You can find convenience stores left and right in most business districts. One of the convenience stores you can find is FamilyMart, which has 77 branches in Luzon. The latest branch opened at the UDENNA Tower in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig on November 19 and it is the largest FamilyMart branch in the Philippines.
Curious what makes this branch different from the others? We paid a visit and found a lot of different, exciting branch-exclusives:
Japanese dishes: onigiri, donburi, and ramen
This FamilyMart is the first one to offer onigiri, a Japanese rice ball that’s wrapped in nori, often stuffed with fillings. These are available in classic flavors such as Tuna Mayo (P55), Salmon (P55), and Tori Mix (P55), but they also have Filipino favorites such as Tinapa (P55) and Spam (P55).
Unlike onigiri in Japanese convenience stores, you won’t find the onigiri in the chilled section with the sandwiches and sushi. The onigiri may be ordered over the counter because these are all freshly made: ingredients are delivered every day, you can see how the onigiri is assembled over-the-counter with their onigiri machine.
What is a Japanese convenience store without ramen? This FamilyMart branch is also the only branch that offers Miso (P155/solo; P165/with drinks), Tonkotsu (P155/solo; P165/with drinks), and Tantanmen ramen (P155/solo; P165/with drinks) which all use Hakata noodles. The ramen bowls served in this branch are actually very generous in their serving proportions if you compare it with most convenience stores.
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Another exclusive you can find in this branch is the donburi! You’ll find comfort in their Katsudon (P155/solo; P165/with drinks), Pork Yakiniku (P155/solo; P165/with drinks), and Beef Gyudon (P155/solo; P165/with drinks) rice bowls. These dishes are served over a mountain of Japanese rice. Our favorite among the three is the Katsudon, as the pork and egg are doused in a delicious sweet soy sauce mixture.
FamilyMart has Japanese roots, hence the Japanese offerings, but more than that, this convenience store is somewhat a melting pot of different cultures as well. They have Korean snacks, Filipino dishes, and Western food like pizza that’s available in Hawaiian, Four Cheese, Pepperoni, and Supremo flavors; popcorn available in sour cream, barbecue, and cheese flavors. If you live near the area, this will come in handy for your next movie night!
If you want to try these items, Angelo Balajadia, the Category Food Manager, suggests dropping by before 10 a.m., right before the hungry lunch crowd comes in. Despite having a higher capacity for dine-in customers, the place gets easily crowded, so it’s best to be early and reserve a table!
UCC espresso-based coffee and walk-in beer refrigerator
FamilyMart has a collaboration with UCC Coffee under the Coffee Creations line. What’s special about the coffee served specifically at the UDENNA branch is that the coffee is espresso-based. They serve Americano (P65/12oz; P75/16oz), Iced Americano (P85/16oz), Caffe Latte (P75/12oz; P85/16oz) Iced Caffe Latte (P85/16oz), and Cappuccino (P75/12oz; P85/16oz).
The FamilyMart Coffee Creations UCC line is a little pricey for convenience-store coffee, but the taste sure makes up for it. The notes and quality are similar to ones you can buy in cafes. A pro-tip: You should pair this with the Matcha Cookie (P42) that’s also a FamilyMart UDENNA-exclusive. This sweet, earthy cookie is dotted with chunky white chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips.
BGC residents are also lucky when it comes to booze options as this FamilyMart branch has different selections of imported and local beers, like Sapporo from Japan and the local Engkanto craft beers. They also have a “beer room” where you can walk in and find more bottled spirits.
Co-working space, meeting rooms, and a videoke room
Just when you thought this FamilyMart branch has everything already, they become extra, extra convenient with the installation of a co-working space, meeting room, and another meeting room that can be turned into a videoke room!
The Tokyo room is the largest room that can accommodate 12 people. For a receipt that totals to P5,000 (consumable!) and an additional rental fee of P1,500, you can use this room for three hours. You can also use this room for videoke, starting 7 p.m. onwards.
The Osaka room is the smaller room that accommodates 8 people. For a receipt that totals P4,000 and an additional rental fee of P1,000, you can use this room for meetings! The Kyoto room is a co-working space where you can gain access to an hour’s-worth of wifi for a single-receipt purchase worth P250.
According to Scott Roxas, the Corporate Communications Manager for FamilyMart Philippines, there are plans for rolling out the Japanese items in select FamilyMart branches. When it will happen? There are no exact dates yet, so we’ll have to cross our fingers and keep our eyes wide open for any announcements. For now, make sure to drop by this FamilyMart branch and try their exclusives out!
FamilyMart’s largest Philippines branch is located at Ground Floor of the Udenna Tower, Rizal Drive corner 4th Avenue, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
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