RESEARCH 10 RESTAURANT/CATERING COMPANY

HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. Vieux Chalet –
Vieux Chalet is a little slice of Switzerland hidden in Antipolo. Opened in
1984, by Tony Hassig, a Swiss man, and his Filipino wife, Susan, as a way
to provide city folk a break from their fast-paced lives. The restaurant is
small, perfect for losing one’s self in intimate conversations. The walls are
decked with paintings, many of which were made by Susan. The window
tables also give a great view of the city down below, especially in the
evening. The food is undeniably
Swiss.

According to Tony, Tony wanted to

serve Swiss food made from Filipino
ingredients. When Vieux Chalet first
started, they had their own milking
cows that provided fresh dairy.
They have since sold their cattle
and now source dairy elsewhere
but everything else is still made in-
house. Don’t expect store-bought
bread when dining here because they make everything from scratch.
They’ve got an extensive menu (it spans more than 5 pages) and changes
from time to time, though they have a couple of mainstays. Swiss food is
never really complete if cheese isn’t present. Part of their recent summer
menu includes the  Raclette Festival (Php 1,500). The raclette sits on a
burner to melt. On top is a hot plate with shrimp, zucchini, broccoli, and
bell pepper. Because the cheese neither sharp nor salty, it actually brings
out the sweetness of the peppers. (Primer Japanese Magazine).

Owner of Vieux Chalet is Tony and Susan Hassig.

 2. Ilustrados in Intramuros –

Opened in 1989, Ilustrado is a family-run

business with an ‘Old-Manila’ setting. One
of Ilustrado’s key selling points is its
Hispanic architecture fit for intimate
luncheons and a memorable venue place
for events. But what makes Ilustrado
stand out the most is its food. Famed for
many dishes such as the Paella
Ilustrad and its very own Sampaguita
ice cream, the restaurant has garnered loyal patrons.

Furthermore, Ilustrado is also famed for their

own take of the Philippine national dish—
the Adobong Bagnet and Prawns with Taba
ng Talangka. The tender pork belly is
simmered in 6 spices and whose sauce is made
richer by the crab fat. The dish is a heart-
stopper both figuratively and literally holding
a tag of “Please Be Careful with my Heart”
beside its name in the menu.

As well as, Ilustrado has been quite known for

this one special dessert the Sampaguita Ice
Cream. Exotic as it sounds, guests are
surprised with how delicious the taste is. It is
literally the taste of a Sampaguita flower, the
national flower of the Philippines, and is made
from its petals with infused flavors.

Owner of Ilustrados in Intramuros is Boni Pimentel (Co founder and

Owner). and Bea Pimentel (2nd generation owner).
 3. Tomo Japanese Restaurant –
Tomo Japanese Dining has opened recently with a wonderful setup
along  Araullo St. in San Juan Metro Manila. They converted an old house into a
Japanese restaurant with modern interiors and high quality furnishing. There is
ample parking in the compound and security to assist.
There is a also nice  Japanese Garden  outside the
restaurant which could possibly be used for al
fresco dining events.
Tomo Japanese Dining is powered by a
partnership between a former Sugi (popular
Japanese restaurant in Metro Manila) chef and a
hardworking entrepreneur. Together, they have
built a wonderful restaurant and it shows with the
number of people during their soft opening! The
place is full and you can hear the cellphone of the
receptionist ringing non-stop because of people
calling to reserve seats. Currently, they have a
20% soft opening discount and people are
definitely taking advantage of good discounted
food!
The place has a lot of seating especially on the
second floor. I felt that the materials used in the
restaurant made the sound (talking people)
bounce too much and I found the restaurant a bit
noisy but nothing too bad. Since the place is away
from popular commercial areas and there are no other options nearby, it is best
to call for a reservation or to make sure that there are seats available before
going there.

Owner of Tomo Japanese Restaurant is Chef Tom and Sugi.

 4. Classic Savory

As stated in yahoo.news, The fried chicken Filipinos came to love through

generations originated in a panciteria that was put up right after the second
World War. That small eatery in Quiapo initially served only lomi mostly to its
Chinese clientele, before introducing fried chicken into its menu. The tasty, juicy
and tender chicken recipe helped expand the eatery's customer base to attract
Filipino patrons, giving birth to what was then called Savory Chicken House,
managed by the Ting brothers.
The restaurant continued to introduce more recipes and added a few more
branches through the years. After about three decades, and with competition
getting more aggressive, Savory preferred to stay small with opening just a few
branches here and there. Destiny, however, had other plans for this restaurant
when SM's Tessie Sy-Coson had a chance encounter
with Ramon Tan, who is a direct descendant of the Ting
brothers.
It proved to be a prolific move. The restaurant
relaunched a trademarked brand in 2007 as Classic
Savory in SM Mall of Asia, followed two months later by
another branch in SM Hypermarket in Pasig. Today, the
new Classic Savory has 37 SM branches and 21 others
outside the mall. Tan now co-manages the restaurant
chain with Kristoferson Ting, a third generation cousin
of the family.
Classic Savory now employs more than a thousand staff and crew, or about 20
employees per branch. The restaurant has retained it classic warm feel, but with
modern touches that appeal to today's generation. The Classic Savory today offers
delivery, bulk orders and catering services.
Classic Savory now has 100 branches nationwide Antonio Ting’s is the co-
founder of Classic Savory.
5. Giligan’s Restaurant

Giligan’s Island Restaurant & Bar was established in January of

1997. The name Giligan’s was derived from their father’s name
“Guillermo or Guilly for short” combined with the old TV series
Gilligan’s Island. Before Giligan’s
was formed, the owner’s family was
very busy servicing bulk food orders
and offering catering services. It
was all their delighted customers
that convinced them to put up a
restaurant where anybody can enjoy their unique quality of food
whenever they want to. Soon they registered with SEC the
Alquiros Food Corporation to operate and manage their
business. The restaurant’s first venture on Blue Ridge, Quezon
City along Katipunan Avenue was very successful. It paved the
way to open their next branches. Today, Giligan’s Restaurant is
operating with more than 100+ branches nationwide and
continue expanding. Individual branches has 12 employees.

Owner of Giligan’s Restaurant Tom Hebert and Craig Webb.

6. THE ARISTOCRAT RESTAURANT

 To augment her family's income as her husband struggled to establish his
legal practice, Cruz-Reyes set up in 1928 a small  carinderia at  Calle de
Marques de Comillas in  Ermita, Manila. She named her eatery  Lapu-
Lapu (after the famed  Mactan chieftain who defeated Ferdinand
Magellan  in battle), adopted a native motif as interior decor, and served
primarily Filipino fare. These nationalistic manifestations especially stood
out considering that the Philippines was then under American colonial
rule.
By the 1930s, Cruz-Reyes was selling adobo sandwiches at the Luneta  out
of a car loaned to her by a future son-in-law.  Her reputation as a cook
had also grown due to the home dinners she had cooked for many of the
leading political figures of the day, friends of her now-prominent husband.
By 1936, Cruz-Reyes operated a rolling store — a mobile restaurant
featuring a menu stacked with traditional Filipino dishes — which she
named "The Aristocrat". The first Aristocrat restaurant operated out
a Studebaker  van. Within two years, Cruz-Reyes opened a permanent
restaurant at  Dewey Boulevard  in Manila. It remains open as of 2018, one of
the oldest restaurants in Manila. The choice of name was ironic and pointed,
for during that period, Filipino cuisine was not considered as appropriate
fare in the homes of the Filipino elite.
The restaurant was immediately successful, its original menu featuring
adobo, a chicken sandwich, dinuguan and  arroz caldo. By the 1950s, the
menu had expanded to feature such present-day specialties such as
chicken and pork  barbecue skewers,  Kare-Kare, Chicken Honey, Crispy
Pata and even a variation on the adobo sandwiches Cruz-Reyes used to
sell at the Luneta. The popularity of Aristocrat also helped usher a
renewed popularity of Filipino cuisine as worthy "first-class" fare, a
reputation Cruz-Reyes enhanced by her insistence of serving such dishes in
the dinners she was often called to cater at Malacañan Palace.

Owner of The Aristrocat Restaurant is Engracia Cruz-Reyes. She

was a Filipino Chef and Entrepreneur. As well as her Restaurant
has 23 employees.
7. What started out as a family business of catering in Olongapo City sprung into an iconic Filipino-
inspired restaurant in the walled city of Intramuros.
8. Back in the 1970’s, Barbara Gordon-De Los Reyes tried to venture into the food industry without any
culinary backgrounHowever, with the help of her family, she was able to learn and master the art of
Filipino cuisine. She then brought her new-found talent to General Malvar, Malate.
9.