The name Super Batchoy House is already an institution here in Bacolod City. It’s an Ilonggo comfort food any time of the day, any day of the year. And by far, it’s the best batchoy ever!
Super Batchoy House: Bacolod’s Best Batchoy
Established in the 1970s, Super Batchoy House is one of those “orig” locally-owned eateries in Bacolod when the word franchise was still a foreign word around here.
Their first store was at the Burgos Market and the second one was opened at Smith, which is now known as Locsin St. They are still there. And after almost four decades, they haven’t changed much yet they are still relevant and still going strong.
What makes Super Batchoy House relevant?
So even after decades in business and without changing much of their business system, what makes Super Batchoy House work till today?
Taste – Super Flavorful Batchoy
Batchoy is sinfully delicious, we have to give it that. But the rich flavor of batchoy does not come easy. It is the intricate mixture of animal fat taken from all sides of the animal. It’s made by combining a special kind of noodles, pork innards, egg, and chicharon steeped in flavorful broth.
Perhaps to neutralize the cholesterol and fats and to further enhance flavor, batchoy has lots of toasted garlic and sliced green onions. It is served piping hot with the bread called pan de siosa. Throughout the decades, Super Batchoy has maintained the taste of their batchoy. Their pan de siosa is made by their baker-supplier that only makes the bread exclusively for them.
Despite the intricacies of making Super Batchoy, they do no shortcuts. They just increased their prices as the economy dictates, but they did not sacrifice quality. While batchoy is served usually with soy sauce and black pepper, I personally don’t find the need to embellish the already pleasurably complex flavor and aroma of the soup.
Focus
Despite being a fast-selling Bacolod restaurant, Super Batchoy House never felt the need to diversify. Their only products are just that — several variants of batchoy and their special bread called pan de siosa. You can’t get more focused and specialized than that.
They can maintain the quality of their product because come to think of it, it’s their only product. Plus drinks, of course. They don’t even have coffee, as I guess, those who have batchoy would rather have a cold drink with their soup than a hot one.
Extra soup
At Super Batchoy House, you get unli-soup. Yes, you are served a single bowl of soup with your order. But thankfully, you can keep asking for more hot broth.
As for take outs, they would rather that you bring your own container so that they can give you extra broth. So you are not limited to your single serving. If there are the two of you and you just want to share an order because you want to save, you can do that and still be satisfied because you can request for more broth. Then just fill up with bread.
Perseverance and consistency
For the most part, Super Batchoy House has survived without much improvements in looks, without marketing campaigns, or even promos because of their perseverance and consistency. They are not high-end but rather pang-masa, but the demand for their batchoy transcends social status already.
The Uy patriarch who has started this business has managed it well. Despite the new batchoy houses that have sprouted through the years, Super Batchoy House has outlived them all.
Ilonggos’ penchant for unhealthy… I mean “comfort” food.
Despite the health value (or the lack of it) of batchoy, Super Batchoy House sells more than a thousand steaming hot bowls daily. And it happens seven days a week in all their four branches. Batchoy is very comforting and there are really days that hubby and I would crave for it. Bringing along a “kaserola”, we will go and buy take out. I rest my case.
If you have guests who want to try our local delicacy, let them try a bowl at Super Batchoy House. You may want to bring them to their old location at Locsin Street if your guest is adventurous enough. That will help them to relish the culture of downtown Bacolod and not just the food.
But if not, you can bring them to Super Batchoy’s air conditioned branches at Cuadra, East Block, and near Lopue’s San Sebastian. But for me, I think it is still best to partake your batchoy while bathing in heat and humidity because the broth remains hot for a long time. It’s for better appreciation. You can keep talking with your friends without having to consume your batchoy really fast for fear that the oil will “sleep”. haha
Super Batchoy variants
Batchoy servings at Super Batchoy House are called Ordinary, Special, and Super Special. These translate to small, medium, and large sizes respectively.
But the prices do differ because of the add-ons, namely egg and “utok” or bone marrow. If you really like the bone marrow, you should visit them earlier in the day because these get sold out pretty fast.
Find a Super Batchoy House in these locations:
- Locsin Street
- Cuadra Street
- Villa Angela East Block (Circumferential Road)
- Near Lopue’s San Sebastian
Batchoy Facts
This is an excerpt from an interesting article written by blogger Amy Uy from the Super Batchoy family. I don’t think I can write it any better.
What kind of people would name a dish after “FAT?” Yes, only the Filipino can! We have named a best-loved comfort food after the very thing that would clog the arteries of U.S. FDA authorities in a heartbeat. Its very name is enough to send your cholesterol level soaring to new heights.
Amy Uy
“Batchoy” is the vernacular for fat and to some, slang for “fatso.” No one would want to be called “batchoy” or “tabachoy.” Plus, it has same ring as “baboy” or swine.
The Wikipedia says that the dish traces its name to the Hokkien term “ba-chui” or “pieces of meat. But to us, “batchoy” stands for food indulgence of the highest order. And no Branding Guru will ever get us to change its name to sound less threatening.
History of Batchoy
The popularity of the “batchoy” dates back to the 1940s in an eatery at Iloilo’s La Paz Public Market. An enterprising butcher decided to create a dish out of the nasty bits left over from main cuts of meat.
The dish has since evolved and with the array of added ingredients, it has reached a level of perfection that sends you straight to heaven once you finish an order of the “Special”. It’s a really big bowl with the works: a fresh egg, three heaping spoonfuls of chicharon bits plus snippets of pork liver and pig’s brains, and a killer dose of MSG.
Other Bacolod stories you might want to read:
Hi Sigrid,
Thanks for this post. I was really nice promoting what Bacolod can offer. I was really fond of this dish that, my vacation there is not complete without tasting this.
More power to your blog,
Jescel
of Brgy. Handumanan, now in Dubai, UAE
How to franchise?