Manila's Best Kept Restaurant Secrets

Here's a list of the judges that decided the 2008 MBKRS Awards.  Thank you so much to each of you for taking the time to participate in this unforgettable event!

Ines and Elian

2008 MBKRS Awards Judges

Abba Napa – L’Opera

Amanda Griffin Jacob – Lifestyle TV personality

Anastacio de Alba – Alba’s Restaurante Español

Annie Nisce – Appetite Magazine

Anton Diaz – Food Blogger

Arnie del Rosario – Chaine des Rotisseurs

Audrey Carpio – Metro Magazine

Bel Castro – Manila Bulletin; Enderun Colleges

Boyet Sison – TV Personality

Cacay Moras – Lifestyle and Entertainment Specialist

Carrie Lagdameo – Je Suis Gourmand

Cecile Zamora Van Straten – Chuvaness.com Lifestyle and Fashion Blog

Chad Davis – Enderun Colleges

Chris Lacson – Habitat

Christine Nunag – F&B World

CJ Juntereal – Manila Bulletin

Coco Anne & Baby Imperial – B+C Design

Colin McKay – Sala and People’s Palace

Cristina Metelmann – Palato Fino

Cyril Ermita – Enderun Colleges

David Pardo de Ayala – Discovery Group

Dr Efren Vasquez – Café Juanita

Ed Quimson – Chef

Edward Simon – Photographer, Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets

Eri Neeman – WAVE 89.1 FM

Eric Kahn – Future Trade International

Ferdi Salvador – Discovery Group

Gabby Licauco – Powerbooks

Gene Gonzalez – Café Ysabel

Gwen Cariño – GJC Public Relations

Hossein Sohrabi – Hossein’s Persian Kebabs

James Aspinall – Call Search

Javi Berenger-Testa – Renaissance Makati City Hotel

Lexi Schulze-Testa – Media Personality

Javier Infante – Enderun Colleges

Jermaine Brown – Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets

Johnny Litton – Inquirer, Lifestyle Columnist and Host

Jenny Serrano-Silverio – ABS-CBN

Jose Mari Ugarte – ROGUE Magazine

Joshua Tiu – Zong

Katrina Tuason Cruz – ROGUE Magazine

Kimmie Assad-Lamata – Di’ Mark’s

Kitt Schroeder – Lemuria

Koby Parcell – Chocolate Fire

Lori Baltazar – Food Blogger

Lorraine Belmonte – Appetite Magazine

Louie Ysmael – Manila nightlife mogul (NUVO, Members Only, Silk)

Luis de Terry – Specialty Foods Expert

Mari Ressa – ABS-CBN

Marivic Diaz-Lim – Apartment 1B

Mark Jentes – PTFJ Ad Consult

Martin Wisniewski – Discovery Group

Mila Tan – International Food and Wine Society (Women’s Chapter)

Nino Laus – In Yo 

Paco Magsaysay – Tuesday Dinner Group

Paul Huang – Fire Lake Grill

Pazzy Navarro – Pazzy Manila

Peter Jentes – Schwarzwalder

Pilar Barrenechea – Catholic Women’s Club

Rachelle Ismael – Appetite Magazine

Raymond Rufino – The Net Group

Rene Baltazar – Harbor View

Robert Spakowski – Restaurant Consultant

Rosanna Escudero – Cancer Research Advocate

Roxs Cailao – Katre

Santi Picornell – Entrepreneur

Sau Del Rosario – Kingdom

Sec. Joseph Durano – Department of Tourism

Sergi Rostoll – Barcino Gourmet

Sergio Menendez – CEMEX

Teddy Montelibano – Food and Travel Columnist

Thomas Wenger – Enderun Colleges

Tina Pamintuan – Celebrity Chef

Tita Trillo – Titania Wine Cellars, La Vigne

Tricia Tensuan – Enderun Colleges

U-Sec Oscar Palabyab – Department of Tourism

Vanessa Conanan – Enderun Colleges

Vanessa Fernando – Zafra Motors

Vanessa Vitrano – Galileo Enoteca

Werner Berger – Werdenberg Group

We are very proud to present the First Annual MANILA'S BEST KEPT RESTAURANT SECRETS Awards, held this November 26th at Enderun Colleges' Fort Bonifacio campus, where we will celebrate excellence in the city's dining scene.  The awards are named after and inspired by the bestselling coffee-table book MANILA'S BEST KEPT RESTAURANT SECRETS, available at all major bookstores nationwide and now available internationally through Amazon.com.

The MBKRS Awards promise to be "the Oscars" of Manila's restaurant industry.  Each award was deliberated over by a diverse panel of individuals distinguished in the restaurant industry and related fields.  This “academy" of over 75 judges includes restaurant owners, top-chefs, educators in the hospitality industry, columnists and food critics, magazine editors, and other celebrities and reputable foodies.

The nominees for the 2008 MBKRS Awards are:

1.   Best Italian Restaurant

a)   L’Opera

b)   Café Caruso

c)    Bellini’s

d)   Amoroma

e)    L’Incontro

2.   Best French Restaurant

a)   Le Soufflé (Fort)

b)   Je Suis Gourmand

c)    La Cabane

d)   La Regalade

e)    Cuillère 

3.   Best Spanish Restaurant

a)   Alba Restaurante Español (Makati)

b)   La Tienda

c)    Terry’s Selection (Pasong Tamo Ext.)

d)   Amalia’s

e)    Casa Armas (Malate)

4.   Best Continental Cuisine

a)   Chateau 1771

b)   Sala

c)    Aubergine

d)   Lolo Dad’s

e)    Katre

f)     Lemuria

g)   Antonio’s

5.   Best Steakhouse

a)   Fire Lake Grill

b)   Mamou

c)    Elbert’s Steak Room

d)   Myron’s Place

e)    Duo

6.   Best Japanese Restaurant

a)   Sushi Tsumura

b)   Tsukiji

c)    Kai

d)   Sugi (Greenbelt)

e)    Seryna

7.   Best Filipino Restaurant

a)   Café Juanita

b)   Harbor View

c)    Abé

d)   Laudico Bistro Filipino

e)    La Cocina de Tita Moning

8.   Best Thai Restaurant

a)   Silk

b)   Azuthai

c)    People’s Palace

d)   Kingdom

9.   Best Chinese Restaurant

a)   Zong (Fort)

b)   Hai Shin Lou

c)    Gloria Maris (Greenhills)

d)   The Good Earth (Fort)

10. Best Central European Restaurant

a)   Schwarzwalder

b)   Old Swiss Inn (Makati)

c)    Bianca’s

d)   Mickey’s Deli (Makati)

e)    Vieux Chalet

11. Best Specialty Restaurant

a)   Hossein’s Persian Kebab (Makati)

b)   Ziggurat

c)    Manos Greek Taverna

d)   Korean Garden

e)    Zapata’s Mexican Restaurant

12. Best Bistro

a)   Apartment 1B

b)   Sala Bistro

c)    Palato Fino

d)   Chelsea

e)    Di’ Mark’s (QC)

13. Best Enoteca

a)   Galileo Enoteca (Mandaluyong)

b)   La Vigne

c)    Barcino Gourmet

d)   Terry’s Selection (Pasong Tamo Ext.)

e)    Cav

f)     Purple Feet (Wine Depot Makati)

14. Best Fusion Cuisine

a)   M Café

b)   InYo

c)    Portico 1771

15. Best Newcomer

a)   Aubergine

b)   Purple Feet

c)    Cav

d)   La Regalade

16. Best Restaurant/Bar

a)   NU-VO

b)   Piedra

c)    Handle Bar

d)   Cuisine

e)    Brava

17. Best Wine List

a)   Sala

b)   Restaurant 101

c)    Cav

d)   Balducci

e)    Lemuria

18. Best Hotel Restaurant:  International Buffet

a)   Spirals (Sofitel)

b)   Paseo Uno (Mandarin Oriental)

c)    M2M (Renaissance New World)

d)   Circles (Makati Shangri-La)

e)    Nielsen’s (Manila Peninsula)

f)     Café-on-the-ridge (Taal Vista)

19. Best Hotel Restaurant:  Fine Dining

a)   The Fireplace (Hyatt Hotel & Casino)

b)   Prince Albert (Intercontinental)

c)    Verbena (Discovery Country Suites)

d)   Le Bellevue (Manila Diamond)

e)    Red (Makati Shangri-La)

f)     Tivoli (Mandarin Oriental)

20. Best Hotel Restaurant: Specialty

a)   Paparazzi (Edsa Shangri-La)

b)   Li Li (Hyatt Hotel & Casino)

c)    Spices (Manila Peninsula)

d)   Benjarong (Dusit)

e)    Inagiku (Makati Shangri-La)

21. Best Chef

a)   Colin McKay (Sala)

b)   Marivic Diaz-Lim (Apartment 1B)

c)    Sau Del Rosario (Kingdom)

d)   Ariel Manuel (Lolo Dad’s)

e)    David Pardo de Ayala (Discovery)

f)     Marc Aubry (Je Suis Gourmand)

22. Lifetime Achievement Award

a)   Larry Cruz (posthumous)

b)   Margarita Fores

c)    Gene Gonzalez

d)   Anastacio de Alba

Since its launch on November 29 2007, Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets has received rave reviews from lifestyle columnists and food critics.  Here is what some have said:

"Plainly put... there's been no book like this, ever.   For those who feel that Manila is a gastronomic wasteland totally devoid of culinary delights, this book provides more than enough evidence to the contrary."     

Bel S. Castro, R&R, Manila Bulletin

 

"I think that everyone who reads this book will feel the same way—the sense of familiarity from reading about a favorite restaurant, and the excitement of finding a new place to try out."    

CJ Juntereal, Foodaholic, Manila Bulletin

 

"Foodies who appreciate the unexpected, such as recipes from a royal kitchen being served in an alleyway, will likely be interested in Manila's Best Kept Restaurant Secrets, a new coffee-table book featuring establishments that are exceptional in the sense that not a lot of people know they exist right around the corner, inside an unprepossessing building—the hidden gems in the city's maze of streets."    

Johanna Poblete, BusinessWorld

 

"This fresh-off-the-press coffee table book is the quintessential compendium of the very best culinary destinations around town."    

Natalia Diaz, Philippine Daily Inquirer

  

“The book presents Manila as the culturally rich cosmopolitan city that it is, presenting both its residents and tourists alike with world-class dining choices.”

Pepper Teehankee, The Pepper Mill, Philippine Star

 

“An excellent holiday gift” 

Tina Monson-Palma, ABS-CBN’s All News Channel

 

“In a sense, [Inés and Elian] see their work as a mission to restore ‘destination dining’—to make eating a real adventure, with diners seeking out a place or a special dish to indulge in.” 

Appetite Magazine

 

“I get hungry just looking through it!” 

DJ Daphne, Mellow 94.7 FM

 

“She is one of MEGA Magazine’s contributing writers for food features and has launched her first book Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets.  The word is out.  With wine, wit and history running through her veins, Inés Cabarrus is Manila’s best kept secret no more.”

Mega’s Women to Watch in 2008, Mega Magazine

 

“If ever there was a book that looks good enough to eat, this would be it.”

Sunday Inquirer Magazine

 

“Writing-wise, the creative tandem composed of Ines Cabarrus and Elian Habayeb seemingly can do no wrong.  Compelled by their desire to investigate into the stories behind their favorite restaurants and come up with an aesthetically pleasing publication, the duo devoted a year (or a bit more) to this project.  And their dedication shows, because they treat their interview subjects with love, with the kind of writing that describes the quirks and sterling qualities of good friends praised for doing what they do best: create good food served with flair.”

A. Gan, Manila Bulletin

  

“The excitement of discovery was what propelled wine and beverage expert Ines Cabarrus and internationally recognized DJ Elian Habayeb to put together the coffee table book.”

Lifestyle Asia

 

“Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets is also an eye candy confectionary, with beautiful photography by Edward Simon.

Just like every homemade dish, this was manifestly made with much love.”

Tals Diaz, Rogue Magazine