If the United States has Yelp to tell people where to go for a good bite to eat, then Zomato is the Philippine equivalent. I was super excited to hear that Zomato had landed on Philippine shores. More popular on the other side of the world, Zomato is based in India, but had set it sights on the west, taking over London, Doha, Dubai, Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro.
It was downright awesome that the first country in Southeast Asia they wanted to tap into was the Philippines. But then again, although Singapore and Hong Kong have a lot of awesome restaurants, most the foodies that passionately rave and rant about it are Filipino.
Word was on the tech grapevine that Zomato initially wanted to buy out another popular local online listings company, but when Zomato's CEO flew in for a day to meet with said local online listings owner, the guy canceled last minute and so now instead of making a few million, have to compete with a global company who put the millions he was supposed to get into their ad spend budget instead. Talk about a stupid decision.What is Zomato? A ridiculously easy way to discover new places to eat and drink when you are bored of all your usual haunts.
Incredibly easy to use, the Zomato platform is virtually idiot-proof. You can look for restaurants by city, search specific restaurants by name, or if you're feeling lucky, browse through the reviews of the top foodies in the Metro, or even be a top foodie yourself. It isn't that hard. All you need is a passion for good food and an opinion.
After you sign up and create your own account, you can then begin to collect and curate your own list of restaurants and other dining establishments you've been to. Earn points an work your way up the food ladder from an average foodie to a connoisseur by leaving reviews and uploading pictures. The editorial staff at Zomato pick and choose what reviews to feature on the main page daily as well, so you can also earn extra points for that.
If your reviews are fap-worthy enough, you may just get featured in a Zomato City Guide! Oh yes. If one of your many dreams is to see your name in a book, this is definitely the way to immortality.
If seeing your name and review as part of the Zomato city guide isn't enough motivation for you to get reviewing, Zomato also has a Write for a Bite contest where they pick reviewers with the best content to win various gift certificates from establishments all over the metro.
I've been a Zomato evangelist for quite some time now, - so I think a giveaway is in order. I'm giving away 5 random gift certificates to restaurants around Metro Manila. These are the Rafflecopter rules to be eligible for the promo:
- You must like Mucking Around Manila and Zomato's Facebook fan pages.
- You must follow @_muckingaround and @zomato on Twitter.
- You must sign up for a Zomato account (if you haven't already) and follow Mucking Around Manila.
- Leave at least one review (minimum of 50 words) at a food place of your choice.
- Leave a comment with your name, e-mail, and the URL link to the Zomato review you made.
So when you find yourself mucking around Manila at a restaurant you like or dislike, share your opinion with the rest of us on Zomato. Who knows, you may get a gift certificate to a fancy restaurant in the mail, your name in a book, or both! Not bad for simply sharing your opinion, eh?
Just mucking around Manila,
www.muckingaroundmanila.com
Follow @_muckingaround on Twitter and Instagram.
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