FOOD CHANNEL: The best shawarma in the world

I discovered Food Channel back when V-Mall was still VIRRAMALL. People used to flock to Virra to buy books at National, chinese food delights at DEC, comics at Filbars or Comic Quest, weapons at Squadron Shop (hehe), computers, electronics and pirated CD's & DVD's at the 2nd floor, the gaming arcades at the 3rd floor, music at Radio City and a whole lot of other things. The old Virramall was definitely a 300 Club-worthy place! I have a lot of great memories of it, and not surprisingly, one of the best memories was the... (drum roll please)... SHAWARMA!!!

Since I used to spend every Sunday morning at Virra with my family, I pretty much had shawarma every week. There were two sources of this gift-from-the-heavens at Virra. One was named PICK ME (or something like that) and the other was FOOD CHANNEL. They were both equally great (not just good, but GREAT) and every week I'd go through the same ritual. Those days are long gone and PICK ME is gone too, but I'm very happy that a dozen years later, Food Channel is not only still alive, but has expanded and spread to many other locations. As far as I know, Food Channel has locations at Greenhills (outside of the Theater Mall), EDSA Central, at the grocery on Pioneer Street, somewhere in Eastwood, somewhere in Makati (I think) and Market Market.

FOOD CHANNEL STALLS

A Food Channel stall is definitely not a cool or hip "place to be". It is a simple, no-nonsense place to get the best snacks at low prices, which is why it is at the top of my list of 300 Club-accredited establishments. Actually, you could spend 100 bucks or less for a satisfying snack or light meal. Most Food Channel stalls offer a standard set of snacks:

Regular Shawarma - 60 pesos
plus cheese - add 5 or 10 bucks
All beef and fries (no onions and tomatoes) - around 80 pesos
All beef shawarma (A REAL TREAT!) - 90 pesos
Shawarma Rice with small gulaman (MY FAVORITE) - 80 pesos
Gulaman - P20 for a large one

THE BEST SHAWARMA IN THE WORLD

Okay, I haven't tried all the shawarmas in the world and I'm sure there might be something better somewhere in the Middle East. What I'm sure of is that Food Channel's shawarma can't possibly be too far below the best of 'em. Nothing in this world is perfect, but Food Channel's shawarma is definitely close to it. Their sauce is my gold standard to which I compare every other shawarma sauce I try. Their beef is tasty but not over-flavored. It's almost always cooked well-done, but what I love to do is request for extremely-burnt-and-toasted-crispy beef. "P're, gusto ko SUNOG ha, hindi lang tustado, SUNOG talaga". Hehe. The french fries go perfectly with the beef and sauce. As can be seen in the summarized menu above, there are a few choices on how you can have your shawarma. My favorite as far as sulit-ness goes is Shawarma Rice. 80 bucks for heaven and a satisfied stomach! As far as taste goes, nothing beats the All Beef or All Beef With Fries, where you really get a good taste of the extra portion of beef, with no distractions from the tomatoes and onions. Each bite is juicy and unadulterated goodness. God help me. I want one right now.

MORE THAN JUST A SNACK PLACE

Shawarma and Beer; man's ultimate creations meet at Food Channel EDSA Central. The beer is sold at around P25 per bottle, and the place is open all night to cater to the call center crowd closeby. There are a few tables where aside from the shawarma, you can enjoy the next best thing in the universe, San Miguel Beer. It is EDSA Central, though and even if they've cleaned up the place quite significantly, don't except anything that resembles classy ambience. And don't expect to spot hot babes, either. It's a good place to relax and enjoy some good food with friends, or to get a late-night snack before going home after a night of drinking. You can spend a whole night ordering 5 beers (around P150), getting yourself really full with a shawarma rice and a shawarma (80 + 60), and still spend less than 300. The 300 Club has spent quite a few nights gorging on food and beer there, and we've never felt any poorer afterwards.

TRY IT, DUDE

I've been eating Food Channel's shawarma every two weeks or so for over a dozen years and I still love it. I've introduced it to a lot of my friends, and not one of them was ever disappointed. I can write about it all day, but until you actually have a shawarma in your hand, smell the roasted beef, pour the sauce, bite into it and taste the perfection, you'll never know what I'm talking about. Try it once, and I'm pretty sure you'll be craving for it again sooner rather than later.












Xerxes: Gusto ko ng shawarmaaaaaaaaa!!!


In constant search for the affordable side to everything
-the300club

Pierre's KFC Combo

Kentucky Fried Chicken

The 300 club strikes again as Pierre Tan teaches me his version of a KFC combo meal! If we are vigilant enough to analyze the so called value meals that our fast food establishments offer the public, we will realize that we end up actually paying more or paying certain amount for less.

I met Pierre in Gateway mall in Araneta Cubao one Friday afternoon. We were suppose to meet greg that night to hang out but Greg couldnt get off work until later that evening so we decided to grab dinner in the mall. We went to the food court and viewed our choices until he had a sudden desire for KFC chicken. He told me that he would show me his COMBO meal! I was curious as to what he meant by that and later on as he explained to me, I understood his concept of combo meal.

As of this blog there is a KFC fully loaded meal. The meal has a one piece chicken with rice, mushroom soup, mash potato, brownie and softdrinks for 130 pesos(around 4USD). He said that a Fully loaded meal is nothing but side dishes. He told me to order a 1 piece chicken meal which included softdrinks and rice for 75 pesos and a chicken fillet with garlic sauce with rice for only 50 pesos which totalls to 125pesos. I ended up with 2 chickens 2 rice and a drink for less the price of a fully loaded meal. If you order the 2 piece chicken meal I think its almost the same price as Pierre’s combo meal but you only get one rice. So in the end Pierre’s combo meal trumps the Fully Loaded meal and the 2 pc.Chicken meal in terms of price and value for your money.

We’re sure that there are a lot of people doing the same thing that we are doing. Analyzing for the best deal for you or trying to get value for your money is a discipline. Do not accept that special offer at first glance. Dont let advertisements and pictures fool you when you order fast food. Make the choice to get value for your money. From this practice we will learn to analyze a business opportunity the same way.

**Transferred from a past blog**


In constant search for the affordable side to everything
-the300club

Miraj is the Real deal!

On the literal sense "Miraj" is a historic town in Southern India but I think that the guys who started this new restaurant was not really trying to convey that message.

The Marketing Man in me would suggest that the name of the restaurant refers to the word mirage which is an optical phenomenon. But unlike seeing an illusionary oasis in a middle of the desert, the Miraj Persian Grill in Aguirre Avenue BF Homes is the real deal.

They serve very delicious food at affordable prices.
And I have to say they keep a very tight shift. The place is very clean and the one thing that the 300 club is also looking for aside from good affordable food is clean bathrooms. Personally for me Clean Bathrooms represents how each restaurants approach to cleanliness. If they take the time to maintain clean bathrooms even on busy days it shows that they take pride in having a clean environment. That usually translates into the cleanliness inside the kitchen as well.

If you have not visited the restaurant better check out the times they are open. I think they are open for dinner until the early dawn (catering to those alcohol induced people craving for something to eat before going home). If you're lucky you might even get to meet one of the owners of the Miraj still there.

Suggestion: I don't know the area that well but I hear there might be good business in serving to the lunch crowd. Maybe the company could also invest in a delivery service... Just a thought.

My 300club Rating on the Miraj

1. Price - 4/5 Price is not that bad. It actually is very affordable and it is definitely value for money.

2. Quality of Food - 5/5 I'm not a Persian Food expert but Miraj definitely satisfied my taste.

3. Quality of Service- 4/5 It was relatively quick but we did eat there in the early morning. Have to try eating there at dinner time (rush Hour)

4. Environment- 4/5 The place is definitely clean. I think the place is simple, well lighted, definitely nice to hang out. Too little Parking Space (well you have the whole Aguirre Ave to park on anyways).

5. Recommend to a Friend? 5/5 Already recommended it to some of my friends who live in Tahanan Village and they positively loved the place.


Total Score : 4.4/5
the300club Ken

In constant search for the affordable side to everything
-the300club