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Manila Bulletin devider Drive devider Watch [and eat] indie

Watch [and eat] indie

Published Oct 20, 2022 08:30 pm

How an online delivery app is bringing independent and small businesses into the mainstream

By Vicente Gonzales

SHOCKING DISCOVERIES A scene from the episode with Kiray Celis and Sassa Gurl hooked up in a lie detector toy as they review food

When I was younger, back when I was in college, I always found joy in discovering obscure things that have yet made it to the mainstream.

I would often tune in on the radio in search of indie music to add to my personalized playlist. Imagine the time an Original Pinoy Music (OPM) staple such as Ben & Ben, who back then went by the name The Benjamins, was barely known and slowly made rounds through word of mouth.

Independently produced films or indie movies were also a favorite of mine. I could never forget watching Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash (2014) after reading about it on an online forum thread recommending new movies. It would later gain the Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, and Best Supporting Actor awards from the Academy, with Chazelle later moving upward in Hollywood to direct the award-winning 2019 film La La Land.

There’s bliss in finding something early on and witnessing its well-deserved ascent into the mainstream.

GOOD FINDS Among the featured restaurants in the Ang Totoong Sarap series is Bistro Naval

Nowadays with everything readily available thanks to the rise of social media, it’s much easier to find independent delights to enjoy. Even large online delivery apps such as Grab have dipped into the indie craze with their new feature, Indie Eats.

There’s bliss in finding something early on and witnessing its well-deserved ascent into the mainstream.

Through Indie Eats, the food delivery platform aims to gather the highest-rated and best-reviewed small businesses in the country.

Grab also partnered with social media superstar Sassa Gurl for a mini-series entitled Totoong Sarap where she gives her honest, no-holds-barred thoughts about every restaurant meal served. Each episode of the three-part series features special guests who give their inputs and impressions on meals served.

The first episode invited over Filipino celebrity Kiray Celis, who tried some of the Indie Eats establishments while she was hooked up to a lie detector machine.

Users of the app can show support for indie businesses that will be featured in the mini-series by ordering from the Indie Eats tile on GrabFood. The show can be viewed on Grab’s social media pages.

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