Winners of The Manila Best Kept Restaurant Secrets (MBKRS) Awards 2012

A near-full moon shone over Enderun Colleges Culinary Center on the night of “The Oscars of Manila’s Restaurant Industry”, The MBKRS Awards 2012.  The large hall of the center’s atrium was packed to the brim with chefs, restaurateurs, hoteliers, media and other guests, waiting with bated breath to hear the results that would be announced that night.  30 award categories, 150 nominees, and a panel of over 100 judges—these are the key elements in this prestigious awarding ceremony that recognizes excellence in Manila’s dining scene.

Elian Habayeb and Ines Cabarus of the MBKRS

This year’s awards were held on November 27 to a record crowd. Before the ceremony began, guests mingled, munched and sipped on fabulous food and wine sponsored by some of the best restaurants and beverage companies in the city.  None other than the honorable secretary of tourism Ramon Jimenez Jr. opened the awards with an inspiring speech.  Jimenez urged restaurants to constantly strive for excellence, all the while maintaining “focus” and “consistency”.

MBKRS Team Rey Moraga, Ines and Elian, Francesca Trinidad

The MBKRS Awards organizers Ines Cabarrus and Elian Habayeb—authors of the bestselling coffee-table book Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets who also hosted the event, were joined on stage by celebrity presenters who helped hand out the night’s prestigious awards: Metro Society Managing Editor Georgia Schulze del Rosario, popular blog When in Manila’s Vince Golangco, Ministry of Mushrooms Founder Marco Lobregat, Pinkerton Ice Cream’s Alexandra Rocha, Jim Araneta of Global Beer Exchange, Tina Pamintuan of L’Incontro, Enderun’s Hospitality Management Director Bobby Horrigan, Mercato Centrale Co-founder Vanessa Ledesma, The Comedy Cartel’s Noel Gascon and Victor Anastacio, Juice.ph’s Spanky Enriquez, Melissa Gecolea of ANC, and actors Janice de Belen and Johnny Revilla, who are both starring together in the upcoming thriller Strangers.  The independent auditing firm SGV & Co witnessed the announcements and checked whether the results from the survey tool QuestionPro are consistent with the winners announced.

Marco Lobregat, Xandra Rocha and Colin Mackay

The list of winners is as follows:

Awards by Cuisine
Best ITALIAN RESTAURANT: Va Bene Pasta Deli
Best FRENCH RESTAURANT: Brasserie Ciçou
Best SPANISH RESTAURANT: Terry’s Selection
Best JAPANESE RESTAURANT: Sugi
Best CHINESE RESTAURANT: Hai Shin Lou
Best CONTINENTAL CUISINE: Sala
Best THAI RESTAURANT: People’s Palace
Best FILIPINO RESTAURANT: Abé
Best MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT: Hossein’s Persian Kebab
Best KOREAN RESTAURANT: Kaya
Best INDIAN RESTAURANT: New Bombay Indian Cuisine
Best CENTRAL EUROPEAN RESTAURANT: Old Swiss Inn
Best SPECIALTY CUISINE: Corner Tree Café

Specialty-based Awards
Best STEAKHOUSE: Elbert’s Steak Room
Best BISTRO: Sala Bistro
Best RESTO/BAR: M Café
Best ENOTECA: Cav
Best WINE LIST: Barcino Gourmet
Best BURGER JOINT: Charlie’s Grind & Grill
Best DESSERT, ICE CREAM AND CAKE SHOP: The Cake Club
Best NEWCOMER: Wildflour Café + Bakery

Hotel Restaurant Awards
Best HOTEL RESTAURANT: INTERNATIONAL BUFFET: Spiral (Sofitel)
Best HOTEL RESTAURANT: FINE DINING: Impressions (Maxims)
Best HOTEL RESTAURANT: SPECIALTY: Shang Palace (Makati Shangri-La)
Best HOTEL BAR: Salon de Ning (Peninsula)

Individual Achievement Awards
Best EMERGING TALENT: Martin Wisniewski
Best CHEF: J Gamboa
Best RESTAURANT GROUP ENTREPRENEUR: Annabel Wisniewski
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Juan Carlos de Terry

Spanky Enriquez, Makati Shangri Las Michael Golden Whitehead, Melissa Gecolea

Attending the event were a veritable smorgasbord of the movers and shakers of Manila’s restaurant scene.  The night’s big winners were of course Juan Carlos de Terry, together with his wife, Mari de Terry, Best Chef J Gamboa accompanied by his vibrant sister Malu Gamboa, Chef Robby Goco, winner of two awards Chef Cyrille Soenen, Colin Mackay who swept the awards with wins for all his restaurants, and Martin Wisniewski, who also bagged three awards, one of them on behalf of his mother Annabel Wisniewski.

Cyrille Soenen, JC de Terry and J Gamboa

Other notable guests included Margarita Fores, Chef Chris Locher, Chef Sau del Rosario, Chef Philip Golding, Chef Paul Huang, Chef Adrian Cuenca, Claude Tayag, Las Flores’ Uri Singla and Dani Aliaga, Raj Sadhwani, Murray Hertz, Hossein Sohrabi, brothers Alexander and Markus Jentes, The Mandarin Oriental’s Javier Berenguer-Testa, Madonna English, Chiqui Mabanta (winner for Best Specialty Cuisine), CJ Juntereal, Baby Imperial and Coco Anne, ANC’s Boyet Sison, Chef Kerwin Go, Raymond Toledo, Monica Llamas, Katheryn Eckstein, Jean Fernando, Dale Pagkalinawan, Christoper Lacson, the lovely Michelle Pamintuan and Cristina Cu, Belarus Consul Annette Ablan, wordsmith Krip Yuson, Michelle Pantoja-Picornell,  Bamboo Bike advocate Bryan Maclleland, and photographer Wesley Villarca, and many many others.

Claude Tayag

“It keeps getting better and better every year!” exclaimed Margarita Fores, who won for Lifetime Achievement in 2010.  And this sentiment absolutely rang true as guests constantly sang praises for organizers Ines and Elian, and stayed on into the night to enjoy the wonderful food and endless libations. There is only one way to move from here…onwards and upwards, and till the next MBKRS Awards…2014!

J and Malu Gamboa

The MBKRS Awards are inspired by the coffee-table book Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets and celebrate bi-annually excellence in the city’s dining scene.  For more visit www.mbkrsawards.com and like www.facebook.com/mbkrsawards to get real-time updates.

Authors Ines Cabarrus and Elian Habayeb also run Chihuahua Mexican Grill, host the radio program MUSIC AND WINE on musicandwineradio.com, and write the lifestyle column by the same name in the Manila Standard Today.  A former CEMEX executive, Elian is also a DJ and performs at various clubs and bars around the city.  Ines holds a WSET level 3 certificate in Wine & Spirits, was on the faculty of Enderun, and is the General Manager of the Japanese restaurant Sugi.

CREDITS
The organizers of the MBKRS Awards would like to thank all those whose support made the event possible.

supported by
The Department of Tourism

media partners
ANC
Between Bites
Boracay Beach Radio
BusinessWorld
Da Hapi Life!
chuvaness.com
Circuit
Cook
Enjoy Philippines
Entrepreneur
Esquire
Expat Travel & Lifestyle
F&B World
Food
frannywanny.com
Gala
HerWord.com
jinlovestoeat.com
juice.ph
Lifestyle Asia
Malaya Business Insight
Manila Standard
Mellow947
Mercato Centrale
Metro
Metro Society
musicandwineradio.com
Net 25
Olive
One Big Bite
ourawesomeplanet.com
PinoyTuner
PTV 4
radiorepublic.ph
Sense & Style
Spoon
thepickiesteater.net
triportreats.com
UNO
wheninmanila.com
Women's Health
yedylicious.com

food
Achiote
Charlies Grind & Grill
Chihuahua
Cibo
Cirkulo
Corner Tree Cafe
Cova
Kabila
Kasbah
Mana-ish and More
My Kitchen by Chef Chris
Sugi
XO 46 Bistro Filipino

wine & beverages
Arizona Iced Tea
Barcino Gourmet
Best World Beverages
Booze Online
Don Papa Rum
Global Beer Exchange
Sola Iced Tea
Werdenberg Corp.

other sponsors

Enderun Colleges

B+C Design

SATB

Optimind

Confetti Effects

witnessing of results

The independent auditing firm SGV & Co witnesses the announcement of the winners at the awarding ceremony. SGV checks whether the results from the survey tool, QuestionPro are consistent with the winners announced.

MBKRS AWARDS 2012 JUDGES

The organizers of the MBKRS Awards are simply facilitators and do not vote. This academy of judges is made up of individuals distinguished in the restaurant industry and other related fields.

Judges vote in two ballots using the survey tool QuestionPro.  In the first round, they are allowed to cast up to three (3) votes in each category to determine the nominees (the top-5 finalists), and they cast only one (1) vote per category in the second round to determine the winners.

Restaurateurs
martin wisniewski m café
archie rodriguez cpk
chiqui mabanta corner tree café
louie ysmael opus
abba napa ‘cue modern barbecue
conrad alcantara craft
kimmie assad-lamata di mark’s
vanessa vitrano galileo enoteca
rollie fabie mesa
karen elizalde super submarine
johnlu koa the french baker
paolo nesi l’opera
sergi rostoll las flores
charrie lim sugi
robi joseph nectar
koby parcell-cruz chocolate fire

Chefs
bruce lim asian food channel
david pardo de ayala discovery
adrian cuenca elbert’s steak room
christian vecin café curieux
thomas wenger enderun
kerwin go people’s palace
luis de terry ‘cue modern barbecue
michelle pantoja fourth street kitchen
rob spakowski chef’s secret

Restaurateur-chefs
colin mackay people’s palace
sau de rosario villa café
cyrille soenen brasserie cicou
katrina khun-alcantara chuck’s deli
marivic diaz-lim apartment 1b
robby goco cyma
rob pengson the goose station
tina pamintuan l’incontro
ed quimson m catering
josh tiu zong
claude tayag bale dutung
paul huang fire lake grill
him uy de baron nomama
gino gonzalez bellissimo
ian padilla la girolle
roxs cailao katre
suzette montinola la cocina de tita moning
martin kaspar l’entrecote

Hoteliers
chico angeles discovery
alfredo roca fuego hotels
bobby horrigan enderun
ed vitug the bayleaf intramuros
charisse chuidian mandarin oriental
jimmy concepcion days hotel
oliver kreuzer mandarin oriental
philippe bartholomi century park

Media
erwan heussaff esquire
amanda griffin-jacob lifestyle network
joy subido philippine star
ana gonzalez people asia
lexi schulze anc
audrey carpio esquire
bel castro freelance food writer
boyet sison anc
cj juntereal f&b world
kat tuason radio republic
lara parpan women’s health
marco rodriguez freelance food writer
heidi ng lifestyle asia
nana ozaeta food magazine
pebbles reyes asian food channel
robyn narciso abc
edward simon appetite
gwen carino gjc
dinah ventura daily tribune
anna sobrepena lifestyle asia
izzy gonzalez people asia
bebeth timbol abs-cbn
marilen fontanilla f&b world
kat lagman freelance food writer
yvette tan philippine star
david celdran anc
pepper teehankee philippine star
janine dario 24/7 nocturnal navigator
cheryl tiu lifestyle asia
teddy montelibano rogue
spanky enriquez juice.ph

Bloggers
cecile van straaten chuvaness
anton diaz our awesome planet
chinkee koppe one big bite
vince golangco when in manila
sanjeeb golpadas table for three please
ginger arboleda manila reviews
richie zamora the pickiest eater
cyrene de la rosa chowbuzz
rj galang man eat manila
jean fernando trip or treats
richard co tales from the tummy
jin perez jin loves to eat
paul syjuco table for three please
frances ang frannywanny
jane chua between bites
yedy calaguas yedylicious

Celebrity Foodies
ruffa gutierrez actress
harry thomas us ambassador
janice de belen actress
kit cojuangco businessman
annette ablan belarus consul
arnie del rosario chaine des rotisseurs
johnny revilla actor
luli arroyo former first-daughter
vanessa fernando businesswoman
carlos celdran advocate
krip yuson poet

Related Fields
nandy villar mccaan erickson
bea teh citibank
jin gonzalez quickdelivery
jay labrador the wine steward
jim araneta global beer exchange
gigi bautista gba events asia
jojo madrid premium wine exchange
eric kahn future trade
david dennis opus
tricia tensuan enderun
edna diaz best world beverages
john suits enderun
leah huang ogilvy
tetta tirona stram events
markus jentes ptfj ad consult
raymond rufino the net group
adolf aran courage asia
alfie sy enjoy philippines
cacay moras events specialist
kat holigores ava
aneth lim citibank
robbie dinglasan bullet
chesa zimmer co.lab
olga azarcon moet-henessey
ferdi salvador tea
cristalle henares belo medical group

Disclaimer: Details and Information from the MBKRS Team.