Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

As a fan of Indian food (depends on the type actually), I also remembered the time when people talked about the 5-6 lending scheme. I had a few Indian-Filipino classmates during my business administration days. It was funny to think that some people attempted to borrow money from my Indian classmates. I went to Indian restaurants and met again some Indian-Filipino peers there. I remembered eating at Mr. India before they became Bollywood Tandoor. There's also Cherry's the Spice, Bharat Spice, and Little India Healthy Cuisine. I could also remember attempting to eat at an Indian restaurant early in January, only to find that the place have been jam-packed with motorcycles. Some people who went in and out were wearing turbans. Ah yes, the very feeling when January becomes a busy month to collect Christmas loans (read here ). There's also that long weekend last April this year (read here ). I could remember a few songs that addressed the issue. There's a Cebuano song by Ma

TripAdvisor I was thinking about how Cherry's the Spice won awards for the best Indian restaurant. So far, three branches have opened in total from its first place in Talamban, its second branch in Lapu-Lapu (which I believe will make good seafood masala), and the third branch in Busay. I remembered how difficult (at times) it can be to memorize foreign names. It becomes a simple solution among Filipinos to give monickers or nicknames to Indian food for easy reference. So far, some waiters and waitresses can easily get it unless there's a variation of a certain dish. These might be very common especially if the dishes can be "close to home". I still feel Cherry's the Spice similarity with Bicolano food might be why Filipino customers are so abundant there. Now let's get down to these dishes... Goat samosa from Bharat Spice Samosas were often referred to as empanadas. Samosa, like an empanada, is fried dough with filling. I've observed Filipino customers te

Happy Cow Another food review I would like to publish is on Bharat Spice located in IT Park 3 Jose Maria Del Mar, Apas, Cebu City. I remembered having eaten at Cherry's the Spice before eating at this place. I was pretty much ignorant of the differences between North Indian and South Indian cooking. I tend to prefer Indian vegetable dishes so I didn't get quite a good first impression of this place. However, tasting their meat dishes such as tandoori chicken, chicken dosa, and goat rogan josh practically made me fall for this place. I also enjoyed their garlic naan which is my favorite bread from their menu.  What makes this place unique according to proprietor Vijay Vasandani II: Here, there is no Bollywood music blasting through speakers, no Bollywood movie posters plastered on walls, and no belly dancers. “ We wanted a restaurant where you can tell it’s Indian by its food, not by a sort of caricature of what our culture is ,” said Vijay Vasandani II, proprietor of Bharat Spi

#NindotKaayo I could remember back then when Mr. India opened in Gaisano Country Mall before it was closed down and replaced by Rusty's. Back then, I was quite wary of Indian restaurants because of my experience with a restaurant I'll not name but I felt I was five-sixed by it. I remembered learning to drive and going to Gaisano Country Mall to try Mr. India around in 2014. It was a nice cozy place that served affordable Indian food.  The owner Gulab "Soni" Vasnani was the one to try and challenge the stereotypes. I think one of the best strategies he did was to allow some customization in spicy levels. Some like it spicy and some like it mild. I did try to eat at Little India and had my food ordered mild . Indian food can be too spicy for some such as how the South Indian style restaurants carry theirs. My first picks were chicken curry, vegetable shawarma (which had tofu), Indian bread (especially their paratha), and some of their biryani. It was pretty much a good

I remembered the time when I saw the video of Little India Healthy Cuisine. I was excited when I first heard about it would open in One Pavilion Mall (OPM)--which I heard got closed due to poor performance. Later, a branch opened in SSY Lahug. Little India Healthy Cuisine would be much different from the other Indian restaurants in Cebu City. The big difference is not just vegetarian but also in being sattvic.   Trying to understand Little India's sattvic food For the sake of those who don't understand what satvic means--you may want to listen to this video before scrolling down. If not, read on if you understand what it means. The idea of sattvic would be to avoid animal flesh and pungent spices. It would be typical for people to go to an Indian restaurant and order some garlic naan or onion paratha. Such dishes are known in places like Bollywood Tandoor, Cherry's the Spice, Bharat Spice, and Hyderabad Dine-In since they're non-vegetarian. Vegetarian dishes in non-vege

I wasn't always a fan of Indian food (at first). I remembered eating in an Indian restaurant before that didn't serve good quality food. However, I had made some friends with some Filipino-Indians during my stay in the University of San Carlos (USC) as a business administration student. I finally at the house of an Indian friend of mine. I tasted some of their food which more mostly meat dishes though I prefer the vegetarian food routine. Some Indian restaurants popped during the 2010s though I preferred halal restaurants. Indian restaurants usually don't serve beef because most of the owners are Hindus. Hindus don't eat beef because cows are considered sacred animals to them. I remembered that some Indians protested against McDonald's due to the beef problem in the international marketing class. As courtesy, please don't ask if there's beef in their restaurant.  Mr. India, now Bollywood Tandoor I was soon an MBA student in USC in 2011. Soon enough, Mr. Indi