MANILA, Philippines – The daily grind in Metro Manila has made convenience stores a necessity on nearly every corner of the city.

City dwellers need a one-stop shop for their needs. Workers often stop by for a hot, quick meal in the middle of their shifts, and perhaps, before or after a long commute.

Enter Japanese konbini Lawson. It’s a relatively new player in the Philippines, having just opened its pioneering branch in Sta Ana, Manila last March 2015.

Its flagship branch, Lawson Station in the heart of the bustling Makati central business district (CBD), has just opened, and we found several cool eats that they offer:

Karinderia Station (meals start at P69)

Lawson gives a familiar, warm touch to several of their convenience stores in the Philippines with home-cooked meals that you can actually pair with unlimited rice. However, if you want to take out your meal, they can only give you 2 cups of rice.

Like any neighborhood karinderia, Lawson changes its menu on a daily basis, but expect bestsellers like their sisig to stay.

Karinderia Stations can be found in the flagship Lawson Station along Ayala Avenue, as well as in branches which students frequent, like the one near Adamson University along San Marcelino Street.

Currently, the karinderia serves only breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7 am until 8 pm. As a demand for graveyard shift emerges, it can eventually remain open until 2 am.

Swirl to the Max ice cream (P25)

A scorching hot day calls for soft-serve ice cream that you can pile – as much as you dare – atop a waffle cone. Lawson has unique flavors like bamboo charcoal and their seasonal cherry blossom flavor, or a mix of both.

Swirl to the max ice cream at #Lawson! Available in Cherry Blossom, Bamboo Charcoal and Mixed pic.twitter.com/1jqE7WsfT8

— Paolo Abad (@PaoloJAbad) April 5, 2016

Other seasonal flavors include quezo de bola, green tea, and premium chocolate.

Bread Talk

Something you might notice about Lawson is their collaborations with several well-known food purveyors. Bread Talk has a shelf at Lawson Station full of baked goodies such as a baked bacon and corn sandwich (P39) and an almond donut (P49).

Caesar salad (P79)

Lawson has teamed up with Gourmet Farms, a popular vendor of healthy eats, for their salads like this all-time favorite Caesar salad.

Mixed tekka, California, and kani maki (P99)

Grab a pack of no-frills sushi at this neighborhood konbini if you fancy some quick bites.

Guru Guru (P49)

Guru Guru is basically a chicken cheese sausage with flaky dough twisted around it. In a way, it resembles the American corn dog, but it’s more like a hot, filling sandwich on a stick.

Cannelloni and 3-cheese alfredo (P59)

Pop a pack in the microwave, and you can have piping-hot and tasty cannelloni or 3-cheese alfredo (P59).

Coffee sandwich, red velvet cake, and matcha green tea (P39)

Satisfy your sweet tooth with these desserts in cups. You may end up gobbling them up, as they come in trendy flavors like coffee, red velvet, and matcha.

Tokyo-style banana cake (P39)

This cake is refreshingly light as a feather – and not cloying at all – as most Japanese desserts are. A delightful cream filling lies in the center.

House blend beverages

Cool down with their house blend iced tea (P22, 12oz; P25, 16oz; P30, 22oz) or matcha latte (P30, 16oz).

Aside from quick eats, Lawson has the essentials that you might need – there are liquor, cigarettes, and hygiene supplies. They have prepaid reloading as well, but they have exclusively partnered with Globe.

There are plenty of communal spaces in the busy Ayala branch, and there are sockets for charging your gadgets – free of charge.

We’re hoping to see free WiFi, like in Japan, as well as the Ponta card point system for loyal customers. They aren’t available yet as of now.

If you’ve popped by recently, let us know what you think of Lawson’s quick treats in the comments. – Rappler.com

The Lawson Station featured in this article is located at G/F Tower 6789, 6789 Ayala Ave, Makati City. Find your nearest branch here.

Facebook | Website

All photos by Paolo Abad/Rappler