One day we’ll look back and remember 2017 as the year of Culinary Exchange.
While Philippine cuisine made waves overseas, our home shores saw an influx of international franchises. Seventeen in 2017, to be exact! In this list, we’re rounding some of the most exciting arrivals of the year.
Update: Check out our new Buy 1 Get 1 (BOGO) deals this week
We’ve got newcomers from Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and Canada; while, stateside, we saw establishments hailing from Boston and Los Angeles! Keep reading to remember all the biggest brands that came to the Metro in 2017.
Mazendo – S Maison Conrad
Mazendo first opened its doors in 2010 near the Sun Yat-sen Memorial in Taipei. Now with a branch in Pasay, the bustling young brand serves traditional Taiwanese cuisine with a modern flair. Their specialties are Taiwanese beef noodles, fried rice, and dumplings.
Insider tip: Enjoy BUY 1 GET 1 Dumplings from Mazendo when you use the Booky app. Here's how.
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Level 2, S Maison, Conrad Manila, Seaside Boulevard cor Coral Way, Pasay
(02) 824-7834
Kushikatsu Daruma – Uptown Mall
From Osaka to Manila comes Kushikatsu Daruma. The restaurant (brought to you by the same group behind Hole in the Wall, Le Petit Souffle, Wrong Ramen, etc.) specializes in deep fried golden katsu sticks made with a light batter and dipped in special sauce.
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2/F Uptown Mall, 36th Street Corner 9th Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
(02) 946-7374
Tom N Tom’s Coffee – UP Town Center
Tom N Toms is the largest coffee franchise from South Korea. It serves a wide selection of brunch plates, pretzels, sweet and savory toasts, iced beverages and coffee. This is its first branch in Manila, but they also have one in Cebu.
Reservations are not accepted
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G/F Phase 2, UP Town Center, Katipunan Ave, Diliman, Quezon City
(02) 281-4755
Tim Horton’s – multiple branches
Tim Hortons is Canada’s world-renowned coffee house established in 1964 in Ontario, serving a diverse roster of coffee selections and their famous donuts. Signatures include their ice blended coffee topped with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle, called Iced Capps, and Timbits – Tim Hortons’ version of the donut hole.
Insider tip: Tim Hortons is Now Open 24/7!
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Kiss The Tiramisu – Makati
Hailing from Seoul, Kiss The Tiramisu is an ice cream shop that offers a dessert that combines tiramisu and ice cream, with flavors like Matcha, Classic, and Chocolate.
Reservations are not accepted
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Three Central, Valero St, Salcedo Village, Makati
(0998) 888-5477
Tsujiri – multiple branches
Founded in 1860, Tsujiri is a Japanese matcha brand from Uji Kyoto, Japan. They are the pioneer of green tea desserts, offering treats like parfaits, shaved ice desserts, milk floats, chiffon cakes, and so much more. Read our full feature here.
Insider tip: 155-year old matcha brand, Tsujiri, has new items this Christmas!
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Vampire Penguin – Ayala Malls the 30th
Vampire Penguin is a new dessert shop from California that specializes in shaved ice desserts. Must-tries include their Smoreos, Twix, and Snw Thiger.
No reservations accepted
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3/F Ayala Malls The 30th, 30 Meralco Ave, Ortigas, Pasig
(02) 942-5261
Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea – Ayala Malls The 30th
Hailing from Taiwan, Yi Fang offers a wide array of tea drinks like fruit and flavored teas, sugar-cane drinks, tea lattes, and other specialty drinks. Their bestselling Yi Fang signature fruit tea has pineapple jelly sauce, passionfruit and mountain tea with apple and orange slices. Refreshing!
Read more: Taiwan’s Best Fruit Tea is Now in the Philippines!
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3/F Ayala Malls The 30th, 30 Meralco Ave, Ortigas, Pasig
PastaMania – SM Southmall
PastaMania is a fast food chain from Singapore. The restaurant serves affordable and authentic Italian cuisine, specializing in pizza and pasta. They don’t make their food in big batches; all of their pastas are made-to-order. This is their secret to producing flavorful and authentic dishes!
Read the full feature here.
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Food Street, UG/F SM Southmall, Alabang-Zapote Rd, Almanza Uno, Las Piñas
Thai BBQ Original Restaurant – multiple branches
Thai BBQ Original Restaurant offers diners a tantalizing taste of Thailand. Nearly every dish is a punchy yet balanced blend of five flavors: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and spicy. The Los Angeles food chain, well-loved by many Asian-Americans, is popular for their BBQ Spareribs, Sate Combination, and sweet desserts.
Icelavie – multiple branches
Icelavie is a popular Malaysian brand known for their huge drinks, in which they serve a variety of coffee concoctions, teas, and fruit juices. These beverages come in a blue cardboard cup holder with a take-out string, in case you wanted them to-go or you weren’t able to finish the entire thing in one sitting.
Reservations are not accepted
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Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant – BGC
Buca di Beppo is a restaurant chain that serves Italian-American cuisine. It’s perfect for big groups; their family-style dining concept means that all their dishes are good for sharing. The food’s good but you’ll come back for the ambiance. All their restaurants worldwide are decorated the same way: with vintage photos and posters hung on the walls and restrooms with recorded ambient sounds of men and women laughing and conversing in Italian.
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G/F BGC Corporate Center, 11th ave cor 30th, Lane P, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
(02) 400-9301
Emack & Bolio’s – Ayala Malls The 30th
Boston’s famous chain of ice cream stores, Emack & Bolio’s, was founded back in 1975 by a lawyer and self-declared hippie named Robert Rook. It’s obvious how the tenets of the 70’s era (peace, love, and rock ‘n roll) influenced Rook’s vision for the store – the chain is against using milk from cows injected with genetically-induced hormone bST. Read our full feature here.
Also read: 12 New Heavenly Dessert Places to Visit in Metro Manila
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Ayala Malls The 30th, 30 Meralco Ave, Ortigas, Pasig
(0922) 882-8278
Gen Korean BBQ – SM Mall of Asia
Gen is a popular Korean restaurant chain from Los Angeles, California. The word “GEN” means “the beginning” and is actually an open invitation to the art of Korean BBQ. There are over 20 meat options to choose from so choose wisely because the clock is ticking – each customer is given a two hour limit for each visit hence the long waiting times.
Love Korean food? Check out 15 Awesome Korean Joints in the Metro for Affordable Meals as Low as ₱85!
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Bldg. J, Unit 1-16, SM By the Bay, Seaside Blvd, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay
(0945) 123-8530
Pizza Studio – Uptown Parade
Pizza Studio is a pizza parlor franchise from Los Angeles, California that allows you to create-your-own pizza or choose from their unique specialty flavored pizza. This is the only pizza parlor in the Philippines that serves three kinds of pizza dough: traditional, rosemary herb and firecracker crust. What are you waiting for? Get creative!
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G/F Uptown Parade, 36th Street cor 9th Ave, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
Macao Imperial – multiple branches
Macao Imperial is one of the fastest growing cafe chains with over 200 branches in Macau, Vietnam, China, United States, and now – Philippines. Their extensive menu caters to all tastes; they offer coffee, milk tea, tea, and even cream cheese-based drinks!
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Tsuta Ramen – Bonifacio Hight Street
From Foodee Global Concepts Group (the same awesome team that’s brought us Todd English Food Hall, llaollao, Pound, Tim Ho Wan, Mesa, Sunnies Cafe, and more) comes the Michelin-starred ramen joint. Tsuta is now in the Philippines and they’re opening this month! Their trademark ramen, the “Shoyu Soba,” is made with special ingredients (whole wheat flour noodles + chashu served with black truffle oil + soy-based chicken and seafood stock with salt, red wine and rosemary infusions) that deliver an intense umami experience.
In case you missed it: Foodee Global Concepts is also bringing in the wildly popular Kam's Roast Goose from Hong Kong. Read more HERE.
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UG/F C3 Bonifacio High Street Central, 7th Ave cor 30th St, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
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