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Staple and Perk: fit for a hungry geek

My first (but certainly not last) visit to Staple and Perk Bakery came courtesy of GeekFight! Trivia Night. After a successful trip to Ludo Boardgame Bar, I finally convinced my officemates Jem and MJ to join me for a night of even more hardcore geekery. My friend Kris told me that Staple and Perk served “the best bread in Metro Manila”. As I tend to believe what Kris says when it comes to food, I looked up their restaurant details on Facebook. The photos made me even more determined to make it to September GeekFight, despite Staple being in Pasong Tamo and us starting off in Diliman (*cries*).

staple and perk - busy

We lost Geekfight but Staple and Perk more than made up for it. First off, I love their ambiance. The high ceiling, bright lighting, and glass walls made the space look and feel bigger than its floor space. I really liked their counter design too (lots of pastries and breads on display!). And giraffe customer numbers! Although we did wonder why every giraffe had the number 1 pinned to them.

staple and perk - counter

But of course, the real star is Staple and Perk’s food. We split a tomato, pesto, ham, and kesong puti sandwich with chips and it was DELICIOUS. Seriously. I’m not the biggest fan of pesto but this sandwich mixed it just right. The kesong puti added slight saltiness to the sandwich too. Plus thick slices of ham! Most ham sandwiches have sad-looking thin slices. Not this one! I wanted to order another sandwich but huhu wedding diet.

staple and perk - pesto with ham and kesong puti

We also ordered their bacon and cheese fries. Finally, fries with legitimate bacon chopped into bits! None of those tiny sprinkles that come from a bottle. And the cheese was cheesy without being overwhelming.

staple and perk - french fries

Look at those apple squares. I don’t even know how I managed to resist them but I did.

staple and perk - apple squares

Rating: 9.5/10 (I look half a star off because the food’s on the expensive side. A visit to Staple and Perk will set you back at least Php 400 to 500, especially if you order drinks. The food is worth it of course, but if you’re on a budget, Staple and Perk is a place you’ll visit once a week at the most.)

Staple and Perk Bakery
Address: Ecoplaza Bldg., 2306 Pasong Tamo Extension, Pasay City
Tel: +6329251122

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How do I choose a new restaurant to try?

This blog post was inspired by the upcoming Restaurant Digital Marketing Conference this October 23, 2013 at Enderun Colleges. I love food. I grew up surrounded by food. My grandmother owned a bakery and whenever she wasn’t looking, my cousins and I snitched meringues from the trays and hid them in our hats (sorry Lola!). I will swear up and down that my uncle makes the best batchoy ever. Once my brother and I graduated from college, my mother quit working in Makati and focused on her butterscotch and cookie business. People who taste my mom’s cooking for the first time often ask my Dad how he stays so thin.

butterbeer No promotions necessary for this drink!

As a result of all this, my standards with regards to food are pretty high. Sure, I’ll eat most things but to get me to rave about a certain restaurant, dish, or (gasp!) dessert? You have to be something special. Trying out a new place is always risky, but good research online helps increase the chances of picking a winner. What influences me to give a new restaurant a chance?

1. Friends. In this context, posts and photos from friends. If a friend took the time to actually write and post a blog entry about how much she loved (or hated!) a restaurant, then I take note.

2. Food blogs I like. Pepper.ph is personal favorite because of their excellent writing, excellent taste in restaurants, transparency (sponsored posts are clearly labeled as such), and their mouth-watering photos. The photos! The photos! And hey, their food giveaways are pretty sweet too.

3. Good reviews from traditional media outlets. They’re not my primary consideration but they do help in tipping the scales if the first two criteria are met.

4. A well-maintained, attractive, and informative website. Like good reviews from other people, a restaurant’s website isn’t my main influence but it does help. Once I finally decide to try a new place, I’ll Google for the restaurant’s official website and/or social media accounts to get more information – operating hours, branches (if any), sample menu, and the like. If your website doesn’t have these information or is hard to navigate, that’s an automatic point against you.

What doesn’t influence me?
1. Online deals. This may seem counterintuitive but giving a huge discount is unlikely to get me to visit a new place unless I know someone who’s been there and liked it. I do buy deal vouchers but only for established restaurants that I already know that I like.

2. Ads. I find ads annoying *shrug*

 

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