Birthday treat at Denny’s

My boss treated me and my office buddies to lunch at Denny’s in Trinoma for my birthday.

The Denny’s chain is pretty new in the Philippines. It started in 1953 as Danny’s Donuts in Lakewood, California, and renamed to Danny’s Coffee Shops when it changed to a 24-hour operation. It was again renamed to Denny’s Coffee Shops to avoid confusion with another LA resto, Coffee Dan’s. In 1961, its name was shortened to just Denny’s, and it has stayed that way until today. It now has over 1,000 stores in the US and is further branching out to other countries, including Southeast Asia when it opened its first store in the Philippines in 2016 in partnership with the Bistro Group.

We actually chose Denny’s for my birthday treat because one of my buddies has a BFF card that gives him discounts in restos under the Bistro Group Management. Aside from Denny’s these include some of my old favorites such as TGI Fridays and Italianni’s.

Denny’s offerings seem to meld its heritage of American diner classics with Filipino favorites. They are characterized by big portions (so get ready for a caloric overload!), simple but big plating and eggs, eggs and more eggs!

For lunch, we ordered:

Moons Over My Hammy (Php375) – a classic ham and scrambled egg sandwich with Swiss and American cheese on toast served with fries
Pork Chops and Eggs (Php325) – two pieces of grilled pork chops served with two eggs, mashed potatoes and brown gravy
Pork Belly and Eggs (Php325) – grilled pork belly basted with Filipino-style barbecue sauce and served with two eggs garlic rice and a small mixture of finely chopped tomatoes and onions that usually accompany grilled meats

I even got a complimentary goblet of chocolate ice cream with a birthday candle and a lively rendition of the store’s version of the “Happy Birthday” song from the staff.