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Local eatery harnesses social media for marketing specialty dish

ILOILO CITY – A local carenderia in Mandurriao district in Iloilo City called Lars Buko Batchoy and Eatery owned by Larry Abanilla Lao and Primerose Uy is drawing crowds for its unique take on the popular Ilonggo soup the “Batchoy” with a twist and becomes its specialty, the Coconutchoy.

Lars Buko Batchoy and Eatery looks like an ordinary carenderia that you could easily miss but the crowd going to the place urged one’s curiosity.

Unlike the classic batchoy, which uses artificial meat broth as its main base, Lars’ soup is infused with coconut milk.

"We use coconut because it is the tree of life,” said Primrose Uy, the eatery’s chief cook and co-owner. It is alkaline and not oily, so it’s healthier than the traditional batchoy,” she added.

The slightly sweet soup comes with either pork or chicken toppings, garlic, chicharon, spring onions, boiled eggs, noodles like miki, bihon, miswa or sotanghon, and strips of coconut meat.


 Primrose and Lars came up with the recipe after extensive research online on the food business and dishes being served in restaurants. They wanted to create something not offered elsewhere.

“We discovered recipes online, but opted to add our own touch in order to come up with something unique,” said Primrose.

 Lars used to work in a restaurant in Dubai, but quit and came home after suffering a stroke.

 Besides coconutchoy, Lars Buko Batchoy and Eatery also serves healthier yet still flavorful alternatives to popular fare: buko burgers, lumpiang shanghai with buko strips, buko mami, buko pancit and buko batangas lomi,among others.

 All of Lars’ soup dishes are served in coconut shells with coconut meat as one of the main ingredients. “Our soup dishes are best eaten as soon as they are served, because the coconut shell absorbs the heat,” Primrose advised.

 With buko as key ingredient, it is no wonder that the eatery uses an average of 50 coconuts on a regular day, thus helping coconut farmers in the province of Iloilo.

Social media promotions, online orders

 Lars is in-charge with marketing and he is aware that that even with its delicious dishes, the eatery needed something more to sustain its popularity.   Tapping into his Dubai work experience, he harnessed the power of social media to reach out to their customers and expand their clientele.

 “When we set up a Facebook page, more people learned about our establishment and dishes in just a very short period of time,” he said.

 Apart from posting photos of their mouthwatering fare, Lars would take photos of willing diners and post the images on their official Facebook page. He also maintains a good relationship with social media influencers who endorse Lars Buko Batchoy in their blogs and social media accounts, giving the eatery a broader online reach.

 Another valuable online tool is the “Recommendation” feature found in most social media page sites. “Diners would leave their recommendations on Lars Buko Batchoy’s Facebook page, which has more than 300 recos to date,” Lars shared.

Some also leave reviews on Trip Advisor, where even tourists from abroad can check if the eatery is worth the trip, since it is a bit far from Iloilo’s main commercial areas.

 “Our coconutchoy has been dubbed as ‘the best Philippine fusion dish’ and ‘genius creation’ by Trip Advisor users,” Lars proudly mentioned. 

The online presence of Lars Buko Batchoy eventually caught the attention of Choose Philippines, an ABS-CBN TV tourism website.

“On our 10th month of operations, our coconutchoy specialty was given the 2016 Best Fusion Dish award from Choose Philippines,” Primrose said.

News about their once undiscovered eatery spread even more after the recognition.  As their online presence grew, Lars and Primrose decided to accommodate online orders and delivery services.

Customers now would place coconutchoy orders through its Facebook page, Primrose said.  Even Ilonggos based abroad would book orders for loved ones back in Iloilo City, then pay for everything online, she added.

As they mark their third year in the food business, Lars and Primrose attest to how the Internet has been instrumental in the success of Lars Buko Batchoy.

The two restaurateurs said that Smart network’s stronger cellular and data signals allow them to continuously research for more food offerings, promote their dishes and establishment, and conveniently process online orders for both local and international customers.