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WHEN WE visited Watami at S Maison for a tasting on Feb. 27, there wasn’t anything that we haven’t tried before — we already liked the ramen, and the non-traditional sushi (California rolls and dragon rolls are on the menu), and the tonkatsu. What they were introducing was a new way of presenting things.

“We have not changed our core classics. What we did with some of these dishes — because they’re also bestsellers — is we just elevated the way we present it,” said Lisa Ronquillo-Along, The Bistro Group’s chief marketing officer, of the dishes at the Japanese-Casual franchise from Japan. Watami has over 700 branches in the Asia-Pacific region, while in the Philippines, according to Ms. Ronquillo-Along’s count, they have over 20 branches nationwide.

“That’s how they experience food. It’s not just the taste, but the look,” she said.

This is in keeping with a new policy to polish their dining spaces (we heard the same explanation at two other Bistro Group offerings). That ties up with the younger millennial and Gen Z predilection for documenting their dining experiences and posting it on social media.

“There’s been a dilution of the segment. We see the younger age group, they are very strong in the dining segment scene.” She pointed at a change in this segment’s behavior: they no longer scrimp on dining out. “Now, the food experience is important to them,” she said. “We don’t want us to be not relevant to this market.”

Still, Watami’s Japanese chef Masaaki Ishikawa said that they’re still concentrating on taste. While there weren’t too many new things to try (save perhaps for seeing sushi served on a miniature staircase), they’re planning to execute seasonal and quarterly items to match with Japan’s four seasons.

He’s also proud of one particular item: “Please check the ramen broth. Our broth is very good,” he said. The broth, according to him, had to be simmered for 20 hours (equivalent to two working days). That imparts a lot of bone-derived gelatin and collagen into the soup: “Very creamy.”

NEW DIGS
Ms. Ronquillo-Along talked about The Bistro Group’s expansion plans, saying “We’ve been aggressive since 2022.” They’re laying out bigger plans to expand outside Metro Manila, with locations in Iloilo, La Union, and Bacolod. They’re prioritizing their older brands first (TGI Friday’s for example, which has been here since the 1990s). In total, they’re targeting to open a minimum of 30 restaurants nationwide this year (with a possible maximum of 50, should conditions turn well).

Moreover, they’re exploring new directions in opening standalone restaurants, not within malls. “We’re going outside our comfort zone, the mall,” she said. Though “’yun pa rin naman ang strength (that’s still our strength).”

“People now are not limited to impulse dining,” she said, meaning people no longer eat at whatever happens to be there; but make a conscious decision on where to eat. “It’s easier for them to go,” she added, meaning bypassing mall parking and all other inconveniences. “You’re not confined with high mall rents also.

“We shouldn’t close our doors on that opportunity,” she said. — Joseph L. Garcia

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(But there are still things to do at the hotel)

THE Makati Shangri-La held a lunch on Feb. 26 to show off what they can do for their wedding crowd in matters of food.

Lunch began with a tofu pudding topped with bonito dashi jelly, then followed up by a similarly light fish soup with a green dumpling at the center. Pomfret bones were chopped up and simmered for the stock, while the fish’s flesh was supplemented with shrimp and pork to fill the dumpling. This was finished with threads of egg white and topped with kaffir lime and ginger. The main course was a bit heavier, with Australian beef cheeks marinated in Shiraz overnight then braised. Dessert swung back to lightness with a spongy Hokkaido cheesecake with a strawberry sauce.

As one would notice, this lunch menu displayed multiple cuisines spanning the globe. Nina Besacola, director of sales and marketing for the hotel, said it’s part of the experience. “It’s always customized,” she said about the wedding menus they have been presenting to clients. “It can be a mix of different cuisines.”

She also spoke about the capabilities of the hotel to host big events, opening venues like their spa, the grand staircase, and even their gardens and tennis courts for shoots and events.

These customized menus are a sign of things to come for the hotel. In 2021, they closed down during the pandemic, but reopened in 2023. “We’re getting there, although admittedly, we started slow in 2023,” said Ms. Besacola.

For example, the hotel used to have 696 rooms in total, but now, it works on a partially opened status, with about 517 rooms. No matter — they’re planning to open more rooms to accommodate the Association of Southeast Asian Nations delegates arriving this year. “We were forced to open more rooms because of the demand,” she said. 

The function rooms, she said, are all open, but they are going to mix things up at the restaurants. Its Chinese restaurant, Shang Palace, will get a new chef, while the Japanese restaurant, Inagiku will see a rebrand and a new name.

Ms. Besacola remains optimistic about their events. “We’re getting a lot of local and international events,” she said, adding that they’ve been hosting several embassies’ national days (their ballrooms are popular with the embassy crowd). That includes not just the 700-seat Rizal Ballroom, but also the junior ballrooms and other function rooms. “Our edge (still) is our facilities,” she said. — Joseph L. Garcia