No, it’s not your favorite British comedy television program that continues to make you laugh even if you’ve watched it for 10x already. 🙂 It’s the Philippine franchise of Mr. Bean from Singapore!

Mr. Bean Eastwood Mall

Mr. Bean is a famous soya chain brand in Singapore serving healthy and fresh soya milk, creative ice blended soya drinks, chilled taho, and more.

In the Philippines, Mr. Bean has been here since last year and they’re celebrating the 1st anniversary of their first branch in Alabang Town Center today. They have since expanded with three more branches in Eastwood Mall in Quezon City, Lucky Chiantown Mall in Manila, JP Morgan Net Plaza Building, and in McKinley Venice Piazza in Taguig by June 2013.

Mr. Bean Eastwood

Yesterday, me and my wife were able to try for the first time the best of what Mr. Bean has to offer in their Eastwood Mall branch.  They invited us over in advance for their anniversary promos we will discuss in a while.

Classic Soya (Cold)

We were able to try the cold classic soya milk as a refreshing treat from walking inside the mall. The regular size costs P55 while the large one is P65. I suggest you get the regular one, unless you decide to share it with someone, since I find the regular cup already filling enough.

If you’re a bit more adventurous and wants some flavor with your soya, then you’ve got a myriad of choices among watermelon, papaya, melon, honeydew, and mango from the Fresh Fruity Soya category. (P75-85 for Regular; P85-90 Large)

If you’re not into fruits and want it more icy, you’ve got the classic, strawberry, chocolate, mocha, and lychee variants from the Icy Soya category. (P75-90 for Regular; P85-100 Large)

(Left) Watermelon Fresh Fruity Soya, Classic Milk Soya (cold), Soya Beans (Right) Mr. Bean Pancakes

Lychee Ice Soya (P90 R) with Lychee Pop Add-on (P20)

Lychee Icy Soya + Lychee Pop

Just like the add-ons in milk tea shops, they have pearls, chocolate fudge, caramel fudge, and lychee pop which you can have together with your drinks or any of their products for that matter. It all costs P20 per add-on serving except for the pearls which is P10.

So we tried adding the intriguing Lychee pop which was said to give a light burst of lychee flavor in your mouth since the pearl-like sago ‘pops‘ in your mouth. We added it to the Lychee Icy Soya and the result is pretty interesting.

It reminded me of Figaro’s popping boba which they offer with their milk tea offerings as well. I’m sure the Lychee Pops will click with the kids.

Watermelon Soya

My wife got the watermelon fresh fruity soya (P75 regular). I guess what’s particularly special with Mr. Bean’s soya drinks is that they don’t use syrup. They use fresh fruits and blended it with your soya drink. You’ve got to understand though that the soya have the tendency to dilute the fruit flavors so don’t expect a strong fruit taste. Just like with the watermelon, the soya taste was still the dominant flavor, just with a hint of watermelon; hence the pink color.

Among the three, the Classic Soya Milk is still my most recommended Mr. Bean drink.

The Food – Pancakes!

Cheese Pancake (P60)

If you’re a fan of Japanese pancakes like I do, then Mr. Bean pancakes are for you too!

We got to try the cheese and kaya pancake variants and the latter was a clear winner for me. The cheese pancake actually contains cream cheese which is also good. It’s just that the kaya filling is the traditional Kaya Singaporeans usually have for breakfast. Something like the equivalent  of Filipino’s love for coconut jam.

In fact, I have tried the same kaya pancake from a Mr. Bean store in Singapore when I first visited the country back in August 2008. It was a memorable one because it was my first international trip and the kiosk immediately caught my attention then.

The pancakes also come in peanut butter and chocolate flavors. All costs P60 each.

Kaya Pancakes (P60)

Lastly, it would be interesting to note that the flour they use for the pancakes is also infused with the same high-quality soya from North America and used in all Mr. Bean branches in Singapore and other countries including the Philippines.

Soy Ice Cream (P80/cup)

Soy Ice Cream

One of the  surprises for me yesterday was the soy ice cream! Yes, a soft-serve ice cream made out of soya. I was informed that it is the first and so far the only soya based soft-served ice cream in the Philippines. It costs P80 per cup.

It has so great a concept-potential that franchisers are even considering franchising the soya ice cream concept alone! 😛

I was initially skeptical on how it would taste like. I also felt a bit of a rougher texture than the usual soft-serve ice cream we have in the Philippines but the taste grew on me as I took more scoops and finally learned to love it. I guess you have to try it for yourself as well to fully appreciate what I mean. 🙂

Chilled Taho

I thought it was just an ordinary chilled taho in a plastic container. Well, it is, except for the fact that it tasted awesomely great! I mean how much can a plain taho taste like? My concept of the usual taho we got used to in our youth was challenged after tasting Mr. Bean chilled taho (P45 regular, P55 large).

As plain as it looks, it instantly and unexpectedly became my favorite product from Mr. Bean. I later on learned from one of the owners that they use coco sugar infused with the soya. I also suggested that they could easily and interestingly add flavored variants.

Chilled Taho (P45; Also available as hot / classic (P45 R; P55 L)

Mr. Bean 1st Anniversary

Uric Acid Free

After having said all these, if you are old or have gout, you would certainly run away from anything soya-based. Interestingly,  Mr. Bean follows a special de-shelling process to remove ‘purine‘ which is the culprit in producing uric acid. So it is a comfort to know that we can actually bring our old folks over and have them enjoy soya as well.

Happy Birthday Treat

As a treat to its loyal customers and soya lovers on their anniversary, Mr. Bean Philippines is having a price rollback to it’s old menu prices today!

Moreover, the first 40 customers today and tomorrow (May 1 & 2, 2013) who visit any Mr. Bean branches can get to win a free gift of either a puzzle kit or Mr. Bean pin strap.

MrBean Special (P75)

Mr. Bean
Ground Floor (near Activity area)
Eastwood Mall

I’m certainly going back to Mr. Bean. Maybe my wife and I will try the one in JP Morgan Net Plaza Building since we frequent BGC more.

Hot Soya Milk

You would notice that the price range is not cheap for a cup of soya drink or the Japanese pancakes which are similarly available in other shops. But don’t forget either that you are paying for the high-quality ingredients, processes, and good tasting products that Mr. Bean have to offer. As they say, you get what you pay for. 🙂

Aside from the ones we tried from the above menu, I am particularly interested to also try  the Mr. Bean Special (black sesame & peanut rice ball) and the hot version of the Classic Soya Milk in our next visit.

Happy Anniversary to Mr. Bean Philippines!