For probably lack of anything to do, I decided to browse the Net for the websites of different restaurants here in the Philippines. What I have discovered amazed me (not to mention caused me nausea). Some of the food they sell are so expensive I couldn't imagine that they exist in groups in Metro Manila.
Take T.G.I. Friday's, for example. Their Jack Daniel's Triple-Barrel Salmon, Chicken and Chop ("Flaky moist salmon with tender porkchop and juicy chicken grilled and glazed with Friday's sweet and smoky Jack Daniel's sauce. Served with vegetables and pasta medley, tossed in a light bechamel sauce and buttered corn on a cob") costs 1125 Philippine pesos or approximately $35.
In Bubba Gump, their Mama’s Favorite drink ("Kahlua, Non-Fat Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, Chocolate, and DiSaronno Amaretto. Better than any box of Chocolates!") costs 590 pesos (~$15)
Meanwhile, President Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant located in, well, Chinatown, serves a Menu 7 ("Roasted Crisp Skin Suckling Pig Half, Fried Stuffed Shrimp with Sugar Cane Stick, Sea Asparagus Sauteed with Broccoli Flower, Double Boiled Superior Shark's Fin with Chicken, Roasted Peking Duck, Braised Abalone with Oyster Sauce, Steamed Eel with Black Bean and Chili, Fookien Fried Misua and Sliced Mixed Fresh Fruit in Season")--I dunno if this is good for how many people--for a headache-inducing 13800 pesos (~$350)
You think these are cheap? By Western standards, yes. But, in the Philippines, you can buy a McDonald's Big Mac Combo for only $3--and that is already Super Sized. So you can just imagine how expensive the abovementioned dishes are by Philippine standards.
So where am I driving at? Nowhere exactly. It's understandable since these restaurants' target market are those who belong to the high-income classes. I was just shocked. I would rather spend my money one of these utility carts (Ha! talk about desperate product promotion) to put the food I cook on than spend much of my money on expensive dining...or I'd probably spend it to buy some equipments (such as protractors and right-angle triangle rulers) to use for my projects. I really need some.
All UPSable
