Few cities can truly claim that their street food is part of their tourist attraction. One of them being New York City, with its multi-cultural atmosphere that encourages foreigners to integrate their homeland fare into the American palate. Moreover, few of these vendors earn enough street cred to make it out of New York and into worldwide recognition. Famed food cart The Halal Guys can claim that now as they establish their first franchise outside of the United States here in the middle of our food-crazed metro.
What pushed Jaime Daez, owner of The Halal Guys Philippines, to bring these Egyptian specialties over was its value for money. “I tried Halal Guys in New York and I got a regular-sized gyro for $7 dollars, and I couldn’t even finish it,” he shares, “That’s unbeatable anywhere in the world.” It also didn’t hurt that the main offerings of the establishment were rice-based.
For those of you who need an orientation, The Halal Guys offers a straight-up menu. A choice of either a sandwich that is held together by a thick, wheat pita bread, 7” in diameter and rice plates are served up with either gyro, chicken, or falafel. All of which come with a generous helping of lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. Part of what makes it special is the garlicky white sauce and their hot sauce that are both signature blends of The Halal Guys.
Jaime did, however, tweak some of the dishes for the Filipino taste. “In New York, they use basmati rice which is a little too hard and a bit expensive. We adjusted it to jasmine rice which is more aromatic and preferred by Filipinos,” he tells Preen. “I wouldn’t call it a trade-off though. It’s just adjusting to your customers, which is what street food is really about.” Size also has been adjusted for the comparatively modest Filipino appetite compared to the supersized American portions. “Our New York size is actually just the regular-sized one in the States but that already contains a quarter pound of meat.”
If you want to jump into the full experience, you can go for the combo plate that serves up both chicken and gyro. “It’s by far, no questions asked, the best in the menu,” declares Jaime. “You get the beef which we import from the States and our chicken which is always fresh as we never freeze it.” He also shares a bit of a warning over the hot sauce, “If you’re not used to hot sauce, ours is a killer. I would advice for you to try just three drops on your first time.” And there is a truth to what he says. When I took a mouthful of gyro with some of the hot sauce, I couldn’t move on from the burning sensation that lasted for 10 minutes. (Somehow, I end up wanting a little bit more.)
Jaime isn’t just about bringing the flavor over to the local scene. He also wants to recreate the experience as well. Quick to make use of the momentum he’s got going, he’s already moving to put up the second Halal Guys branch. “We’re planning to open another branch in BGC. It’s just going to be a counter, where you can just order take out. It is going to be in front of the park so you can eat it there. In a way, I want people to know what it’s like to have our food as if they were in New York as well.”
The Halal Guys. 5/F SM Mega Food Hall, Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, EDSA corner J. Vargas Avenue, Mandaluyong. (02) 858-7000. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. starting Oct. 13. For more information, visit their Facebook page.
Photos by Chissai Bautista