physical distancing – Jellybeans in the City

Renowned writer Robert A. Heinlein once said “One should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast.”

I can definitely agree: breakfast fuels you at the start of the day, readying you for all the challenges you will face from then on.

And where do we go to get a tasty and nourishing breakfast, in the morning or any time of the day?

Denny’s, of course!

The first stop of an epic food crawl that my foodie friends and I undertook at the Trinoma Mall, Denny’s whetted our appetites for a satisfying day of eating.

Denny’s is known as America’s diner. It started in the 1950s as a donut stand called Danny’s Donuts. Since then, it has evolved into a global restaurant chain with 1700 locations, as well as adopted a slightly changed name.

In the Philippines, it is one of the restaurants managed by The Bistro Group, a collection of international and local hospitality brands.

In response to the need of the times, The Bistro Group has instituted safety protocols for safe dining-in at its restaurants. These include: regular health checks for all its personnel, compliance of all outdoor and indoor seating to physical distancing guidelines, hand sanitizers available at the entrance and on every table, as well as contactless menu ordering and payment.

These protocols require diners to submit to temperature checks, provide contact tracing details and using the hand sanitizers and sanitation mats prior to entering the restaurant premises, as well as wearing their personal protective equipment (PPEs) while inside. Would-be diners who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms or have been exposed to people who do, have underlying health conditions or have concerns about contracting the disease when dining out are advised to stay home and avail of the restaurant’s contactless delivery options.

With these measures in place, diners can just focus their attention to the hearty and flavorful dishes that Denny’s offers, such as:

Denny’s Share for All (Php695). A filling collection of appetizers such as pancake puppies, quesadilla, chicken fingers and fries served with ranch dressing, honey mustard and caramel sauce.

Lumberjack Slam (Php675). Two buttermilk pancakes, a slice of grilled ham, two bacon strips and two sausages. Thanks to Denny’s BOGO (Buy One Get One) Everyday deal, you get a free Garlic Smoked Bangus with your order of the Lumberjack Slam.

Filipino Breakfast Platter (Php1,395). Good for sharing by up to three persons, this is a smorgasboard of home-grown flavors which include bangus belly, crispy pork, sausage, eggplant, saba and side veggies accompanied by three pieces of pancakes.

Fill up on your brekkie faves and enjoy great savings with these great offers:

Buy One Get One Everyday: 15pc Wing Basket + All-Time Breakfast (Php395), Lumberjack Slam + Garlic Smoked Bangus (Php675), Any Ribs Dish + Fried Chicken & Waffle (Php395)
Bundles: 4 pcs pancakes + 4 pcs waffles + 6 pcs wings (Php795), 2 pcs pork belly + 2 pcs Denny’s Fried Chicken + Rice (Php795)

If you’ve got a monster-sized appetite or a major craving for breakfast food, head on to Denny’s!

You can also get great savings with the BFF Card, The Bistro Group’s loyalty program that gives members exclusive perks across 15 restaurant brands such as:

30% off on Mondays
20% off on Tueadays
Complimentary coffee or hot tea single-serve with entree purchase
Online seats reservation
Six Php250 e-vouchers with minimum purchase of Php1,000 per voucher

This Denny’s branch is located at Fourth Floor, Trinoma Mall, Bagong Pag-Asa, Quezon City, open Mondays to Thursdays from 11am to 8pm and Fridays to Sundays from 10am to 9pm. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 77723371 or +63 905 3713998.

Other branches are located at:

Ground Floor, Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City
Ground Floor, Venice Grand Canal, McKinley Hill, Taguig City
Ground Floor, Uptown Parade, 9th Avenue Corner 38th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Second Floor, Ayala North Exchange, Ayala Avenue Corner Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City
Ground Floor, Midtown Wing, Robinsons Place Manila, Ermita, Manila
Ground Floor, AllHome, C-5 Road Extension, Manuyo, Las Piñas City

Denny’s delivers via GrabFood and FoodPanda.

Check out my posts about other restos of The Bistro Group:

Just a day before the historic hotel’s founding anniversary, The Manila Hotel plans to partially open its doors to its valued guests, with the famed Café Ilang Ilang, the Lobby Lounge, and the Delicatessen resuming operations on July 3, 2020. A rebirth of sorts after months of following the government’s quarantine protocols, the hotel has adjusted along with the rest of the world in navigating the “new normal,” and puts a high premium on the well-being of guests.

With the lobby shining bright anew signifying eternal hope, The Manila Hotel commemorates its 108^th founding anniversary on July 4 by welcoming guests with an enduring brand of service that is now focused on enhanced health, hygiene, and sanitation protocols in line with DOH guidelines.

As the hotel prepares for the reopening, Atty Joey Lina, the president of The Manila Hotel, assures the public, “You are safe here. We have taken every precaution to heart so you and your loved ones can have peace of mind when you visit or stay with us.”

To its valued guests who are waiting for Café Ilang Ilang to open, The Manila Hotel offers its 108^th Anniversary Promo that gives the first 108 customers for the first 108 days of its reopening (including Saturdays and Sundays) a special dining rate of only Php1,250 for lunch, and only Php1,550 for dinner. Café Ilang Ilang likewise returns with a new system for dining where guests can “order and eat all you can,” meaning they can order as much food as they want from the selection of dishes at a fixed price.

Both Café Ilang Ilang and the Lobby Lounge will be open with limited seating capacity. Thorough sanitation procedures will be implemented, and guests can order using disposable menu, eat using cutlery in sealed containers, and even use tables with acrylic dividers. Front-facing personnel communicating with guests like Guest Services Officers (GSOs) and waiters will don masks, gloves, and face shields. To limit contact with guests, Café Ilang Ilang is also fine-tuning its contactless ordering and payment system.

Adopting best practices, the hotel launches a comprehensive initiative to assure its patrons they are safe at The Manila Hotel. High-traffic public areas will have hygiene reminder signages and distance indicators, and guests will be asked to undergo mandatory temperature checks, and health declaration procedure. Limited capacity will also be implemented in elevators, while several hotel facilities will remain closed including the spa, swimming pool, gym, and other areas.

High-touch points like door handles, elevator buttons, public area furniture, and others will be sanitized multiple times per day using UV technology. Tests reveal that UV sanitation greatly reduces the bacteria count on surfaces, as demonstrated by lower RLU readings—whose value is used as a measure of surface cleanliness—after the procedure.

Barring announcements from the government to the contrary, the hotel also plans to start accepting room bookings by August 2020. The public will be assured of rooms thoroughly cleaned first with UV-C light technology to eliminate germs, bacteria, and viruses; followed by medical-grade sterilizing and disinfecting solution. A change of fresh and sanitized linens; sanitation of touch points in the room including remote controls, lamps, etc.; and thorough bathroom disinfection are also art of the procedure. Guests will also receive personal wellness kits, issued a UV-sanitized keycard, and arrive to guestrooms with a seal of assurance that they are the first to enter the sanitized environment.

Because taking care of its own people means they can take better care of guests, The Manila Hotel has invested on testing its staff upon return to work to ensure they are healthy. The culinary team strictly adheres to stringent protocols on proper hygiene, hand washing, and food handling. Staff will be required to wear PPEs as needed, and a strict implementation of distancing measures will be done in the offices, front desk, and other areas frequent by guests.

The Manila Hotel looks forward to welcoming both loyal and new guests with the kind of service it is known for, with the assurance that “YOU ARE SAFE HERE” is not just a tagline but a commitment it truly means to uphold.