Hello fellow foodies!
I have recovered already - I am no longer "lowbatt," although I still pretty much let my siblings take care of the cooking, and I just took over the sink and became the dishie (Aussie's term for "dishwasher"), with the help of cousin Jayson, who would sometimes do the chore. :)
Welcome to another edition of Weekend Eating, where we highlight food(s) that made up our weekend. I am so thankful that you could come and join this week.
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My share this week:Yesterday, my brother and I went to the opening of Dr. Pearl Cooler shop in Robinson's Metro East. When I received the invite, I quickly said yes to it, because I so love trying new foods and it was a great way to open up my summer this year. I was asking brother to come with me as I don't know my way around Metro Manila, and at first he didn't want to. When he opened his email and realized he had an invite, too, he decided to come with me. There were three schedules provided - and we chose the earliest one (10:30am) so that we could go home early, or if we want to, we can still go elsewhere after.
It was a small shop with just two tables (for now). Well, it was their first day, so obviously, they just wanted to set up and get the whole thing running and just add stuff as the days pass. We were graciously welcomed by the owner, Nino Gatdula, and told us things about Dr. Pearl Cooler. Here are snippets of what I learned about the shop:
- They first started as a shop serving Taiwan Pearl Milk Tea and other cold beverages in Taiwan (which they imported here in the Philippines).
- They then cooperated with Dr. Pearl Cooler and started serving great coolers in Angeles, Pampanga. The shop opened in 2006.
- They branched out a year after (also in Pampanga). As of today, they have different branches in different provinces (Pangasinan, Benguet, Bacolod), and their 18th branch is located in Robinson's Metro East, their first branch in Metro Manila.
- Most of their materials (like the flavored powder, pearls, jelly, cups, and even the straws) were imported from Taiwan.
- Their staffs are trained bartenders. They do train their staff before they could start working.
- Their black pearls are cooked every 4 hours to ensure the freshness of the product.
- Even if the materials were imported from Taiwan (a region of China), their milk products are tested melamine free. They have certification to prove that.
Their main product is the Chantilly Blended Shake. It comes in three different sizes - Small (360 cc) for p59, Medium (500 cc) for p66, and Large (700 cc) for p73. What makes this drink different from other blended ice drinks is that customers can choose from many different flavors as the base drink, choose if they wanted to go for the black pearls or flavored jelly (or both), and they can choose what kind of syrup will be added in the sweet cream. Very personalized kind of drink, eh? Of course, customers can also opt to go for the regular shake (without the cream on the top). Prizes for that would be p42 for the small cup, p49 for the medium cup, and p56 for the large cup.
Flavors you asked? Well, they do have a wide array of flavors divided into categories...
Fruit and Cream - Melon, Banana, Ube, Papaya, Watermelon, Blueberry, Durian, Coconut, Strawberry.
Variety - Bubblegum, Milk Tea, Sweet Corn, Peanut, Vanilla, Peppermint, Gourd Milk, Pandan, Pudding.
Choco 'n Cafe - Chocolate, Ovaltine, Iced Coffee.
Yogurt - Blueberry Yogurt, Green Tea Yogurt, Grape Yogurt, Mango Yogurt, Strawberry Yogurt.
Juicy - Pineapple, Grape, Orange, Green Apple, Mulberry, Golden Partner, Strawberry Juice, Lokson, Lychee, Peach, Mango, and Lemon.
Some of the flavors were in powder form, while the others were in juice form. Let's break down what we had:
Watermelon Chantilly, small. Stonibert's order. A few minutes after we arrived, blogger Stonibert arrived, and we decided to go as one group. We wanted to go for different flavors, so we chose flavors different from each other. He went for watermelon, and I did have a taste of it, and it was really refreshing. Well, it tasted like watermelon, but when blended with the cream and chocolate syrup, it became a whole different flavor... which was actually a compliment. :)
Gourd Milk, medium. My choice. I went for the gourd milk because it was the first time I heard of such a flavor. It was actually made from upo (bottle gourd), a totally interesting flavor. Well, it didn't taste like vegetable (come to think of it, upo is not really that flavorful) - sipping this drink felt as if I was drinking regular milk blended ice, but it wasn't as rich as regular milk. It was very light, and a very great way to quench the thirst. Somehow, choosing this made me feel less guilty about the calories and the lactose (I tend to be a lactose intolerant at times), and I think this drink will go well with any snacks.
Bubblegum, large. Brother's choice. At first, brother just wanted to go for the medium cup, but Stonibert and I persuaded him to go large so we could compare the sizes of the cups. He first went for the Pudding, but it wasn't available, so he went for his second choice - the bubblegum. Well, personally, am not a big fan of the bubblegum flavor, but I could say I liked this. It was a little sweet for my liking, though.
All of our drinks had the black pearls, and it's one other thing I loved about the drinks. The pearls were soft yet chewy, and the cups had so much pearls it really made me go "wow." Well, other blended ice had little of these pearls that sometimes people would go for extra (and extra means additional charge). With Dr. Pearl Cooler, no need to request for added pearls, because theirs just had a lot to begin with, and that is NOT because we were there to attend the event. They really take pride with their pearls.
Puff Up Popcorn. They have other different products - coffee, fries, toasts, and popcorn. According to Mr. Gatdula, Robinson's didn't allow them to serve popcorn because there is a Holy Kettle Korn outlet nearby, so they just let us taste their popcorn and gave us a flavor each to take home. While waiting for them to set up the place, I opened each of the bags and gave it a taste. My verdict:
- Caramel Pop - tasted like condensed milk. Something kids will definitely love.
- Choco Pop - it was bittersweet, but had a good balance of bitterness and sweetness. It's something anybody would enjoy because it wouldn't strain the throat.
- Seaweed Pop - my favorite. I could taste the sweetness, and the addition of seaweed powder was just so good! I actually ate half of the bag while Mr. Gatdula was talking about the company... and I was eating it, too, while enjoying my Gourd Milk Chantilly.
- Kimchi Pop - I was a bit hesitant about this at first, but it was a great discovery. It tasted a little sour at first (well, after all, Kimchi is pickled vegetable), but as I eat more and more of it, it's getting a little addictive. The burst of flavors was something that would make one get more and more of it, and brother said it was his favorite.
- Sweet Pop - well, it wasn't served while we were in the event and I still haven't opened up the pack, so I still don't know what this taste like.
The seaweed and the kimchi flavors were a risk, of which I am glad they did. It's about time people taste different flavors of foods. Too bad they can't serve this in their Robinson's Metro East branch, but Mr. Gatdula said he is planning to have this go on delivery service within Metro Manila. I do hope they would do that, for I would like to have more of the Seaweed Pop. :)
Overall, it was a great event, even if I didn't get to meet other bloggers, who opted to attend later in the afternoon. I like what the company stands for, and I really wish them well. Hopefully, they would have different branches in Metro Manila, because the Metro East was quite far from where we live. Well, the shop is open for franchise, so if you plan to have one, just go to the
Dr. Pearl Cooler Website to learn more about it. You can also check the
Dr. Pearl Cooler on Facebook for the latest updates.
Tasting their refreshing drinks, I could say, summer is definitely here! Thank you, Dr. Pearl Cooler for the refreshing treat.
What did you have last weekend?
*** Jenn ***
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my