Amidst a Luzon island-wide community quarantine closure, Makati City’s Toyo Eatery remains on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants for the second straight year.
The rankings of the 2020 edition of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants revealed on March 24, 2020, placed Toyo Eatery in the 44th spot. The restaurant debuted in the 2019 edition of the list at 43rd spot.
Toyo Eatery was given the World’s 50 Best accolades as the Philippines’ Best Restaurant for both years in the annual Best of the Best List created by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of over 300 leaders in the restaurant industry across Asia.
Toyo Eatery went on social media to announce its achievement while reflecting on the struggle to follow the quarantine prescriptions to help stop the spread of the coronavirus disease and praised Filipino actions to help assist the frontliners.
“Yesterday afternoon, it was announced that our #TeamNaMayToyo remains on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, and for that we are truly grateful.🔥🙌🏽✨ Thank you so much to everyone who have supported us and continue to do so🙏🏽,” posted Toyo Eatery on Instagram on March 25.
“It’s a bittersweet recognition for us, given the global crisis we’re all currently facing. In place of a celebration, here instead are the things we’ve reflected on, as part of an industry now caught between a rock and a hard place.
“When news of a lockdown in Manila came about, our knee-jerk reaction was to remain open no matter what. But after a few sleepless nights of considering our options, we decided to close both Toyo Eatery and Panaderya Toyo indefinitely. Like most establishments, the decision to close wasn’t an easy one. There are many people that make up a restaurant’s nervous system, from each and every supplier, to the different members of our team.
“This epidemic has shown us the best of what 🇵🇭Filipinos have to offer. Amidst the uncertainties, we have gathered together to aid and support the doctors, nurses, delivery men, service crew, and others in the front line that are going beyond their capacity, so that the rest of us have a chance to come back in fighting order.”
“For each day that these restaurants, both big and small, remain closed, big losses are incurred. The uncertainty of how the next few months will go certainly bears a weight that’s felt industry-wide. What will ‘normal’ be like for us in this time of crisis? We honestly have no clue. It’s a tough time for restaurants right now, but we’re a community that’s built to serve—and we will try our very best to do so, however the following months turn out to be.💪🏽
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“This epidemic has shown us the best of what 🇵🇭Filipinos have to offer. Amidst the uncertainties, we have gathered together to aid and support the doctors, nurses, delivery men, service crew, and others in the front line that are going beyond their capacity, so that the rest of us have a chance to come back in fighting order.
“Our hope is that, when the dust settles, you continue supporting your local restaurants. While we wait, who’s up for online karaoke?🎤🙋🏻♀️🎵😷🎉🇵🇭”
The World’s 50 Best website introduces Toyo Eatery’s Filipino chef Jordy Navarra: “Innovative Filipino chef showcases his country’s culture on a plate.”
Chef Navarra often uses traditional cooking methods and has created tasting menus ranging from three to 11 dishes including a dish called Banana Catsup, made from fermented bananas and banana vinegar. The catsup is served alongside an eggplant omelet with alternating layers of shrimp and crab meat.
The chef has gone back to the Philippines after working in London and Hongkong kitchens to create food that recalls the flavours he grew up with, that resulted in opening Toyo Eatery with his wife, May, in 2016.
Toyo Eatery’s Buntaa crabs stuffed with fresh coconut and their own aligue (fat) and cooked in coconut milk was listed in CNN Travel’s recommended unique dishes in Manila.
“Toyo Eatery’s dining room features a large open kitchen and wooden tables, some of which are communal. The furnishings are set on a polished grey background, with subtle elements of old Manila seen through details like woven basket lampshades and a large wooden fork and spoon on the wall. Creations made by local artists are present in the dinnerware, the paintings and the photographs on the restaurant’s walls,” says the World’s 50 Best about the Filipino restaurant’s ambience.
Toyo Eatery is found on 2316 Chino Roces Ave, Makati, 1231 Metro Manila and The Alley at Karrivin, 2316 Pasong Tamo Extension 🇵🇭 Makati City.
Aside from Toyo Eatery, Filipino fine dining restaurant Gallery Vask in Taguig was previously ranked in the 2016 edition of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.
The Philippines’ The Curator Coffee and Cocktails is a 3-peat winner (from 2016 to 2018) in Asia’s 50 Best Bars.
Filipino-British Chef Josh Boutwood’s The Test Kitchen was recently listed on CNN Global’s Best New Restaurants in Asia in 2020.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to Toyo Eatery for receiving the World’s 50 Best accolades as one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants!
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