grabfood delivery – Jellybeans in the City

Grab helps Filipino merchant-partners grow with fresh insights, tools, and tech-solutions through Grab Unlocked 2020

Furthering its commitment to support the success of its merchant-partners, Grab Philippines launched its 2020 Grab merchant conference GRAB UNLOCKED: Opening Doors to Uplifting Your Business this New Normal. With insightful talks from Grab and industry experts, merchant-partner attendees learned about digital trends and tools to help grow their business resiliently and sustainably through digitalization.

Virtually held last November 19 and attended by Grab merchant-partners, GRAB UNLOCKED featured updates and insights from Grab’s Head of Deliveries EJ Dela Vega, Head of GrabFood and Grab Financial Group Marketing Daniel Anore, Head of GrabFood Greg Camacho, Head of GrabAds Martin Luchangco, and Grab Philippines Country Head Grace Vera Cruz. To give attendees an informative and inspiring learning session, aside from Grab Philippines representatives, GRAB UNLOCKED also featured industry experts and successful entrepreneurs to share their stories and provide meaningful insights that Grab Merchant partners can be inspired on to grow their businesses, namely Chef Margarita Forés, CloudEats co-founder and CEO Kimberly Yao, 24 Chicken co-founders Mark Ong and Jeff Sy, DITO-CME COO and Udenna Corporation CIO Donald Lim, and Unilever Sr. Omniretail Customer Manager Joselle Dela Rosa.

Embracing change to effectively adapt

Donald Lim, the Chief Operating Officer of DITO CME and the Chief Innovation Officer of the Udenna Corporation also joined the virtual conference to share how businesses can prepare for a post-pandemic world. With insights on how businesses can adapt their strategic response and the secret behind mastering a business pivot, Lim ended his talk remarking “We do not know when COVID will really be gone, but the more that we accept the reality this year, the more we can make adjustments to our business, and [sic] prepare our business, and future-proof our business for other challenges to come,” he said.

To prepare for the challenges to come, Head of GrabFood Greg Camacho unveiled the many upcoming features and upgrades to help businesses effectively adapt to the new normal. “We know that running a business is never a smooth process, and we want to be there with you every step of the way,” he shared.

Taking merchant-partners’ feedback into consideration, Camacho announced a range of features and upgrades to be launched in the coming months:

In the GrabMerchant App, merchant-partners can look forward to upgrades that will give a more seamless operations process through several new features:

The improved GrabMerchant Owner Profile gives access to the full suite of tools, allows easy management of employee roles, and provides a seamless shift for store profiles through multi-owner access
With communication upgrades integrated in the app, merchant-partners will also be able to quickly make order changes and have access to an in-app live chat for real time feedback from Grab’s support team

Outside the GrabMerchant App, merchant-partners will be able to get ample support through new platforms:

To give an even more efficient work process, Grab will be launching the GrabMerchant Portal, a web-based interface where merchant-partners can view and download analytics and reports on sales, operations, and campaigns. Businesses will be able to operate smarter and faster once the GrabMerchant portal starts rolling out in phases by December 2020.
Starting early next year, Grab will be launching the Ad Manager, where merchant-partners will be able to build and launch GrabFood ads from the GrabMerchant app in just a few minutes
This December, Grab will also be launching the GrabAcademy, a one-stop learning center where merchant-partners can easily access Grab merchant tutorials and courses. As Grab continues to innovate and provide new solutions for more efficient processes, the new GrabAcademy for merchants is sure to make learning much easier for its employees.

Putting safety at the core of your business

As businesses learn to adapt to the so-called “new normal,” addressing the demand for deliveries and prioritizing safety become key factors every business owner must take into consideration.

Unilever, a key partner of GrabFood in its commitment to providing safer meals, shared tips and tricks on how food businesses can ensure protection and good health of its employees and customers. With the goal of raising the bar for safety and hygiene in the food and delivery industry, Unilever Philippines’ Manager Joselle Dela Rosa talked about talked about all the cleaning and hygiene must-haves to maintain a safe kitchen— from surface sanitizer sprays like CIF to hand sanitizers like its new product Lifebuoy.

After a whole afternoon of insightful talks, Grab made sure merchant-partner attendees not only got learnings to help them with their businesses, but also a chance to win from hundreds of exciting raffle prizes. With the support of GRAB UNLOCKED’s co-presenter Unilever and sponsor Coca-Cola, some of the prizes given out were 500,000 GrabReward Points, Samsung S10 phones, Cebu Pacific round trip flight tickets to a local destination, Coca-Cola branded LED watches and cooler bags, Knorr Seasoning, and so much more!

Despite living in these unprecedented times, Grab Philippines’ Country Head Grace Vera Cruz assured its merchants that Grab will continue to be their partner in leveraging technology that can be utilized to further grow their businesses. “While we have a long road to recovery ahead of us, I am confident that by working together, we can build a stronger and more resilient economy; and it starts with every one of us fully embracing digitalization and unlocking its many opportunities,” she said.

Although today’s circumstances remain unprecedented, Grab is committed to working together with its merchant-partners to find the most effective solutions to better reach and serve their consumers. Through technology and digitalization, Grab will continue to provide its merchant-partners with various platforms that will help grow their business, such as the 2020 Grab merchant conference GRAB UNLOCKED.

To learn more about how you can grow your business with Grab, sign up to be a Grab merchant through https://www.grab.com/ph/merchant/food/

Fuss-free Chinoy dinner at home, thanks to North Park Noodles, Cainta

This year’s Valentine’s Day dinner at home was easy and fuss-free, thanks to a nearby branch of North Park Noodles.

That Friday came at the end of a very busy work week and I was in no mood to worry about elaborate food preparation.

Well, technology came to the rescue. At that time, North Park Noodles offered a special Sama-Sama Bundle – a combination of dishes good for sharing available at a discount – to orders made through GrabFood.

For the past twenty-five years, North Park has been serving freshly cooked Chinoy comfort food – Pinoy takes on popular Chinese dishes – to its clientele.

For only Php888 (+Php45 delivery fee), the fam and I were able to feast on some of its best-sellers which included:

Yang Chow Fried Rice. A mainstay in many Chinese meals, this fried rice is made with white rice, char siu barbecued pork, shrimp, green peas, green onion, and eggs, which all come together to make for a filling rice dish.

Sweet and Sour Pork. Made with marinated pork pieces lightly covered in cornstarch, deep-fried to a golden brown then doused with a sweet-sour sauce.

Shanghai Rolls. The lumpiang shanghai we all know and love, served in bite-size pieces with a sweet chili sauce.

China Chicken. A half-serving of the simple Chinese-style fried chicken with crispy skin and tender meat.

All of these dishes – though Chinese in origin – feature familiar flavors that that we grew up with.

The fam’s Valentine’s Day dinner at home may be lacking in polish and pizzazz, but it allowed me to spend more time talking and bonding with the people I love.

This North Park branch is located at SM Hypermarket Cainta, Felix Avenue, Barangay Santo Domingo, Cainta, Rizal.

North Park Noodles delivers through its delivery hotline +63 2 87373737, through its website, and through GrabFood.

Download the Grab App on the App Store or Google Play. Get a discount on your first food order when you use my code: GRABJELLYBEANS.

Other branches in the metro are located at:

Pasig: The Strip Commercial Complex Ortigas
Mandaluyong: Greenfield District
Quezon City: SM Hypermarket Cubao, Tomas Morato, G. Araneta Avenue, Trinoma Mall, Banawe, Tandang Sora, Ayala Fairview Terraces, Eton Centris
Taguig: Market! Market!, SM Hypermarket FTI
San Juan: P. Guevarra Street (opposite Petron)
Makati: Makati corner Kalayaan Avenue, Glorietta 3, Salcedo Village, Legaspi Village, SM Hypermarket Market
Paranaque: SM City Bicutan, ASEANA Square
Manila: Manila Ocean Park
Pasay: Mall of Asia Arena Parking Building
Valenzuela: South Supermarket
Alabang: Alabang Town Center, South Supermarket
Muntinlupa: SM Center Muntinlupa

Check out my reviews of other Asian restaurants:

A Marugame Udon Power Lunch, thanks to GrabFood

Just to be clear: I’m a firm believer of the #HappyLunch, the practice of taking your precious lunch break by going out to eat at one of your favorite restaurants or trying out a new place together with your officemates. This is a great way to decompress and bond with your workmates after a busy morning at work.

Lately, though, this can’t always be possible, especially as we’re all encouraged to practice social distancing and avoid crowded areas.

So how can we office-based foodies enjoy the food we love when we can’t go out of the safety of the workplace?

Thankfully, the largest udon noodles restaurant chain in the world, Marugame Udon, delivers via GrabFood!

Marugame Udon is dedicated to provide Japanese authentic made-to-order Udon noodles which are freshly kneaded, boiled and cooked every day. These noodles are made according to the practices in Sanuki, a region in the Kagawa prefecture known for the quality of its udon. The noodles’ flavors and textures are further enhanced by the broths made by the restaurant in small batches to maintain quality.

My officemates and I all placed our orders for two of Marugame’s popular udon dishes thirty minutes before lunchtime (that’s how long the delivery will take).

They arrived hot and steaming, totally appetizing!

Beef Ontama Bukkake Udon (Php210 regular | Php260 large). Made with marinated gyudon beef strips, Japanese poached egg, and mildly sweet bukkake soup.

Chicken Paitan Udon (Php200 regular | Php250 large). Made with sauteed chicken, a soft boiled egg, and creamy chicken soup that calls to mind your favorite chicken sopas.

With their plentiful broth and thick and chewy noodles, these udon bowls are very filling and helped fuel our work for the remains of the workday. I certainly didn’t mind my desk lunch too much!

This meal was ordered from the Marugame Udon branch located at the Lower Ground Floor, Fisher Mall, Quezon Avenue, Del Monte, Quezon City via GrabFood. Download the Grab App on the App Store or Google Play. Get a discount on your first food order when you use my code: GRABJELLYBEANS.

Other branches in the metro are located at:

Upper Ground Floor, Main Building, SM City North EDSA, Bago Bantay, Quezon City
Ground Floor, Phase 2, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City
Upper Ground Floor, Main Building, SM City Fairview, Novaliches, Quezon City
Ground Floor, SM City Marikina, Marcos ighway, Calumpang, Marikina City
Third Floor, Building A, SM Megamall, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City
Second Floor, The Podium, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City
Ground Floor, Main Mall, Ayala Malls Circuit, Carmona, Makati City
Third Floor, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Glorietta Complex, Makati City
Ground Floor, Uptown Place Mall, 36th Street corner 9th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
B7, Bonifacio High Street, Lane P, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig