(Last of 3 parts)
CALIFORNIA, USA -- Talking about the restaurant business, the Manila Lechon Restaurant, where everything is cooked under one roof, has endured the test of time.
Established in 1995, it is still churning out its best-selling recipe -- the lechon kawali.
Filipinos who are fond of drinking on weekends, or having parties, could readily rely on Manila Lechon for a variety of special "pulutan" delicacies.
"Despite the competition, we are able to survive because we have established our own customers since this restaurant opened more than 20 years ago," Nory Lim, owner of Manila Lechon, explained in an interview.
However, the business would even do much better had it not been for the presence of other food outlets, which operate side-by-side with each other, Lim lamented.
Until now, she doesn't understand why the real estate property company which operates the sprawling complex has allowed other food outlets to operate close to each other.
Even then, Manila Lechon has become a one-stop shop where everything the customers need is available here, she added.
Lim said aside from the desserts and "pulutan," the restaurant offers the usual recipes many customers look for in a truly Pinoy food hub.
Beside Manila Lechon is Goldilocks, which is popularly known for its fancy wedding cakes and special desserts.
To compete, it has slowly adopted itself to offering regular recipes that many customers look for on a daily basis.
Sometimes, discriminating customers put particular emphasis on quality service.
Of course, they would expect that the food being served on the table is freshly cooked and delicious.
In other restaurants, customers have to wait for a while before their order is served fresh from the kitchen, a practice that some customers frown at.
In restaurant management, this strategy is meant to serve the food orders fresh from the kitchen.
Another reason is for them to cut so much food wastage. Hence, the chef only cooks what is being ordered.
In other restaurants, walk-in customers may immediately pick the recipe displayed on the food shelves, Allan Gutierrez, an independent contractor and a regular customer at the Pinoy stores said.
This way, all the customer can do is to place his order and pay the bill at once as there are no waiters/waitresses to collect the payments, he added.
Just the same, the recipes can be served steamy hot on the customer's table. Sometimes, if you request for it, a delicious soup is served for free, a compliment that will make each meal fully satisfying to the bone.
As a reminder to food aficionados, the atmosphere in this city is typical of any other known places in Metro Manila, where almost all the sumptuous cuisines that suit your tastes, could be readily available almost everywhere.
And what is so unique about this place is that special delicacies from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, can be bought at any of the restaurants here.
And surely you'll never go hungry for as long as your nose knows where to take you. (Randy G. Altarejos/PNA)
(This is the last installment of a three-part feature series of Randy Altarejos, former editor of the Philippine News Agency who is now based in the United States.)
