ran into several people panicking when the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) was mostly red. Others would panic but Warren Edward Buffett recommends, "Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful." That's the best market timing. Some people do cost averaging because it's practically less risky in contrast to lump sum investing. Buffett recommends that non-technical people should periodically invest in a low-cost index fund over a period of ten years. Now, the Philippine Star has an article by Wilson Sy, where the first paragraph talks about the Philippines' entry towards the bull market : Most stock markets have undergone a dramatic shift to start the year, transitioning from a bear market to a bull market. Peak inflation, a slower pace of interest rate h...

When the Education Cares TOO MUCH About Grades, Schools Produce Idiots Instead of Intellectuals

During the pandemic, I was left in limbo thinking about my poor performance under K+10. It was something to think about that a classmate of mine who was both a summa cum laude and an honor student, ended up posting on his wall, "Students cheat because the education system cares more about grades instead of learning." The class salutatorian of our batch even commented about the good old days. I always had that feeling of insecurity and envy towards people better than me. But as Warren Edward Buffet would say, "Don't hate successful people. Learn from them instead." One of them is currently a teacher and the other is in Canada. I thought about my insecurities especially when I used to believe I was descended from a fine scholar and my family was a family of scholars. I remembered the time I was taking MBA and got conned. I was asked, "Is that what MBA taught you?" I got touchy and ended up admitting, eventually, that I was only taking MBA for the presti...

My Personal Opinion on the Recent Universal Robina Incident

I was doing some news readings and I found out about the death of a certain Stephen Corilla. The incident happened in the Universal Robina Corporation's factory in Mandaue a few days ago. It really chilled my bones to read these details which I'll share from Sunstar : POLICE are set to investigate a food and beverage plant in Barangay Tabok, Mandaue City after one of its workers was killed on duty while cleaning a pulverizer machine Thursday afternoon, June 2, 2022. Cpl. Glenn Bordalba of the Mandaue City Police Office Station 3 in Barangay Basak who is leading the investigation told SunStar Cebu Monday, June 6, that they will visit the Universal Robina Corp. (URC) Mandaue City plant in Tabok on Tuesday, June 7, to investigate the matter. Bordalba added that they have not started the investigation yet as they were not allowed entry to the site by the URC management after the incident was reported to them. An approval from the corporation’s consultant is needed for the police to...

My Experience with Tealive Cebu at the Ayala Central Bloc

I have tasted several foreign-owned tea shops. My first experience with tea shops was with Chatime (read here ). Now, I heard of this new coffee shop (or tea shop, take your pick) called Tealive. At first, I thought it was Taiwanese but when I Googled it--it was Malaysian. It made sense that the company uses only Halal-approved ingredients since Malaysia has a huge Muslim population. The founder is Malaysian-Chinese businessman Bryan Loo of Loob Holdings. Loob here also means inside as the Tagalog language also derives from the Malay language. Tealive would later head to the Philippines. It would be like getting Filipinos closer to their Malaysian heritage after all. The branches in Cebu include SM City, SM Seaside, and Ayala Central Bloc. The one I ate was at Ayala Central Bloc. Someone gave me a taste of their sandwich and their signature coffee. I was pretty much impressed that I decided to dine in there. I went to try their lychee tea and chees burger. For a note, their ...

Getting Stingy at the Cost of Fire Safety?

March is fire prevention month, right? If there are people who are too extravagant then I'd like to talk again about stingy people (read the article here ). I've tried growing up with the stingy vs. extravagant extremes. Some people become stingy even with the necessities. It's one thing to deny a child a children's party since it's a want . It's another thing to deny a child stuff they need all in the name of saving money . Even worse, some people may be more than stingy enough to ignore fire safety. A stingy person just wants to save. It's almost like the story of the Miser and His Gold or The Rich Miser . I really find these stories entertaining at the same time, irritating. The first story has the miser who hid his gold under the ground. Some people today are too distrustful of banks and investments. The second story has a rich man who even dresses in rags, denies his son's shoes, had his wife cook some cake only for him, and was so greedy he had it ...

Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

Search This Blog