Filipino burgers to compete globally as Philippines join World Burger Tour for 1st time
MANILA, Philippines — Burgers inspired by Filipino delicacies Sisig, Adobo and Ginataang Langka are vying to be part of the global menu of an international restaurant-bar chain.
Sisig, Adobo and Gintaang Langka Burgers are among the limited-time offerings of the Philippine branches of international dining and entertainment concept Hard Café. These burgers, said Hard Rock Café Philippines Director for Operations Clint Brian Peck, are the country’s entries to the Café’s annual burger competition, World Burger Tour.
It is the first time ever, said Peck, for the Philippine branches to join the global contest since they just opened their Manila branch in 2019. The competition has been there for years even before the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted, and is participated in by the company’s hundreds of cafes worldwide.
“This is a global event for Hard Rock International, so all (Hard Rock) cafes are participating to have an entry in the World Burger Tour. So in the Philippines, we have entries from (Hard Rock Café in) Makati and from (Hard Rock Café) Manila,” he explained to Philstar.com and other media in an interview last week.
In line with the ongoing Filipino Food Month, the inspiration for the Philippine burger entries is Filipino food. Peck said the Philippine branches chose this theme not because the contest requires featuring local delicacies.
“We want to showcase Philippines’ delicacies internationally. We all know that the international scene is already familiar with our local varieties and food,” Peck said. “We want to introduce the food of the Filipinos to the international Hard Rock Café also.”
For the Makati branch, the Adobo Burger is now available for diners to try. For the Manila branch, Sisig Burger is the exclusive offering. For both cafes, the Jackfruit or Ginataang Langka Burger is there for vegetarians.
These burgers, Peck noted, took a month for the recipes to be prepared and are real Adobo, Sisig and Ginataang Langka dishes, and not just flavors, that are molded into the café’s standard molder for burger patties. Every burger retails for P595 and comes with fries.
“We are now ready to compete. Hopefully, one of our burgers will be chosen to compete internationally,” added Peck, hoping that the local burgers would make it to the five semi-finalists, which will then compete for the finals tentatively in Dubai.
The entries, said Peck, will be judged based on criteria such as originality, taste profile, presentation, number of burgers sold and social media engagement. The recipes, videos, and documents needed for the Philippines’ entries were already sent to the café-chain’s international headquarters.
The top three winners of the World Burger Tour, he said, would have a chance to become part of the international café chain’s core and a la carte menus. Winners would be announced on May 23, but the local burger entries are available in-store until June 13.
