MANILA, Philippines — Just in time for the holidays, homegrown Filipino brand Mesa recently introduced a new look for its flagship store in Greenbelt 5.
Eric Thomas Dee, chief operating officer of Foodee Global Concepts, said that they have been wanting to update Mesa's look into a modern and contemporary Filipino restaurant for their 12-year-old brand.
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"We've been open since 2009... We want to update. We're already a 12-year-old brand. We felt that we need to catch up with time. Marami kaming nakitang restaurants na nag-fizzle because they stayed the same. We feel that we want to keep competitive with everything that is going on now with the restaurant scene," Dee said to select media including Philstar.com at its reopening last October.
Foodee Global Concepts has 71 Mesa restaurants; 10 of these are company-owned.
The Greenbelt 5 flagship restaurant is their best-selling, with the highest revenue. Thus, it was not an easy decision to close it for five months.
"It is still Filipino but with a contemporary, modern twist," described Dee. "You'll see a Scandinavian type of design but using solihiya to make it Filipino. The materials and accents chosen are sariling atin pa rin."
Many of their new franchises already have the modern, contemporary Filipino look. Dee added that apart from the look, they are also into localizing Mesa in a way that where the brand is built; it will be relatable to the local community.
"Our franchisees can have options from our designers to choose from. We let them choose according to what will work in their locality. That's the reason why we are into franchising," Dee explained.
This localization also extends to the menu. For instance, their branch in Tagaytay offers Bulalo, a hearty beef soup that is perfect for Tagaytay's chilly weather, and Tawilis, a freshwater sardine abundant in the area.
"We're adapting locality not only with the food, but also the look and feel. Our designs are more updated," Dee shared.
New food items
Dee stressed that their customers in Greenbelt 5 have been patrons of their menu. They did not see overhauling it with its reopening, but they did a little tweaking and introduced new dishes.
Pampano, a favorite in many spreads, is the highlight of these new dishes. Diners can have it in three ways.
For those who want a tangy feel with a kick, the Pampano Dayap Chili can be their entree. The fish is simmered in dayap chili sauce and it is served with a lime wheel, wansuy and siling labuyo.
Another take is the Pampano Ginger Soya, where the fish is simmered in ginger soya sauce and served with fresh onion leeks on top.
The third option is Pampano with Latik. Pan-friend and simmered in butter, the fish dish is topped with latik, fried garlic and fresh onion leeks, giving it a trio of different textures and flavors in one forkful of the savory fish.
What's a spread without a rib option? The restaurant introduced its take on spareribs with its Grilled Spareribs. The meat is marinated and basted with a special barbecue sauce and garnished with fresh onion leeks.
Noodle lovers can choose a bowl of the Locanton. It's an indulgent bowl of savory egg noddles sauteed with Baguio beans, carrots, cabbage, chicken liver and crispy pork. Adding more flavor and texture are its generous toppings of fried tofu, boiled egg, fried garlic and spring onions.
"It's our fastest growing brand. It's also the largest brand in our portfolio. It's the reason why we were able to do everything else. Nagsimula lahat 'yan sa Mesa then we invested into these restaurant brands until we grew into how we are today," Dee said.
Foodee Global Concepts also holds the franchise of the Hong Kong brands Tim Ho Wan and Kam's Roast, and the Michelin Singapore brand Hawker Chan. The group also brought in the popular Spanish yogurt brand Llao Llao. Foodee also created Pound, which serves specialized burgers.
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