When I was a kid, my cousin (who's been around the world at a relatively young age) was known to have chosen, among all the local fastfood chains, Tropical Hut as having the best and juiciest burgers.
Over the years, I've had very mixed experiences with their burgers - in some branches, the patty literally tasted like recycled paper; in others, the patty was indeed quite juicy. Personally, I'd say Jollibee edges Tropical Hut by virtue of sheer consistency, but on its good days, Tropical Hut isn't a slouch either.
Helping Tropical Hut's case is its ambience and overall presentation. Whereas eating in a conglomerate-backed machine like Jollibee is almost always a polished, clean-cut experience, the much smaller-scale Tropical Hut offers a more laid-back and rustic atmosphere.
Tropical Hut's relatively unique menu also helps set them apart from the others. Whereas Jollibee now patterns itself more closely after McDonalds with burgers, fries, some rice meals, and ice cream desserts, Tropical Hut offers more variety with clubhouse sandwiches, (as I recently found out) a salad, a wider variety of rice meals, and even a black gulaman (grass jelly) drink.
Among their trademark burgers, Hawaiian Glee is a very strong sentimental favorite for me. Served with a pineapple slice, a slightly thicker-than-standard burger patty, some lettuce, and sauce, the burger is simple but (depending on the quality of the ingredients in the branch) indeed very juicy. While Jollibee essentially offers the same thing in the Amazing Aloha, in my experience Tropical Hut gets more generous with the toppings, often serving the Hawaiian Glee with a bigger pineapple slice.
I also recently tried their latest signature burger, the Sili Burger. As with the Hawaiian Glee, the Sili Burger is also quite straightforward - sesame-seed bun, one slice of cheese on top, some lettuce, and a thick juicy patty with chili sauce. The difference seems to be that some of the chili sauce is infused into the patty. As the name implies, the burger had some extra kick to go with its juiciness. The spicy warmth could clearly be detected, but still didn't overwhelm me. In fact, it even enhanced the flavor of the beef. I'd recommend this burger, even for the spice-averse.
As mentioned, I also recently found out that Tropical Hut also has a salad! They serve a Tuna Salad for a very cheap PHP 55. For its price, you get great value on the standard salad ingredients, as it has a slice of boiled egg, some carrots, corn kernels, and even some croutons to go with tomato slices and Romaine lettuce. It should be noted, though, that the tuna served was obviously from canned tuna--a tradeoff I understand and still happily accept, given the great price.
All in all, I'd say that Tropical Hut is one severely underappreciated national treasure, deserving of more support and patronage than it currently gets. Aside from some deeply personal sentimental considerations, I see great value for money and a simple yet enjoyable experience to be had in eating here. read more