Yum yum dishes at Benny's Café

MANILA, Philippines - Benny’s Café at Rustan’s Supermarket, Makati marks its first year of offering innovative, Filipino specialties and tasty Italian favorites. Launched last year, the café, adorned with contemporary furniture for that hotel-lobby ambiance, is aptly named after Rustan’s founder, Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. It boasts unique food concepts, delectable dishes, and quality service — elements that have long been upheld by the Rustan’s name.

Years before it became Benny’s Café, the supermarket’s eating establishment was called Blast Off Café. Rustan’s Supercenters, Inc. (RSCI) president Donnie Tantoco has fond memories of the place as he found himself working at the package counter right by its entrance at the age of eight.

Over time, Blast Off Café eventually transformed into the Yum Yum Tree Coffee Shop. Eating at the coffee shop became a major part of the Rustan’s experience for a generation of shoppers. Fast forward to today, Benny’s has gained quite a following, and hopes to garner the same important place in consumers’ hearts as the cafés it succeeded.

With Filipino fare being a consistent offering through the years, Benny’s Café takes the country’s signature dishes up a notch with innovative Asian touches. RSCI food consultant, author and teacher Beth Romualdez was tapped to infuse her creative take on various specialties from around the Philippines into the café’s delicious repertoire of dishes. Beth assures that all her dishes are the closest you can get to the best of regional home cooking and very affordable at that.

Some of the must-try bestsellers include steamed lapu-lapu with chili and lime (Thai style), binagoongang baboy, crispy pla-pla with mustasa at buro, ensaladang pako at itlog na maalat dressing, crispy tadyang, Bicol’s pinangat, sinigang na bangus sa bayabas, crispy pata with garlic and chili, tinapa rice and the all-time Yum-Yum Tree favorite — pinakbet rice with chicharon. Your meals will not be complete without Benny’s signature drinks: chico shake, guyabano shake and lemon-ginger shake. 

With sumptuous menu items that have become certified crowd-pleasers over the last year, Benny’s Café ensures customers that there is a lot more to look forward to in every shopping trip at Rustan’s Supermarkets.

For more details on Benny’s Café and Rustan’s Supermarket log on to www.rustansfresh.com