GenSan News Online Mag

Congratulations to Aunt Ludi Bakeshoppe for being the first bakery in General Santos City and Sarangani Province to be given a Halal Certification by the Mindanao Halal Authority!

According to Wikipedia, Halal ( ”lawful”) is a term “designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law”. The term is used to designate food seen as “permissible according to Islamic law” (Sharia). The opposite of this word is Haraam.

A Halal Certification therefore would mean that practitioners of Islam may now purchase Aunt Ludi’s Bakeshoppe famous cakes and healthy delicious breads with no fear of breaking the Sharia.  It also pertains to the fact that the bakeshoppe has passed a rigid cleanliness and sanitation standard deemed worthy for its products to be sold internationally.

This one is definitely for the record books!  I just hope our other establishments follow suit considering the significant Muslim population we have in South Central Mindanao.

Aunt Ludi’s Bakeshoppe has branches at the Robinsons Place GenSan and at the J&G Propriedad Bldg., Nunez Street, Purok Malakas, San Isidro, General Santos City.  Like Aunt Ludi on Facebook by CLICKING HERE.

I checked out homegrown diner Halina Restaurant at noon today at its location at the Arenas Building along Pendatun Avenue across the GenSan Oval Plaza.  I needed to find out if it was still serving its bestsellers which made it famous during its heydays in the 80s.

The main dining area was still as spacious as I remembered it,  more so by the fact that only one table was occupied by a couple enjoying their lunch.  There was nobody else around aside from them and I had to call out for the waiter who was then busy having his lunch in one dimly-lit passage beside the counter. Found out that this waiter was also the cashier.

I immediately ordered what I came for and took my seat near the entrance with its good vantage of the street.  While waiting for my food, the big clunky TV hanging on the ceiling showing an old Regal movie starring Babalu and Redford White tried to entertain me.

Halina Restaurant looks like it needs a major make-over.  The walls and the ceiling cry out for a repaint and the decor or what looked like figurines seemed headed for antique shops. The package airconditioning unit near the door has a big sign which says, “OUT OF ORDER“  and I had to plug in the only stand fan I found inside near my table to cool me.

I remember that Halina Restaurant used to be the choice venue for weddings, parties, conferences and seminars because of its location at the heart of the city and its attractively priced food packages.   It was also a favorite hangout of students and young professionals since they served the one of the best chicken barbecues in GenSan and other short orders at very popular prices.

Article:  GenSan’s 5 Best Chicken Barbecues

My personal favorite though was their papait and its melt-in-your-mouth slices of goat’s meat and innards minus the “goat” taste and smell.   It was so delicious that I always order it for snacks since lunch or dinner was reserved for their Mongolian Chicken Barbecue.

While reminiscing Halina’s glory days, the waiter cum cashier arrived and served my Mongolian Barbecue with Java Rice!  God!  It smelled sooo inviting and looked so appetizing!  I had to take its photo first before helping myself to it with my bare hands.

Upon taking my first bite out of the chicken leg, memories of pleasant afternoons shared at Halina with my old friends came rushing back!  The taste was the same as I had imagined and remembered it.  No fancy flavors, no overpowering spices …. it is still Halina’s old, home-grilled style delicious juicy and tender chicken!

The yellow java rice, although oily now for me for comfort is still the Mongolian Chicken Barbecue‘s perfect foil!

Next came the Papait which still came served piping hot in a small bowl just like the old times.

I nearly burned my tongue at my first sip of the Papait’s soup.  I felt it needed more ooomph but then again, I remembered that it was actually Halina Restaurant’s original version of this goat dish – not too strong and minus the pungent smell.  The big vertical slices of meat were still as tender as only Halina could serve them and tasted as heavenly as before.

In less than 15 minutes, I devoured everything, with my mind set at returning once more before the week is over!

By the time that I was paying for my bill, four more tables have been occupied by other diners, all of them ordering Halina’s still famous-as-ever Mongolian Chicken Barbecue, a testament to a lesson that I have learned today to “never ever judge a restaurant by its looks alone but by the food that it whips out“.

Halina Restaurant’s Mongolian Chicken Barbecue is priced at P90 while its Papait will cost you only P40. It still has not jumped into the “unlimited rice” bandwagon of GenSan’s ubiquitous chicken restaurants.

If you are on the lookout for a dining establishment which will surely give you all your money’s worth here in General Santos City, then look no further.

Just proceed to the KCC Mall of GenSan, walk down to their Kainan sa KCC Foodcourt anytime between 2:00pm and 5:00pm and avail of their super cheap MERIENDA BUFFET!

The whole thing will cost you only P79.00 which entitles you to eat all the snacks they have available.  Aside from Pinoy favorites like kakanin, they will also be serving guinataan, pancit, palabok, spaghetti…. just look at their poster above to see what we mean.

KCC’s Food Court has just undergone renovation and everything now looks cleaner and orderly.  Wish they had a bigger space though since with the volume of people shopping there everyday, they would need a dining area the size of a basketball court to accommodate all their patrons.

Kainan sa KCC’s Merienda Buffet is available everyday, from Monday to Sunday!  Check it out!

Asian Tongue, one of General Santos City’s newer restaurants is jumping into the Halloween bandwagon with its OctoberFEAST Party! Party!

Set for four days, from October 28 to 31, 2011, this is a good chance for foodies to check out and savor Asian Tongue‘s varied Oriental offerings as much as you like!

Below is their OctoberFEAST Buffet schedules:

• Octoober 28, Friday     –  Desserts and Snacks Eat-All-You-Can @ P99.00
• October 29, Saturday   –  Eat-All-You-Can @ P199
• October 30, Sunday    -   Dessert-All-You-Can @ P79
• October 31, Monday   –   Eat-All-You-Can @ P199

To entertain their dining patrons, Asian Tongue will be featuring live bands and fashion shows during these buffets, which are very welcome treats for these guests actually!

Now you and your families wouldn’t have to worry on where and how to spend the long holiday weekend in GenSan!

Asian Tongue which has teamed up with Occasions First Events for this, is offering their OctoberFEAST promos from 4:00pm to 12:00 midnight.  To get your tickets in advanced, you may visit Asian Tongue at its location along Roxas Avenue, fronting the City Social Welfare and Development Office.

Right on the heels of our announcement that Jollibee Calumpang will be opening this October 30, comes word that a homegrown chicken restaurant, is also launching its branch in the same area!

Calumpang residents, make way for BeeStop Restaurant!

BeeStop Restaurant opens today, October 18, 2011 and will be offering FREE UNLIMITED RICE to all diners!!!

Read:  BeeStop Restaurant offers not just chicken.

It is located a little past the Makar Bridge in Puting Bato, Calumpang and across PENBank.

Hope to see you there!

Good news to all Jollibee fanatics out there at the western portion of General Santos City!

You do not have to go downtown anymore to get your Jollibee fix!  The city’s second Jollibee Drive-Thru Branch will open on October 30, 2011 along the National Highway in Barangay Calumpang, right beside Rowell Canning Corporation, at the corner of the side street leading to the Antonio Acharon Sports Complex.

To be known as Jollibee Calumpang, this store is the seventh Jollibee outlet in the Tuna Capital!

"JOLLIBEE DRIVE-THRU CALUMPANG'S FRONT EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE"

Jollibee Calumpang will be operated by the Teng Family, the same people behind Jollibee-Highway Drive-Thru and Jollibee Robinsons.  If the people’s response in the area is highly favorable, the outlet might operate on a 24-hour basis after a few months.

Take note that Jollibee Calumpang will be serving the heavily-populated barangays of Calumpang, Tambler, Fatima and a portion of Labangal.  It will also cater to the needs of the tuna industry workers of the city stationed nearby, which is basically the backbone of GenSan’s economy.

And what more, for people rushing to the airport, they can just pull into Jollibee’s drive-thru lane which has two entrances (National Highway and the Sports Complex road) and treat themselves to their favorite Jollibee take-outs!  OR, they can park their cars for a while in their 18-slot parking grounds and take a quick bite inside their sunrise-facing dining area!

"JOLLIBEE DRIVE-THRU CALUMPANG'S RIGHT SIDE PERSPECTIVE"

And here’s more great news!  Jollibee Calumpang also will be offering the following Opening Salvo Promos cleverly timed during the Kalag-Kalag or Halloween… (Uhaw Cemetery is just nearby)…..

October 30, 2011:

• Free Jollibee Umbrella for the first 200 Dine-in and Take-Out Customers with Chicken Joy or Chicken Barbecue BUCKET Purchases
• Free Jollibee Umbrella for the first 200 Drive-Thru Customers with Chicken Joy or Chicken Barbecue BUCKET Purchases

October 31 – November 1, 2011 (Halloween)

• Free Thermal Tumbler for the first 200 Dine-in and Take-Out Customers with Chicken Joy or Chicken Barbecue Bucket Purchases
• Free Jollibee Car Shade for the first 200 Drive-thru Customers with Chicken Joy or Chicken Barbecue Bucket Purchases

With all these in store for the people of Calumpang, hopefully, in due time, this store will turn out to be the most profitable Jollibee outlet in the city!  PROMISE!

Q Bar has always been known to be a party place for nocturnals ever since it opened more than a year ago.  It has served as GenSan’s must-visit bar at weekend nights and its themed-parties have attracted partiphiles from all over the region and even as far as Davao.  Q Bar is almost always teeming with GenSan’s young, uppity crowd attracted like moths to its modern, transic dance music provided by a dynamic team of deejays on weekends and by acoustic and blues artists on weekday evenings.

Currently though, Q Restaurant and Bar, which is it’s real name is trying to attract another market, other than its after six habitues.  It has started serving lunch and boy, for sure, they will be soon be the toast of GenSan’s noon time crowd once news about it goes viral!

One must-try specialty of Q Restaurant and Bar is its endless chicken! Aside from that, it serves a whole lot of Pinoy, Oriental and Western cuisine which are very affordable by GenSan standards.

One of the problems of the “generals” is eating out during lunch because of limited choice.

With Q Restaurant and Bar opening its doors from 11am to 2pm at Sun City Complex, that will never be a quandrary again.

You may call Q Restaurant and Bar and order their Greaseless Fried Chicken or Angus Steaks in advanced by calling them at (083) 554-3202.

Good news for those who frequent The Original Razon’s at the KCC Mall of GenSan!

Just very recently, they have started officially offering their clients take-out orders for their famous Razon’s Halo-halo!

The Original Razon’s Halo-Halo which hails from Pampanga is different from other halo-halo since it only comes with a simple fruit-mix, banana and macapuno topped with super delicious and sweet leche flan.  It may now be taken home as pasalubong inside a covered plastic cup.

Aside from that, customers may also opt to take-out their Original Razon’s Pancit Palabok!

The Original Razon’s Halo-Halo and the Original Razon’s Pancit Palabok to be eaten and savored right at the comforts of your home or as  refreshing snacks at your office?  Love it!

Check out The Original Razon’s at KCC Mall of GenSan now!

Razon’s Halo-Halo & Pancit Palabok (Lug-lug) started in 1972 in a small town of Guagua in Pampanga. It was from the ideas of three spinster sisters named Severina, Elena & Virginia. Originally the Halo-Halo & Luglug was only for the consumption of the large Razon Family. But the delicate, creamy, delicious taste of Razon’s Halo-halo spread in the town of guagua and became a destination snack area in the province. The Halo-Halo consist only of 3 main ingredients namely Macapuno, Saging and Leche Flan. Critics says that the simple concoction is the secret recipe for the taste and success of Razon’s Halo-halo. And now it is helm as the BEST Halo-Halo in the country.

Bee Stop, the local restaurant in General Santos City known for its chicken meals has gone a notch higher by offering its dining patrons more reasons to come back!

Effective last week, Bee Stop softly introduced their PANCIT FIESTA platters to the public!

So now, other than their fried chicken, inasal, chicken barbecue and lutong bahay ready-to-eat offerings, people who are into noodles or pancit may now have them at Bee Stop.

The new variants (Bijon, Canton, Bam-i, Lomi, Palabok, Mami) come in Orders good for 2 persons and 4 persons.   If diners still want chicken with their pancit though, then they can order the Bijon platter or Canton Platter which now contains one fried chicken plus a glass of Iced Tea and costs only P129.00!

Bariles ordered the Canton Platter when he was there for lunch the other day and was almost afraid that he could not finish off the whole thing because there was just so much canton that came with it!  It is actually a meal fit for two persons! Good thing that the canton tasted so good and is comparable to Chow King‘s that he was able to forget about his diet and consume everything without the guilt.

Next target for Bariles is their Bihon Guisado Platter!

Right now, Bee Stop’s delicious Pancit Fiesta is offered from morning to night time at their RD Building outlet at Santiago Boulevard below the Pag-Ibig Office.

Check it out now guys!  Tell them Bariles sent you!

If you are fond of eating at authentic Chinese restaurants, then you must have come across their steamed or baked buns or bread which they call Mantou.  Some are purely bread and some contain meat fillings but anyhow it is prepared, a mantou is soft and doughy and specially delicious when it’s hot.

Now, Zagu, the country’s #1 producer of Pearl shakes is offering along with its delicious and refreshing drinks their own style of Mantou, a whole new selection of yummy stuffed bread sticks! (CLICK HERE to check out Zagu’s latest pearl shakes flavor.)

Zagu’s Mantou Stuffed Bread sticks which it sells at P16 a piece has a lot of super yummy meat fillings to satisfy your cravings for light, affordable snacks.  Check out from these meat fillings: Cheese Burger, Chicken Ala King, Chicken Burrito, Country Ham, Classic Sampler, Introductory Sampler, and Mushroom Chicken Pesto!

Other fillings which will make you try more of Mantou are Pepperoni and Cheese, Tuna and Cheese, Roast Beef and Mushroom, Smoked Bacon and Mushroom, Beef Kebab, Beef Taco and Bolognese!

There is certainly something for every kind of meat craving!  Grabe!

Bariles himself recommends the Chicken Ala King and since he goes for Midwestern food, the Beef Kebab!!!

Each Mantou stuffed bread stick is sold at P16 only.  It is available at Zagu Gaisano Mall of GenSan!

For deliveries of either Mantou stuffed bread sticks and Zagu Pearl Shakes please call Zagu Gaisano at 0942-7166115.