OFW acquires house and lot, car selling 'binatog' in UAE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) here, who used to work as gym receptionist, now runs a bakeshop selling "binatog." And it has been such a big hit that he was able to buy a house and lot plus a car in the Philippines from sales.

Binatog is a Pinoy comfort food made of boiled corn kernels, usually served on a cut of banana leaf, topped with grated coconut and a bit of salt.  Others put butter or cheese, too.

In this international city of various dishes from around the world, most Filipinos, from time to time, find themselves having a craving for the binatog they grew up with back home.  

“Nakita ko ang demand for classic Filipino foods dito sa UAE and yung pagiging unique at quality ng product namin na kami lang ang meron. Except sa maganda ang kita, masaya kami na nailapit namin sa mga OFWs ang mga pagkain na sa Pinas lang nila dati natitikman,” said 37-year-old Darwin Garcia, a college undergrad who hails from Gapan, Nueva Ecija.

(I saw the demand for classic Filipino foods here in UAE as well as the uniqueness and quality of our products that only us have. Except for making good profits, we are happy that we are able to give OFWs foods that they could only have back home.)

Garcia, who lives with his wife and their 10-year-old son, said business is doing really good. 

“Malakas po ang sales ng binatog dahil po kami lang meron nito dito and authentic po talaga. Galing Philippines po ang mais na gamit namin,” he said.

(We’re having strong sales because we’re the only one who has binatog and it’s really authentic. The corn we use are from the Philippines.)

In fact, Garcia’s binatog business has been a huge success he now has fixed assets in the Philippines. 
“Nagkaroon kami ng pamilya ko ng sariling bahay at lupa, at sasakyan,” he said.

(Me and my family were able to have our own house and lot as well as a car.)

Garcia said they recently opened a branch in Sharjah, an emirate neighboring Dubai to the north.

“We have plans to open other branches across the emirates in the UAE,” he said.  

A waiter at a fine dining restaurant in the Philippines before he went to Dubai in November 2010 on a visit visa, Garcia said they started out selling online to test the market. 

“That time po, wala pang binatog sa Dubai. So, we tried selling online and ang dami pong orders kaya nagtuloy-tuloy na hanggang sa magkaroon kami ng shop,” he said.

(At that time, you couldn’t find binatog in Dubai. So, we tried selling online and got lots of orders. It went like this until we finally opened a shop.)

The first binatog store opened in June 2021 with a crew of five OFWs in Satwa, a Filipino enclave in the city. The bakeshop also sells buko pie, among other Pinoy comfort foods.     

There have been other OFWs in Dubai who quit their jobs and ventured into popular Filipino comfort foods like bibingka (rice cake baked using clay ovens) and tahô (soft tofu with caramelized brown sugar, topped with sago pearls.) —KBK, GMA Integrated News