Gloriamaris

I was invited to have an impromptu Christmas lunch with some Treasury ladies at the Gloriamaris seafood restaurant at the Podium in the Ortigas Center.  I was amazed that the food came in fast--in 5 minutes from the moment we sent in our orders--despite the large lunchtime crowd. We had pork & sharkfin siomai, ha kaw (shrimp dumpling), noodles, fried rice, stir-fried broccoli in garlic, squid, minced pork in tofu and fried beef strips, all for some P400 per head. This branch obviously had a good cook and we were satisfied with the way the food was prepared.  I understand that the Podium branch is a franchise outlet, the original restaurant being located at the CCP Complex in the bay area.  Years ago, I heard that one complaint that the restaurant chain faced was that the same food dish prepared by different branches would be inconsistent in taste--slight variations were to be expected, but in this case, the disparity in taste was so great across branches.  I understand that the chain then started some menu standardization procedures, and erring franchisees were closed.  Lately, the chain's popularity has gone up again, and given the long lines that I saw at the Podium branch, I think they will be a strong player for more years to come.