It’s been a month of lockdown for the restaurants with no dine in, without even al fresco dining until September 7. Let’s show our support this first week of September to our favorite restaurants and give them much-needed morale-boosting to survive the lockdown.
Here are 7 ways you can help save restaurants in Manila:
1. Rediscover Your Favorite Restaurant!
Rediscover new specialties from your favorite restaurants to show your support.
I remember when Rache and I were still dating, we would always go to Italiannis for our favorite Sicilian Salad with Chicken, focaccia bread dipped in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lots of parmesan cheese plus either a simple pizza or pasta.
We would always go back over the years to introduce our favorites to our kids and recently we had Italiannis during my birthday!
Our new favorite is the Seafood Cioppino—jumbo shrimp, littleneck clams, fresh mussels, calamari and tilapia with fresh garlic, onions and oregano in a spicy white wine seafood broth served with Tuscan bread. Ang sarap nito.
For more info, visit https://www.italiannis.com.ph/.
2. Order Direct (NOT via Food Panda or Grab Food)
Make sure to order directly from the restaurant and not via Food Panda or Grab Food that usually charges the restaurant 30%.
What most foodies do is to order from Instagram, Facebook or direct from their website and book the rider separately depending on how delicate the food is. You can also have it picked-up by car on the designated pickup time.
Every percentage counts these days. You may think it’s just another way to order but ordering direct means the profits go directly to the restaurants as well.
For more info, visit https://crosta.pickup.ph/.
3. Celebrate with Casual Zoom Fine Dining
Make your Zoom birthday celebrations special by ordering from your favorite fine dining restaurants.
When JoMag turned 60, we celebrated it with a casual fine dining 4-course meal from Gallery by Chele. We get to taste the fine flavors of Spain by Chele in the comforts of our home.
Chef Chele logged in to our Zoom session to greet the birthday celebrant and introduce each food that we were enjoying. This additional touch is what we miss when we dine in the restaurants.
For more info, visit https://gallerybychele.com/.
4. Support Restaurants of your Favorite Chefs!
The restaurant business is all about relationships, so let’s support our favorite chefs!
We’ve been fans of Cafe Fleur ever since it opened in Pampanga, and now that they are open in Brgy. Poblacion, the restaurant has been thriving whenever dine-in is allowed.
As they strengthen their delivery operations, please support Cafe Fleur. Their comfort food line-up is now available for pick up. Watch out for their promos like the Vuco Fye is Vack and Vack to Vack promo with Buy 1 get 1 free offers!
For more info, visit http://cafefleur.ph/.
5. Eat Remotely with friends with Bento Boxes
The Bento Boxes are trending for eating together remotely either for special occasions or for team building.
We love Hotel Okura’s Japanese food, and they serve one of the best bento boxes in town.
Their Chicken Karaage is marinated and seasoned well on a bed of shredded cabbage and sesame dressing, paired with a set of simple simmered vegetables & pickles. Love the well-thought of packaging. You can have this for your next special Zoom celebration.
For more info, visit https://www.hotelokuramanila.com/.
6. Support Festival Promotions
Let’s support special festivals like the Singapore Festival in Manila from August 27 to September 12.
Filipinos can also savor the flavors of Singapore through STB’s partnership with online food delivery app, Pick.A.Roo. They can order from any of its 11 partner merchants—Putien, Hawker Chan, Babu, Marriott Cafe, Shang at Home, James & Daughter, Banana Leaf, Your Local, Char Express, Nanyang, and Wee Nam Kee—and get a discount voucher worth Php 150 for a minimum purchase of Php 1,000 using the code PICKSFF.
Fans of Singaporean flavors can also join other free virtual activities by visiting singaporefoodfestival.sg.
7. Vaccinate!
Finally, make sure to help your family and friends get vaccinated ASAP!
We will all be safe doing al fresco dining when the dining public, as well as the restaurant staff, is vaccinated. We have to live with Covid as an endemic, and vaccinated people have more protection against the severe impact of any Covid variants.
At the moment, Metro Manila is 50% vaccinated and it is a race to get to 70-80% for herd immunity in the metro in time for the Christmas season.
Live an Awesome Life with Christ,
Founder & Digital Creator, Our Awesome Planet
Disclosure: Thanks to Nikkei Team for the experience. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights.
P.S. You can also support your favorite restaurants by liking and sharing their social media posts. If you have a blog or vlog, make sure to promote them on your website and channels.
