Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

I had written my personal review of Jolly Bubble as a Taiwanese-style coffee shop . During the pandemic before clearance, I would usually order their bento boxes (read my review here ). A recent item that was added to their menu was called Taiwanese peppered beef with smooth egg. In Chinese, it's called 黑椒牛肉配滑蛋 (Pinyin: Hēi jiāo niúròu pèi huá dàn). I'm sharing a few Mandarin tidbits here and there since I'm trying to learn more of the language.  It's under premium bento so it should be kind of pricy. Since it's a coffee shop so expect a higher price (read why here ). It should be around PHP 250.00. A price that would burden me in my student days but not in my professional days. The size is justifiable since after eating it--I simply am in full mode. I drank it together with pineapple citron oolong tea. So far, I believe this is my current favorite. Sure, I do love their mapo tofu with egg. I also love their chicken g-pai meals. I think this one is a must-try for be

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 ham sandw

I guess my passion for tea and coffee never stops, right? As of right now, I haven't had a very active life and I tend to get stuck with establishments I enjoyed for more than a decade. Well, I'm glad that I do get flexible. What slipped right through me was that last year that there was the opening of Alishan Cebu at the Cardinal Rosales, Avenue, in Cebu City . The name may sound Chinese but it's actually managed by fellow Filipinos namely Francesco Dino, Robert Dino, Maria Victoria Osmeña, and Juvy Osmeña. Alishan Philippines describes itself as: Who We Are Our purpose was to bring authentic Taiwanese artistry to the Philippines through milk tea. We source our ingrdeients like tapioca and brown sugar from organic farms, always putting great importance to our customers health. Our brown sugar is high in calcium, potassium and iron. It prevents tooth decay. improves resistance to stress, and even lowers cholesterol. Through minimal processing, we are able to maintan the hig

I wrote my personal review on Jolly Bubble (read here ). I decided to order some of their new bento meals via Foodpanda. Here are a few bento meals from Jolly Bubble which I'd personally recommend: Breaded pork or tonkatsu with scrambled eggs and honey sauce If you're looking for tonkatsu - here's a new delicious dish that had been popular in the Food Panda order menu. Filipinos do have a love for pork. I'm not quite a pork fan (since I'm watching my weight). However, an occasional eating of this tonkatsu with honey sauce and scrambled eggs can be good. I was able to order one (guilt free) because I've been doing several aerobics exercises recently to lose weight. So far, it's a good recommendation but not as much as... Tonkatsu with mapo tofu It's no secret that I'm a fan of tofu. This combination has been one of my favorites. The mapo tofu almost serves as a sauce for the tonkatsu. I pretty much like how both complement each other. I pretty much en

Chatime was once my first obsession with the Taiwan-style tea brand since I wasn't much of a coffee person. I think it's probably because the prices of milk tea are slightly lower than coffee shops like Bo's Coffee Club where operating hours are longer while using premium ingredients. Definitely, I ended up having my thrifty side when I chose tea shops over coffee shops even if I do get a glass of coffee from Bo's Coffee Club if ever I'm meeting someone there. Gong Cha became my second alternative to Chatime all before more competition sprang up.  The story of Gong Cha Here's an excerpt of Gong Cha's humble beginnings: In 1996, a man named Wu opened a premium tea shop in Taiwan. The reputation of the shop grew and it wasn’t long until customers were lining up to purchase Wu’s tea. To meet the demand, Wu decided to expand, standardizing his recipes to ensure that all stores served consistently good tea. Wu worked hard to develop his own tea blends, testing ev

It's been some time since I did a food review, right? Back then, I remembered how my first love with Taiwanese milk tea was Chatime. Though. when I went to Chatime--I usually ordered fruit tea since I was trying to lose weight. I ended up trying Tiger Sugar which ordering something without sugar doesn't make sense. So, another milk tea I decided to try (via delivery, haven't gone to the branches yet since the pandemic) is ITealicious. ITealicious is founded by Taiwan-born Yuwen Chiu (who's also a Chinese teacher in Cebu Eastern College). It was founded in 2018--the time when I was so devoted to weight loss that I didn't try it until I lost some pounds. In trying to renew my driver's license--I discovered I went from 85 pounds to 79 pounds since I've been doing a lot of cardiovascular exercises during the pandemic. I decided to give ITealicious a shot after I had tasted the food at Jolly Bubble. Jolly Bubble is pretty much the ideal place to get a delicious m

I remembered Chatime became my first favorite tea franchise. Sure, there was Moonleaf near the University of San Carlos-Main Campus (USC-Main) which I wonder if it's still open now. Though, Chatime quickly became my personal favorite for a reason. The one I'm most familiar with is the branch in I.T Park which quickly became my after-meal beverage at times.  Chatime is a worldwide franchise' in the Philippine business environment Chatime's history is described as follows by U-Franchise which I'll give an excerpt: Since 2005, Chatime franchise has been serving millions of customers with their favorite cup of tea, making it part of every occasion, celebration or simply cupping a busy day at work. Chatime was founded in Taiwan in 2005 and in 2011 opened its doors in the Philippines. With a commitment to a quality of ingredients and mix-ins and a flare for innovative flavor combinations, we set out to brew nothing but the very best bubble teas. Chatime has now opened mor

Back then, I could remember Chatime when it hit Cebu IT Park (and I may prepare to write about it soon). Now, I feel like talking about how Jolly Bubble Milk Tea might be another unique experience. I remembered how Chatime had its snack meals such as the delicious chicken chop sandwich or the hamburger. Though I wanted to have those--they're currently not available in contrast to their main product line which is tea. Now, I would like to talk about another Taiwanese-style milk tea which is also one of my favorites. It would be Jolly Bubble Food and Beverage Tea. This is a restaurant that I'd dare say kills two birds with one stone. It's because it provides both a delicious meal and some milk tea at the same time. I could remember how I would go to IT Park to eat out. It would be like I go to eat at Army Navy in one moment then cross over Chatime to the next. Maybe, I could talk about how I go to eat at Bharat Spice at one moment then go to Chatime for a drink. Chatime's