Falafel Yo! Opening Day at Uptown Mall

Have you tried or even heard of it before? Then, let's get to know more about falafel. Visit their newly opened store at Uptown Mall BGC and explore your taste buds with this Israeli food craving.

The origins of falafel is still a mystery. There’s no exact evidence where and when exactly the ancient vegetarian dish was born, but we can track some of it’s historical impact around the world. Here are some facts about falafel you probably never knew about-

1. The Coptic church in Egypt ate falafel as it was a vegetarian solution during Lent centuries ago.

2. As the Egyptians used fava beans in their falafel recipe, soon as it began spreading around the world, each culture had a different version for it. In Israel, the chickpeas replaced the fava beans, and by the time it got to Syria they replaced the chickpeas with foul beans.

3. The meaning of the word falafel is small round thing (pilpal in Aramaic)

4. After becoming an independent state, Israel went into an economic depression in the 1950’s. Falafel was a cheap, meatless, easy to make solution that spread all over the country at those years and from that time on it became the national dish for the Israelis.

5. The Philippine Independence Day and the International Falafel Day are both celebrated on June 12 As the founding family of Falafel Yo migrated to Manila in 2011, they wanted to share something from their culture with the Filipinos that they thought will be appreciated and liked. With little adoption and keeping the ingredients and sauces true to it’s cultural authenticity, Falafel Yo wants to use this popular dish as a bridge between different cultures around the world.

Falafel Yo opened to public last January 4, 2020 and as  a treat, lucky passers-by had the chance to try and taste falafel for free.

TKB by Tanduay Celebrates the Holiday Season with Free Shots for Diners of Five

Here's another place that you might consider whenever you're craving for an asian food particularly authentic Japanese dish with some drinking atmosphere of rum and a wide selection of cocktails you won’t find anywhere else with friends and colleagues this holiday season, all you need to do is drop by TKB by Tanduay in Ayala Avenue, Makati City.

TKB stands for The Kushi Bar, and it specializes in kushi (skewered) selections created by Japanese chef Yuri Amami, the first female Japanese chef in the Philippines. Here, you’ll also find the TKB shots, deliciously-flavored cocktails infused with Tan-duay Dark and Premium White Rum.

For the entire month of December, TKB by Tanduay offers a free flight (four shots) for diners of five.

 “We always come up with seasonal selections and since this month is all about cele-brating and merry-making for us Filipinos, we have chosen to reward our diners with our TKB shots. They can choose whatever flavor they want,” 

says TKB by Tanduay general manager Karen Roque.

The TKB shots selection includes the Aomori (apple wasabi), Tokushima (ginger cala-mansi), Kumamoto (watermelon basil), Miyazaki (cucumber basil), Nagano (lemon apricot), Ehime (green apple and kiwi), and their newly-introduced rambutan rum-infused shot.

Roque recommends that diners enjoy them along with their kushi selections, which now have items using ingredients that are popular with Filipino diners.

So, don’t be surprised to find the Gyubara (beef tenderloin) along with the Reba (chicken liver) or the Hotate (scallop) along with the Hatsu (chicken heart) on the menu. All reasonably priced, these kushi selections are meant to be enjoyed plate after plate—just like how Filipinos dine.

Roque shares that the idea behind TKB by Tanduay is to promote Filipino dining through Japanese food. This is what makes the restaurant different from other Japa-nese dining concepts in the country.

“This is why we have partnered with Tanduay, a truly Filipino brand. Through this partnership, we were able to create unique offerings such as our rum-infused food and drinks selections,” she says.

TKB by Tanduay likewise supports Filipino farming as it sources most of its ingredients from local farmers. The restaurant also uses organic ingredients, and its coffee is 100% Philippine-made. “Japanese and Filipinos share the same love for good food and drinks. And here at TKB by Tanduay, we want to celebrate that,” Roque concludes.

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