Filtered By: Lifestyle
Lifestyle
SNEAK PEEK

Here's a sneak peek of the first Famous Amos store in Manila


During a visit to Singapore a few months ago, the intoxicating smell of freshly baked cookies lured businessman Sean Ponce into the Famous Amos store. Sean, who also blessed Manila with the matcha boutique store Tsujiri, grew up munching on these pre-packaged cookies, so when he tried the freshly baked version for the very first time, he knew he had to bring it to Manila.

“Not to take away anything from the pre-packed Famous Amos, but when it’s fresh(ly baked), it’s really good!” Sean exclaimed.

Famous Amos was founded by music man Wally Amos. He tweaked his Aunt Della’s recipe to come up with his own chocolate chip cookies. Soon enough, with the help of his friends in the music industry like Motown legend Marvin Gaye, he opened his first store in Los Angeles in 1975.

Forty-four years later, Manila will be welcoming its very first Famous Amos store at S Maison in Pasay City on Monday, July 29.

The Famous Amos flagship store is cozy, filled with warm lighting and the sweet scent of cookies baking in the oven, which has been specially calibrated for Famous Amos.

The store is literally covered in cookies from wall to wall, thanks to the adorable cookie wallpapers, unique to Philippine stores. The cookies are meant to be a grab-and-go snack, perfect for taking home, but a couple of tables and chairs will be available for those who would want to savor the treats on the spot.

The cookies currently on offer are bite-sized and crunchy, unlike the giant chunky cookies that are found in many artisan bakeries today, but Sean said they will be offering bigger versions of Famous Amos’ cookies soon — hopefully within the year. They also plan to introduce special pastries and cakes featuring locally sourced produce and ingredients. These baked confections will only available in the Manila store.

Here’s how the cookie crumbles at the very first Famous Amos cookie store in Manila:

First, choose from their eight signature cookie flavors:

  1. No Nut Chocolate Chip (the original Famous Amos cookie)
  2. Double Chocolate Chip Pecan (chocolate cookie dough with chocolate chips and pecans)
  3. Chocolate White Chocolate Chip (chocolate cookie dough with white chocolate chips)
  4. Oatmeal (with Raisins and Cinnamon)
  5. The “premium” line of cookies including Chocolate Chip Pecan
  6. Butterscotch
  7. Chocolate Chip Macadamia
  8. White Chocolate Macadamia. 

To ensure the quality and authenticity of the cookies, the dough comes pre-mixed all the way from the United States. Even Sean himself doesn’t have the exact recipe for these saccharine delights, he only knows the stuff that’s in it and it’s been the same recipe and techniques (from the dropping of the dough to the banging of the trays to the baking and cooling) Wally Amos passed down from the 70’s.

“That way, all Famous Amos cookies — whether in the States or Singapore or here — should taste the same,” Sean explained to GMA News Online.

Next, you get to choose how many of these bite-sized goodness you want to take home. It’s available in five sizes:

  1. 100 grams (P180/P190)
  2. 200g (P350/P370)
  3. 300g (P510/P540)
  4. 400g (P660/P720)
  5. 500g (P800/P850).

If you buy 200g or more, you can mix and match your cookies (as long as they have the same price)!

Third, you get to choose if you want to enjoy it with locally sourced milk or coffee. Currently, they serve three types of milk in nostalgic glass bottles: Fresh (P85), Chocolate (P95), and Cereal Milk (P110, inspired by Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City); and four kinds of caffeinated beverages: Americano (P95), Cappuccino (P130), Latte (P140), and Espresso (P95).

Famous Amos Philippines will be launching two promotions on their opening day. First is the Golden Ticket, where 100 lucky cookie lovers will have a chance to find the lucky Golden Ticket with every purchase of the 500g bag of cookies. The Golden Ticket can be exchanged for gift certificates, which can be used on their next purchase.

The second is the Cookie Jar promo, where the first customers to buy a kilo (1,000 grams) of cookies will receive their limited edition Famous Amos Cookie Jar for free! They only have a limited supply of these airtight cookie jars (perfect for cookies), so only a lucky few will get to take ‘em home.

Sean shared that they plan to open stores at SM North EDSA’s The Block, Robinsons Magnolia, Robinsons Place Manila, The Podium, and TriNoMa (hopefully) before the end of the year, so don’t worry, bags of cookies will be available in your area soon. — LA, GMA News

Famous Amos, Level 2, S Maison, Conrad Manila, Pasay City. Facebook

 

Tags: famousamos