For Al Galang, finding a great burger in Manila was nearly impossible. Having lived in Los Angeles, he developed a deep love for In-N-Out and other classic mom-and-pop burger joints. But when he moved back to the Philippines, he couldn’t find anything that hit the same way.
“When I came here, I found the local burgers didn’t quite satisfy my craving for a really good burger. So naisip ko, ‘What if I could just make one?’” he recalls.
At the time, Galang and his business partner Monica Tobias were running Sweet Ecstasy, a small milk and cookie shop in Cubao Expo. Selling cookies wasn’t exactly a high-profit business, so they considered adding something new to the menu.
Turning Research Into a Recipe
Galang had no culinary background, but he had the internet—and he used it to his advantage.
“The Internet is so generous with insight in R&D into what makes a good burger,” he says. “Blogs, and, although not as much at the time, videos, provided in-depth research on how to handle a patty, what makes a good patty, and what makes a good sauce.”
He read everything he could find on meat blends, bun choices, and sauce combinations, and then spent six months making burgers every single day.
“You can learn anything online, but can you put it into practice?” he says.
The Moment Everything Changed
One day in November 2012, he put together his first burger prototype—custom giniling (ground beef), homemade sauce, and buns from Robinsons Magnolia.
“It was a bit of a Eureka moment in the sense na, this was way better than I expected it to be,” he recalls.
At first, they only sold burgers on weekends, inviting friends to try them. But word spread fast, and soon, customers weren’t asking for cookies anymore—they wanted the burgers.
Today, Sweet Ecstasy is one of the most popular burger chains in Manila, proving that sometimes, the best business ideas come from solving your own cravings.
This article includes quotes from an interview originally published by Esquire Philippines, authored by Henry Ong.
