Asian dishes take centerstage in Pinoy couple's new resto in UAE

For their third food business, a Filipino couple in Abu Dhabi has decided to go Asian. And they did it on the back of the successes of their two previous endeavors.

"Spoon & Bowl is the product of TFKR and RO. Kaya kami nakapag-create ng new restaurant in less than a year ay dahil sa dalawa," shared Len Gutierrez Calara, 30, referring to The Filipino Kitchen Restaurant and Rice Overdose in an email.

"My husband and I thought about the idea. We based it on the location, which is on the main road and where there are a lot of Filipinos people passing by," the 30-year-old added.

For these business ventures, Len had to quit her lucrative job as a nurse in Australia to help her husband, Joseph Ronald "Jayr" Calara, handle the day to day affairs of the restaurants in the United Arab Emirates.

"As of now, bread and butter na namin ang resto. Jayr already quit his job as an engineer last December para makapag-focus muna sa business," she said.

Competition

Located along Al Wahda, Spoon & Bowl eyes Asians and other nationalities who are into sushi and dumplings, Len said.

Even though businessmen in another country, Len said they are not bothered by their competition, banking, in part, on their "homie ambience" and affordable dishes.

"We have approximately six competitions. [But] we’re different because we just don’t serve Filipino dishes. We also offer breads and pastries, and we have a homie ambience," she said.

"Ang price range namin is very affordable. We have goto for Dh10 (P130) lang, ramen at Dh15 (P195), sizzler at Dh19 (P247) and rice bowls with either beef gyudon, beef teriyaki, or sweet n’ sour fish fillet at Dh22 (P286). Then breads from 50 fils (P6) to cake slices at Dh8.50 (P110)," she added.

Len also noted their "grab-and-go" section, which is self-service. "Nag-create din kami ng menu for ‘hot foods’ na kaya namin ilabas within five to 10 minutes."

So far, feedback is good, Len said. "As of now, most of the people love the food. For a one-month operation, we didn’t expect this much customers." —KBK, GMA News