Mag-asawa, pinaplano ang Filipino food empire sa Australya

Sipag at tiyaga ang puhunan ng Sydneysiders na sina Joshua at Sabrina Bantiles upang gawing common fare sa Australya ang pagkaing Pinoy.

Sabrina and Joshua Bantiles Source: Sabrina Bantiles

Batang nagsimula ang mag-asawang sina Joshua at Sabrina Bantiles ng Mama Lor Restaurant & Bakery.

Nasa early twenties lamang, hindi lang basta sinumulan ng mag-asawa ang kanilang pamilya, nasa unang yugto sila ng pagtatayo ng isang empire.

Batang nag-umpisa

"Start young, retire young," biro ng Sabrina ukol sa kanilang ambisyon.

While their peers are still figuring out what they want to do with their lives, Sabrina and Joshua are already raising a son and running their own business. Source: Mama Lor

Habang hindi pa alam ng maraming ka-edad nila ang gusto nilang gawin sa kanilang mga buhay, nagpapalaki na ng anak ang taga-Mindoro na si Sabrina at taga-Cebu na si Joshua at, may sarili na silang negosyo.

"At this stage, we're [building our brand] and expanding. At the same time, we're caring for our child, so we need to work out a balance to tend to those two important things in our lives," saad ni Joshua.

Ang pag-balanse ng mga responsibilidad sa pamilya at trabaho ay kinalakihan na ni Joshua. May mga negosyo na noon pa ang kanyang mga magulang at, maaga nilang isinama si Joshua sa mga ito.

His parents, who had always owned and operated their own food businesses, involved Joshua in their endeavors early on. Source: Joshua Bantiles

"I started cashiering, cleaning and mopping the floors. I swept the floors until I got myself promoted to handling the money and talking to customers. [They helped me] build the confidence within myself. I was as young as 14 [then]."

Habang labing-apat na taon noon si Joshua noong magsimula siyang magtrabaho, pitong taong gulang naman si Sabrina noong sumabak siya sa pagne-negosyo.

"I used to sell candies to our neighbours, My mum wanted me to start young. I think she passed on her entrepreneurial spirit to me She said - Go ahead, sell! I remember crying when no one would buy from me," tawa ni Sabrina.

"I think that’s what we will pass on to our son [as well] when he grows up - [entrepreneurship] is in us." Source: Sabrina Chua-Bantiles

Dagdag ni Joshua, "I think that’s what we will pass on to our son [as well] when he grows up - [entrepreneurship] is in us."

Pag-aari ng pamilya

The Bantiles family Source: Mama Lor

Ang Mama Lor Restaurant & Bakery sa Rooty Hill, NSW ay ang negosyo na pag-aari ng pamilya.

"The idea for the restaurant didn't start with us really thinking of a business. Joshua and I were just craving lechon and we discovered that it was only sold whole; so that sparked the idea in us to build our own restaurant [where you didn't need to order a whole pig just to eat lechon]," saad ni Sabrina.

From their lechon cravings, the couple created a menu revolving around recipes created by Joshua's grandmother and mum, both called Mama Lor by their kin. Source: Mama Lor

Mula sa kanilang lechon cravings, gumawa ang mag-asawa ng menu base sa mga lutuin ng lola at nanay ni Joshua, na parehong pinangalanang Mama Lor ng kanilang pamilya.

Habang "univeral" ang panlasa ng kanilang pagkain, nananatili pa rin ang mga recipe ayon sa lutuin ng kanilang lola't ina.

Their offerings stay true to Joshua's grandmother's (left) and mother's (right) recipes. Source: Mama Lor / Anabelle Regalado Borja

Ang ilan sa mga bestsellers ng Mama Lor ay ang sizzling sisig, inihaw na bangus, barbecue, bulalo, pandesal, Spanish bread at hopia ube.

Some of Mama Lor's bestsellers Source: Mama Lor

"The idea for Mama Lor was based on creating ideas on how to make a national Filipino brand; but we're not trying to modernise anything. Food has memories. If you're going too far from [the original taste of a dish], you're going too far from that memory," saad ni Joshua.

Dagdag ni Sabrina, "Our Filipino diners tell us that dishes like our kare-kare remind them of Christmas dinner and other gatherings. That's what we wanted to achieve - to bring them back home through our food."

Paglaki ng negosyo

Habang hindi nabibigay ng pagkain nila ang 'sense of home' sa mga ibang lahi, ang nabibigay ng Mama Lor sa kanila ay curiosity.

"We built the curiosity with other nationalities to try our food." Source: Mama Lor

"We built the curiosity with other nationalities to try our food. It's one of the motivational factors is to get our food out there. Our food becomes a benchmark for them for what Filipino food is. We don't feel pressure because of this - more like we're just moving forward [with our business] each day," saad ni Joshua.

At para umusad ang kanilang negosyo, kinakailangan nilang magtayo ng iba pang branch.

Pagkatapos gumawa ng market research at feasibility study, napagtanto ng mag-asawa na oras na para sila'y magtayo ng Melbourne branch ng Mama Lor sa Werribee.

"With our Werribee branch - it's a bigger space, but our food is the same." Source: Mama Lor

"We have a lot of requests for branches. Maybe it's Brisbane the next time - we'll see. With our Werribee branch - it's a bigger space, but our food is the same," saad ni Sabrina.

Ayon sa kanya, gaganapin ang soft opening ng Mama Lor Melbourne sa Septyembre 28 at magbubukas ito araw-araw mula 10 am hanggang 9 pm hanggang sa grand opening nito sa Oktubre 10. Sa grand opening din tatanghalin ang press conference ng Filipino artist na si Bamboo bago ang concert nito.

Along with the grand opening of Mama Lor Melbourne, Filipino artist Bamboo will be holding his press conference in the restaurant prior to his concert. Source: Mama Lor / Bamboo 2019 Noypi Live in Australia

"Our goal is to extend our reach. We plan on keeping our recipes secret and to pass them down from generation to generation. This is one of our succession plans when we get older - to pass down the brand and recipes to the next generation, to our son," saad ni Josh.

BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN

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