Shawarma

In the 90s Manila was swept by the shawarma craze. Virtually every street corner had a shawarma stand. They all offered the same chips of grilled beef, chopped tomatoes, onions and cabbage and the ubiquitous garlic sauce on a heated flat bread. As with all the food fads in Manila, it's usually the first or the best that is left standing.
I remember Food Channel as a small kiosk on the ground floor Virra Mall in Greenhills selling all sorts of snacks and drinks. Shawarma became their bestseller. Now Food Channel sells only shawarma and is located all over town. When I'm really hungry in the afternoon after a day of shopping for my store I go for shawarma. I justify it by thinking it's grilled beef a good source of protein on thin flat bread (not too much carbs). I always buy the all beef for P95. The beef is a hit or miss. Sometimes you get all soft, flavorful charred beef sometimes a few tough pieces of ligaments get in the way. Overall it's a good meal. Their garlic sauce is so thick, garlicky and so yummy. I don't know if cheese is standard for shawarmas in the middle east but here they offer cheese for an additional P5.

I recently discovered Fireshack Shawarma in the food court of Robinson's galleria. It's a good alternative when Food Channel is not around. Their all beef shawarma costs only P60 but has less filling but is just right for me.

This is chicken shawarma from Heat restaurant's Sunday buffet. They have this gorgeous display but they dole out tiny rolls of ready made shawarma with a tiny piece of chicken. I asked for a wrapper and made my own. It was so so delicious.

tomatoes, onions, cucumber and garlic hummus sauce

my overstuffed shawarma