If you are one of the thousands of Filipinos who have — rightfully so — hopped onto the Alex Eala bandwagon, chances are high that this ever-popular Filipino dish has recently reentered your consciousness as well.
After all, the well-loved adobo found its way to the sidelines of the Canadian Open in Toronto, where Eala captivated audiences right up to her last match against Belinda Bencic.
In a stroke of marketing genius, tournament organizers decided to offer adobo to the predominantly Filipino crowd at the in-venue food stand. Inevitably, the bowls of white rice topped with adobo
and adorned with a miniature Philippine flag flew off the shelves as widely reported in the news and on social media.
Who wouldn’t want a bite of this ubiquitous viand, considered as the Philippines’ unofficial national dish?
Whether it’s the classic chicken-and-pork version, adobong puti, adobo sa gata, or another ingenious local variant, the typical working Filipino probably wouldn’t go a week without having it at
least once.
Just when you thought you’d tried them all, another twist on the beloved classic comes along, one that can put a smile on your face, much like a comforting home-cooked meal.
Enter Adobee, a zesty and filling take on the timeless Filipino dish. A spoonful of the dish, complete with a chunk of chicken or pork with bite-sized potatoes, may be all it takes to get your day off to a good start.
Available for solo orders or sharing, Adobee combines sweetness, sourness and saltiness to create a flavorful take on the classic dish. Customers can also choose their preferred level of spiciness, from mild, medium o the surprisingly best-selling “Zuper” for those who want an extra kick.
Mindful of your carb intake? Each Adobee order comes with a serving of marble potatoes, offering an alternative to an extra serving of white rice.
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Adobee creator Bernard Decloedt, who is also an account executive at Philstar.com, explained the reasoning behind adding the popular rice alternative to his side hustle.
“I have marble potatoes in my ref, and I thought why not put it with adobo?” Decloedt said.
Alas, those well-loved marble potatoes, playfully coined “Adobeetatoes” by Decloedt — eventually became an offshoot product and are now available as a solo side dish.
For added protein, each serving also comes with a hard-boiled egg. To further elevate the dish, it is garnished with fried saba, similar to the way it is served in arroz a la cubana.
Together, these elements make Adobee a versatile meal.. It can be enjoyed on its own, paired with steaming-hot rice, or served as the main star of an all-day silog meal.
The beginnings
Meanwhile, the side hustle, which started during the pandemic, has since paid off for Decloedt. He now sells a significant number of Adobee trays each week to friends, co-workers and a growing online customer base, with sales driven by word-of-
mouth and social media.
Among his certified “Adobeelievers” are beauty queen Alma Concepcion and singer-actress Vina Morales.
Decloedt added that with Adobee turning five this December, he is more than ready to take things up a notch.
“I’ve been doing this side hustle for five years, and I think it’s high time for the madlang people to experience Adobee at a grander scale,” he said.
If you’re looking to try a different take on the Filipino classic, Adobee offers another way to enjoy the familiar flavors of adobo—much like the dish’s recent appearance at the Canadian Open, where it drew the attention of adobo-loving Filipino fans cheering for Eala.
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Adobee is available in chicken, pork, and chicken-and-pork variants, with serving sizes ranging from Solo (“All for me”), Share (for two to three people), and Salo (for four to five people).
