MANILA, Philippines — Messi Chicken Sandwich, a new sandwich developed with football superstar Lionel Messi, has recently debuted in the Philippines as a core item in the new menu of music-themed restaurant chain Hard Rock Café.
“Messi is a big sports personality. Hard Rock Café started with a football theme. Hard Rock Café donated the first football shirt in (the world) in London,” claimed Clint Brian Peck, Director for Operations, Hard Rock Café Philippines.
Originally a part of Messi’s "Made For You by Leo Messi" menu developed for Hard Rock Café International, where Messi is the endorser, the Messi Chicken Sandwich is a “Milanese-style” sandwich inspired by one of the soccer icon’s favorite Argentinean dishes and was launched to mark Messi’s historic entry into Major League Soccer. Messi’s menu is now offered across all of the restaurant chain’s branches worldwide.
Apart from the Messi Chicken Sandwich, Hard Rock Café’s Manila (S Maison) and Makati (Greenbelt 3) also now offer new burgers, including another Messi-namesake dish, the Messi Burger; Southern Fish Fillet Sandwich (beer-battered dory, American cheese, cucumber, mayonnaise, tartar relish, lemon wedge, potato chips); Surf & Turf Burger (signature steak burger topped with One Night in Bangkok Spicy Shrimp on a bed of spicy slaw); and Sisig Burger, inspired by the Filipino dish Sisig.
More Filipino favorites were added to the menu, said Peck. These include Liempo, fried chicken, Crispy Dumplings, Asian Spring Rolls (choice of chicken or fish), Chicken Lollipops, Crispy Crablets, Crispy Pork Belly and Tofu (the restaurant chain’s version of Tokwa’t Baboy) and Mix Mix (Hard Rock-style Halo-Halo with more than 14 ingredients).
Arguably the local restaurant chain’s first ever soup on the menu is Tom Yum or mussels, clams, shrimps, tomatoes, chili, cilantro and lemon grass in a sour soup base. Very few diners offer such soup in Manila, said Peck, so it became an instant hit for their restaurants. He also vouched for another dish considered “rare” in the local restaurant scene, Beef Hofan – a stir-fried medley of sliced beef, hofan noodles, garlic, ginger, onions, bok choy, bean sprouts and chili flakes.
Since K-pop and K-dramas are hot nowadays, the menu also has its sole Korean dish for now, Korean Spicy Wings or chicken wings in Korean sauce and served with Kimchi rice. Peck said they are planning to come up with separate Korean and Japanese menus in the future.
Besides local and Asian-inspired varieties, new dishes from Hard Rock’s international menu were inserted into the local new menu to add excitement and provide balance, since the local Hard Rock welcomes 40% international and 60% Filipino and Asian diners, said Peck.
Among the international selections are the best-selling Steak Salad (beef, Romaine lettuce, shoestring onions, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, blue cheese, vinaigrette and cilantro pesto); Aloha Sunshine Flatbread (crunchy flatbread topped with mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan cheeses, bacon, bell peppers, onion and pineapple); and Southern Fish Fillet (beer-battered dory, American cheese, cucumber, mayonnaise, tartar relish, lemon wedge, potato chips in a moist bun).
Alongside these new dishes are handcrafted new cocktails:
- Blood Orange (Jim Beam, blood orange Monin, sweet and sour mix);
- Hibiscus Blackberry Spritz (vodka, blackberry Monin, hibiscus Monin, hibiscus tea, lemon lime soda);
- Piña Colada (rum, pineapple juice, piña colada mix);
- Appletini (vodka, apple Monin, sweet and sour mix);
- Peach Basil Mule (vodka, peach Monin, lime juice, ginger beer, peaches, basil);
- Lavender Haze (gin, lavender Monin, soda water, sweet and sour mix)
- and Apple Ginger Mojito (white rum, fresh ginger, green apple Monin, soda water, mint, lime).
Every quarter, the café’s research and development team work on timely dishes to come up with new items like limited-time offers to keep the menu exciting, said Peck.
To complement the new menu, the local restaurant joint added a new band playing K-pop and trending songs, in addition to its existing bands playing classic rock, ‘80s, retro, and disco. Featured bands at Hard Rock Glorietta and Conrad S’Maison are Bluegrass (rock and classic rock); Innervoices (classic rock, new wave); Highway 54 (retro); Brad and Nina Holmes (rock, classic rock); Wendy’s Project (retro and variety); Lockdown (rock and classic rock); Hyperbeat (‘80s , retro); Circa (pop, upbeat) and Spirit Reclassified (‘70s to retro).
“Of course, Hard Rock is known for entertainment, but we want to communicate to them that we’re a restaurant with entertainment,” enthused Peck.
The local franchise owned by The Bistro Group also launched new merchandise and have requested for new memorabilia, including from K-pop stars, to be included in its collections. In Makati, these include posters of Shakira, Aerosmith and Taylor Swift, the percussion set of John Tempesta; massive portraits of other rock legends such as the actual guitar of virtuoso guitarist Carlos Santana; a special tee from The Who’s Tommy album; and a polo shirt printed with faces from the 400,000 throng that attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
“In fact, for the new upcoming café, we’ve requested some memorabilia – if they can send us Taylor Swift memorabilia, Blackpink memorabilia, or any Korean popstar. That would be great,” Peck divulged.
According to him, they are now looking into opening two new restaurants outside Metro Manila and probably, a stand-alone The Rock Shop, the café’s souvenir and merchandise store.