A new year comes with new trends, new styles, and new flavors. One of the staples we bring into every new year is food. Life in the University is not in any way different; we are always on the lookout for the newest and freshest restaurants. This is why numerous stalls line the University, all precariously placed to satisfy a hungry student’s needs. One of the places where Lasallians can get their food fix is Animo Biz. Located along SJ walk and St. Miguel Building, Animo Biz, or the Animo Business and Innovation Zone, offers student entrepreneurs a chance to showcase their unique businesses to fellow students.
Over the years, it has become a place of innovation and creation—a practical field to apply everything that students have learned in the classroom. Every term, food stalls in Animo Biz change, and every term, students clamor to get a taste of the unique and delicious creations that fellow students offer. This term, Animo Biz has set up six new food stalls operated and managed by Lasallians. Let us help you in formulating your orders ahead of time and getting a taste of the food without having to travel all the way to Animo Biz—yet.
Katana Katsu
From its name, Katana Katsu’s specialty is Chicken Katsu. Their bestseller features chicken katsu with rice and vegetable salad on the side. Their sauce is savory if used sparingly; it might overpower the whole meal if poured too much. The salad dressing is tangy but still lets you feel the crisp of the lettuce with the classic Japanese punch.
From their menu, their sets are highly recommended. They also have Katsu Chops—perfect for a quick snack during 15-minute breaks between classes. For your dessert fix, Katana’s Matcha Frost is also a great addition to the heavy tastes that their meal sets offer. All in all, Katana Katsu’s sets are worth it and good for a sit-down or quick meal.
Smackdown
Smackdown is a mouthful, both when you’re saying it and when you’re eating it. Their bestseller, 4-Cheese, is a combination of chicken fillet spiced with pepper and topped with white cheese sauce, mozzarella, and cheddar. For those who want a filling lunch, you can get it with rice for P100.
This dish has crispy breading that does not overpower the meat of the chicken. The white cheese sauce is reminiscent of pasta sauce, but blends well with the other cheese toppings. Unfortunately, without the cheese toppings, the chicken tastes a bit bland. However, as a meal, its large servings are perfect for a leisurely lunch that will leave you feeling full.
Big Dom’s
Big Dom’s is the place to be if you have a sudden craving for southern-style fried chicken at an affordable price. The stall offers fried chicken in well-known American flavors like the New York Buffalo style. With prices ranging from less than a hundred pesos for their chicken poppers and P110 for fried chicken rice meals, it certainly is one of the more budget friendly places you can consider trying.
We were able to try their garlic parmesan fried chicken with rice. The juiciness of the meat and the crisp-crunch of its tasty breading made it an instant hit for us. We scarfed down the bowl in a matter of minutes. However, a fellow student, Big Eater* (III, MGT), had a different experience trying out their New York Buffalo style chicken. “The sauce doesn’t have any flavor,” he complained, “But the chicken still ended up too spicy.”
We recommend anyone who’s thinking of trying out their food to consider getting the garlic parmesan chicken as well.
Chopstix
Breaking the tone of chicken, chicken, chicken, Chopstix offers soup from different parts of Asia. Laksa from Singapore, Pho from Vietnam, Satay from China, and Batchoy from the Philippines—supporting their tagline: You can never go wrong with Asian.
One of the crowd favorites is the Vietnamese Pho, whose value for money comes with its simplicity. It’s very light and tasty for an 88-peso cup of soup. Staying true to the iconic Pho, the refreshing soup has a taste that is geared for hungry students rushing to their next class
Aloha
If you’re feeling peckish for something a little more adventurous, you can’t do better than eating at Aloha. The food stall’s caption on their tarpaulin reads, Authentic Hawaiian Bowls with pictures that accompany the stall’s food items that look delicious, healthy, and somewhat exotic. Most of their bowls are priced at a reasonable P109.
Moana* (III, MGT) tells us of her experience tasting the Tuna Poke bowl of Aloha. She described it as “tasting like the contents of a sushi dumped over rice” and commented it was a bit unusual because poke does not usually contain rice She also noted that it was a bit hard to finish after a few minutes as the taste got old pretty fast. However, she maintained that overall the food was good and the tuna and vegetables were fresh. Don’t forget to ask for Sriracha sauce from the counter for that extra zing!
Yakitori Bros
Move aside, Noel’s! Yakitori Bros is a brand new stall that specializes in grilled and barbecued meats like chicken, pork, and wagyu beef. They offer barbecue on a stick for as low as P39 and rice meals paired with the meat for less than P200. Considering that they offer premium meats, it was a price we were willing to pay for.
According to the friendly manager, their two bestsellers were the Chicken Yakitori and the Wagyu Cubes. We taste-tested their bestsellers on two separate occasions and we were not disappointed by either of them. The Chicken Yakitori was juicy and its sauce was thick, creamy, and packed a punch.
On the other hand, while the beef was soft and juicy, the Wagyu Cubes with rice meal wasn’t quite as filling. Perhaps it was because the rice only came with one stick of meat. We quickly ran out of wagyu beef while still having a large amount of rice. We would recommend getting the wagyu without the rice until the stall offers an option with more wagyu beef with their rice meal.
This term’s Animo Biz promises a lot of variety to DLSU students. The flavors are colorful and delicious; there’s something for everyone, from Japanese cuisine to Asian street food to American comfort eats. If you’re craving for affordable and unique food, why not head down to Br. Bloemen Hall and have a taste of what these stalls have to offer? The talented Lasallians who are part of the culinary celebration that is Animo Biz have a lot to show you.
