safety protocols – The Jellybeans Edit

The Manila Hotel intensifies efforts towards safety of staff and guests

HEPA Filtration System against viruses in place at the historic hotel

As The Manila Hotel’s famed Café Ilang-Ilang and the romantic Champagne Room reopened on January 28 and February 2, 2022, respectively. The hotel chose to suspend dining operations and do general maintenance when the holiday festivities died down to ensure food quality and guest safety, as well as do spot-checks on its facilities.

Café Ilang-Ilang is still one of the best eat-all-you can restaurants in the country where diners can indulge in a wide range of food selections for lunch and dinner daily. This brings together Italian, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and even certified Halal dishes under one roof for an indulgent eat-all-you-can feast featuring crowd favorites like the US Beef Rib Roast; items from the Churrasco station; seafood like prawns and crabs; a glorious spread of different sushi and sashimi; Filipino favorites like Lechon with truffle rice; an array of desserts including bibingka, puto bumbong, and halo-halo; and many more.

The Manila Hotel’s Café Ilang-Ilang and The Champagne Room reopens

Meanwhile, Manila’s premier destination for exquisite fine dining, the Champagne Room, serves up lunch and dinner from Wednesday to Saturday, with choices from la carte items and special multi-course degustation menus—conceived by the hotel’s Executive Chef to showcase what this dining outlet is all about. Think generous servings of Black Angus Tenderloin, US Prime Beef Rib, the Chilean Sea Bass, or the satisfying Seafood Medley; there are also choices of starters; and for dessert, don’t miss out on the indulgent sweet delight—its signature Baked Alaska. The most romantic room in the country marks the return of its fine dining just in time for Valentine month.

YouAreSafeHere will always be a commitment

As the hotel continues to accept staycation guests, social events in various function rooms, and with dining outlets reopening, it will be much safer for guests to visit and dine in the outlets as the historic hotel takes a technology-driven solution to create a safer environment for guests by installing several innovative High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) UV-Care Clean air purifying filtration system units in different high-traffic areas.

The UV Care Air Purifier with Humidifier with 8-Stage Filtration System is proven to kill 99.97% SARS-CoV2* and is a timely response to the surge of the COVID-19 Delta and Omicron variants in the country (*tested by MRI Global USA, according to UV-Care website).

According to its manufacturers, the more advanced, medical-grade H14 HEPA filter has VIRUX® patented technology with a built-in activated carbon and photocatalyst filters that, along with UV LED lamp, is proven to effectively eliminate bacteria, germs, viruses, and pathogens. Their product information also states that these air filtration units are efficient in capturing and removing airborne particulates such as PM 2.5 and other allergens, dust, mold, and pollution from the air, and provides Ultraviolet-C sanitization to disinfect the air and kill germs. When used along with the best practices recommended by the IATF, DOH and DOT, it could be an effective indoor protection for both guests and staff.

The Manila Hotel welcomes dining and staycation guests with further assurance that “YOU ARE SAFE HERE”—because it isn’t just a tagline for us, but a commitment we uphold. For air quality, the hotel also installed heavy-duty York Solution Mobile HEPA Air-Handling Units in wider areas like the Grand Lobby.

Aside from dining options, staycation and leisure stays are now at guest-friendly rates from only P6,000 nett. For more information on room and restaurant rates and reservations, guests may call the trunkline 85270011 or 09989501912. They can also book rooms by emailing resvn@themanilahotel.com, and make dining reservations via restaurantrsvn@themanilahotel.com.

Details and images provided by the Manila Hotel in a recent press release.

The Manila Hotel reopens dining outlets

The Manila Hotel’s two restaurants, Lobby Lounge and the famed Café Ilang-Ilang, are now open to serve dine-in guests under Metro Manila’s current community quarantine restrictions. The reopening of both outlets will enable guests to enjoy great food, their well-loved dishes, connect and meet with their colleagues and friends while maintaining social distancing in spacious dining areas.

The Manila Hotel is equipped with fresh air dampers that circulate fresh outdoor air sanitized by air micro filters into the outlets, so guests are assured that cleaner and better air quality is circulated within the indoor dining set-up. Social distancing is also strictly implemented, with enhanced cleaning, regular disinfection, and safety protocols also in place.

The Lobby Lounge is the perfect spacious venue for meetings and meet-ups offering free Wi-Fi for diners. Already dressed in festive décor to bring some much-needed joy and a spirit of hope in these trying times, the lounge is also a great place to have a filling meal from breakfast to dinner. It has also adopted the bestselling items from the hotel’s signature Chinese restaurant, Red Jade. Guests can enjoy Local Delights like Kare-Kare, Crispy Pata, and Sinigang na Salmon, among others, and feast on chow mien, dim sum basket, and the crispy Lechon Macau paired with Yang chow fried rice. Drinks, cocktail of the month, and snack staples including the Filipino High Tea, Merienda Especial, are also featured in the menu.

For people who have missed the plethora of international and local food selections at Café Ilang-Ilang, the beloved restaurant brings together Italian, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and even certified Halal dishes under one roof for an Eat-All-You-Can feast. Add to that the popular carving station that normally features Lechon and the US Roast Beef; the Churrasco station where you can have choice meats and seafood grilled for you while you wait; and the Cold Station with seafoods, cold cuts, and salads galore. The Dessert Station is always the sweet last stop where guests can delight in the artisanal ice cream in various flavors; Puto Bumbong and Bibingka; fresh fruits and cakes; and so much more.

Cafe Ilang Ilang's Roast US Beef — Roast Beef

Cafe Ilang-Ilang Japanese station — Japanese Station

Although sitting capacity is still limited for now, both The Manila Hotel’s Lobby Lounge and Café Ilang-Ilang are eager to welcome guests. Under the IATF guidelines for GCQ Alert Level 4 for Metro Manila, The Manila Hotel is only allowed to accept fully vaccinated guests between 18 to 65 years old until further notice; it continues to implement standard safety protocols in line with the DOH and IATF guidelines.

The Lobby Lounge operates from 9am to 9pm, weekdays and 9am to 3pm on weekends. Café Ilang-Ilang serves lunch at 11:30AM and dinner at 5:30PM.

For more information regarding reservation and buffet rates, please call our hotline numbers at (02) 85270011 or 0998-9501912. You may also email restaurantrsvn@themanilahotel.com or check and book online via www.manila-hotel.com.ph.

For updates and promos, please follow The Manila Hotel on Facebook and Instagram.

#TheBistroGroup Trinoma Food Crawl: Denny’s

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: