Cashless dining in an IG-worthy setting

I’VE always been so impressed with those food halls abroad where all transactions are cashless. It means you can go from one outlet to another and order what you want by just tapping a card to a terminal. It really is so convenient, especially if you’re with a big group. Anyway, I was so excited to be invited by my friend Marj Sia to go to Eatogether Food Hall in SM Megamall (beside Forever 21).

The concept of Eatogether Food Hall is you go there as a group and order from the different outlets for sharing. Most of the food portions are generous. The area can seat 200 people and the tables are all Instagram-worthy. The idea is to order food and take pictures of them. The lighting is perfect for that.

Because the place is cashless, you need to get a Vikings Reward Card with a minimum initial load of P300 from the reception at the entrance on your first visit. The card is reloadable. All food stalls also accept debit and credit-card payments.

There are currently 12 food stalls, including Bag of Seafood, Budae Jjigae, D’ Letchoneros, Frituen Batsoy, Fowl Play, Hawker Lane, Jian Bao, Just Steak A Minute, L’Italiano, Mien Bao, Nord’s Bread Hub, Tong Yang Express and a beverage bar.

I have only tried Frituen Batsoy (they have the best chicharon bulaklak) and the beverage bar but I intend to go back for Tong Yang Express.

Eatogether Food Hall has an ongoing promo wherein for a minimum purchase of P300 in a single receipt in any of the food stalls, a customer gets a free item depending on the day.

■ Monday: Free Milk Tea from The Bar

■ Tuesday: Free Pan Fried Meat and Sea Urchin from Mien Bao

■ Wednesday: Free one slice of Quatro Formaggi Pizza from L’Italiano

■ Thursday: Free Crispy Noodles from Hawker Lane

■ Friday: Free chicharong bulaklak from Jeepney Avenue

To redeem the free item, customer must present their qualified receipt to the participating stall with the free item. Claiming of the free item is within the day of the indicated date in the receipt only.

This promo is available for dine-in guests only. The promo runs weekdays only until November 20.

Eatogether Food Hall is dubbed the first cashless food hall in the country. You can choose your mode of payment when you check out: you can tap or dip any Visa or Mastercard credit, debit, or prepaid card, or, if you want to enjoy cashback of up to 100 percent on your bill, use PayMaya QR on your mobile phone to pay instantly. For visiting Chinese tourists, WeChat Pay is also available. If you don’t have these, you can also pay using the Vikings Pay Card which you can top up at the entrance counter.

Removing cash makes it more convenient for stores. It reduces the time the staff spends in a day to count cash and put it away. It also eliminates staff theft and receipt of fraudulent bills. Basically, a cashless model increases efficiency and streamlines operations. The concern would be customers who still prefer to pay in cash and in the Philippines, there are a lot of people like that. But at the end of the day, technology makes everything more convenient for everyone concerned. ■