8 food brands that are surprisingly Pinoys in origin

There are food brands we know that are distinctly Pinoy: Jollibee, Goldilocks, Chow King, Sarsi and Purefoods, for example. Others, however, take on a vibe, a flavor or a look that makes them seem like an international franchise. Here are a few that faked us out because their pedigree turned out to be (proudly) Pinoy na Pinoy. 

• Yellow Cab Pizza Co. Founded in 2001 by Eric Puno, Henry Lee and Albert Tan, Yellow Cab had New York written all over it: from the distinctive yellow logo, to the stripped-down industrial feel of its restaurants, to its very name. The pizza itself was oily, floppy, super flavorful and supersized. It was such a massive hit (in spite of its slightly higher price), the Pancake House Group (Pancake House, Dencio’s) brought the brand in 2011.
  

---

• Chef Tony’s Gourmet Popcorn. Sure, we’ve had caramel popcorn before but unlike the brittle varieties in the market, the popped kernels of Chef Tony’s Gourmet Popcorn are large, fluffy, evenly coated with flavor and comes packaged in clear plastic tubs. And let’s not get started on the other fab flavors: addicting Belgian Butter, salty-sweet Creamy Parmesan and Country Cheddar and endless varieties of chocolate. TonyElepaño was 38 when he put up his popcorn biz in 2006. He had a failed restaurant business and needed to pay off a pile of debts. Today, Chef Tony’s popcorn is also sold in 13 outlets in Malaysia.
  

---

•  Yabu, The House of Katsu. We don’t know what’s more fun: the interactive sauces (sesame seeds for you to grind with a pestle in a textured bowl), the pun-ny store posters and waiter tees (“Miso Happy”) or that the lowly breaded pork cutlet has been upgraded with Kurobata pork (the wagyu of oinks) and now has its own app. What’s clear is this: Yabu is the brainchild of John Concepcion, CEO of Unilever RFM Ice Cream Inc. (Selecta, Magnum). He opened Yabu on 11/11/11 after being taken by the katsu he ate a train station restaurant in Osaka. Since it opened, Yabu has had a snaky line of customers waiting for tables.

---

• Delimondo Corned Beef. This has been called the best corned beef ever by obsessed fans. In fact, someone in Hawaii agrees—writing it up in a newspaper column. Delimondo’s white, generic label stands out on the grocery shelves and so does its vaguely Italian sounding name, faking us all. Delimondo deli products (including sausages, bacon and chorizo) were first introduced at the weekend markets of Salcedo Village and Ayala Alabang by owner Katrina Ponce-Enrile. The corned beef is available in supermarkets, while the full line of products is offered at the Petra and Pilar restaurant in Makati.
  

---

• Serenitea. What makes Serenitea stand out in a sea of milk tea shops selling essentially the same old, same old product? For 20-something entrepreneurs Juliet Herrera and boyfriend Peter Chen, it was tweaking the formula to suit Pinoy tastes. In an interview early this year with the GMA-7 show “Powerhouse,” the couple said they opened Serenitea in 2008 and gave customers the option to customize their drinks: from adjusting sugar levels to choosing their preferred add-ons. Serenitea now has 24 branches in Metro Manila, plus one that just opened in Cebu.
  

---

• Teriyaki Boy. Everyone has a favorite Teriyaki Boy dish: from the Teriyaki Boy Chicken Jus to the eggy Gyu-Yakiniku Don to the spicily divine Tempura Tuna Sashimi Tartare. It was the failure of his Domino’s Pizza franchise that led Bryan Tiu to found Teriyaki Boy. He saw that there was a gap between the high-end Japanese dining places and the Japanese fastfood restaurants. At 25, he opened his first Teriyaki Boy, which quickly expanded. To ensure he could cope with the growth, he sold 70 percent of his shares to the Pancake House group. Since then, Tiu also founded Tokyo Café, Peri Peri Chicken, Kogi Bulgogi and Miso-Ten Ramen and Tempura restaurants.
  

---

• Army Navy Burger + Burrito. Now popping up at an empty space near you, the Army Navy Burger + Burrito chain of restaurants rides on Manila’s burger craze with a quarter-pound burger you can get as a double or even a triple and “freedom fries” that’s been called “highly addictive.” The chain was founded by Eric Puno, the original owner of Yellow Cab Pizza.
  

---

•  Shi Lin Taiwanese Restaurant. Shi Lin offers what’s been called the best xia long bao or soup dumplings in town (sorry, Lugang). Food blogging maven Lori Baltazar ofDessert Comes First says that while “dumplings are the divas,” diners should try the rice dishes. She is especially fond of the Fried Rice with Porkchop and Egg. Opened in 2011, this restaurant is named after the district where the night market of Taiwan is located. It is owned by Carlo Lorenzana, from the same family that owns the wildly popular Wildflour restaurant. Visit Shi Lin at the Podium in Ortigas Center and at Commercenter Bldg., 4th Ave. corner 31st St. in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
  

---