The new Bench Cafe' Menu is more personalized, flexible, affordable and really good
Bench Café’s new menu is fun. It is creative and bright, which makes me feel like the darkest times of the pandemic are behind us. The delightful menu complements the Bench brand by offering favorite Pinoy dishes with a contemporary twist. Yet, it is Filipino food through and through. Furthermore, it focuses on individuality and is affordable, making it sensitive to the current economic times.
Cheeno Dee, COO of Foodee Global Concepts and cofounder of Kravers Canteen, who oversees all Bench Cafés, said that “we started in 2017, and expanded and built four Bench Cafés. Then, the pandemic happened. We weren’t able to build the brand sufficiently (during pre-pandemic times) to give it enough strength. So we are now breathing new life into it, reinventing it and re-launching it.”
More cafes are in the pipeline and set to open soon.
Bench Cafe is a partnership between Suyen Corporation and Foodee Global Concepts, which handles the day-to-day operations and collaborates with the Bench group in regards to the aesthetic, branding and marketing. Of course, Bench is synonymous with its founder, the visionary “Love Local” supporter and trendsetter Ben Chan.
Before, the format in Bench Café was family style. Now they realize that people coming in want more singular, personalized complete sets for meals. The new menu is called “Bench-to,” which is a play on the Japanese bento. The Base Set is at P199, which is rice with longganisa, lumpiang laing, pork adobo, dilis, and soy egg. The idea is to get the Base Set, then order ulam from a selection that includes Bagnet Kasuy Kare Kare, Chicharon Chicken, Shrimp a la Beng, Inasal Liempo and more.
This is optional, of course. One can stick to the Base Set if that’s enough for the diner. An alternative is to just order from the Ulam menu and rice. Or, for people who eat a lot, like me ( aka, takaw), I can build on the Base Set and keep on adding dishes. This flexibility when it comes to choice and pricing gives the diner leeway in terms of preference and budget. I have to say that the price can’t be beat, especially with the dishes being so delicious.
“We listened to our customers and we realized that what they wanted was something more personalized, quick and affordable,” Cheeno explains. “Thus, the structure of our menu makes it flexible to any kind of budget and hunger levels.”
Let’s go to the fun and creative part. On the menu, there is a Lugaw, Soup, and Pinoy Ramen portion. “All our soups, we turned into lugaw versions, which essentially is adding rice. The same goes for our ramen version where we add noodles,” explains Cheeno. The soups that can be had in lugaw or ramen versions are Tinola, Sinigang, Suam na Mais, and Bulalo. There even is a Sisig Ramen. I had the Sinigang Lugaw while it was raining outside, and it was perfectly comforting. I always have my sinigang with rice, anyway. Making it into a lugaw is genius. Why didn’t I think of doing this at home?
There are also Silogs with Crispy Beef Tapa, Lamayong Bangus, Chicken Tocino, the popular Beef Pares, and the Bonggalmulsal, which is all the breakfast favorites combined. So yes, that’s for those who like to eat big to start the day.
Among the dishes under “Altanghap” are Pancit Guisado, Batangas Lomi, Pinoy Spaghetti, and Crispy Pancit Palabok. Then, of course, there is dessert. Offered are Turon, Bananacue and Maruya. And each one can be had a la mode style. I find the combination of the Ube Brownie Flan, Maja Blanca Crumble, and the Salted Egg Sapin Sapin interesting, and surprisingly yummy.
My personal piece de resistance, though, is the Bench Special Halo Halo, which comes in ube or white. This modified treat is similar to bingsu, the Korean iced dessert, where the shaved or crushed ice is already flavored. So the halo-halo is “hindi hinahalo.”
The new menu is simplified, but the dishes in it are Filipino classics that have been innovated, improved and even glamorized. Most importantly, it is personalized. How special is that?
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Follow Bench Café on IG @benchcafe.ph. Bench Café locations are in BGC, mobile 09177021133; Greenbelt, mobile 09176342825; Robinsons Ermita, telephone 2421483; and TriNoma Mall on the ground level.
Follow the author on IG @toda_monique.
