You might have been one of Manila’s best dressed women, a beauty queen, a corporate honcho presiding over a convention, a banker, a wedding sponsor, debutante, birthday celebrant or a Nora Aunor groupie, and we’re sure you all loved everything that was laid down on the table.
Why you even tasted cuisine a la Plaza 30,000 feet up in the air, when the restaurant supplied the in-flight food requirements of Philippine Airlines.
We ourselves haven’t forgotten The Plaza’s boiled corned beef and Virginia ham, and it was over these two personal favorites, that we, together with The Plaza’s Millie Reyes and her father Jose C. Reyes, talked about their restaurant which is celebrating its 35th anniversary.
Yes, its been that long. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was still a teener when she represented her mother Eva Macapagal at The Plaza opening, while Apasra Hongsakula was the reigning Miss Universe when she graced a fashion benefit for the Asian Eye Institute held at the place.
The idea of putting up a restaurant complex was thought of by Mr. Reyes and his wife Imelda as early as 1964. Having assisted Reyes matriarch, Doña Engracia, in the family-run Aristocrat restaurant, the couple decided it was time to venture into their own restaurant business.
Mr. Reyes recalls that during that time, the number of conventions being held in Manila was outpacing the number of venues.
"Aside from hotel ballrooms and function rooms, there were no other places wherein to hold conventions, and at that time, Manila was beginning to emerge as a convention capital," he says.
The Plaza’s name was inspired by the famous Plaza Hotel in New York. It opened its doors in 1966 at the Ayala Center, then known as the Makati Commercial Center.
The Plaza was ahead of its time. Manila hadn’t seen anything like it – a huge convention hall, a number of small conference rooms and four restaurants with different specialties, all housed under one roof.
The huge convention center could accommodate 600 to 700 guests and was called the Presidential Hall.
"We named the conference rooms in honor of Presidents Aguinaldo, Quezon, Osmeña, Laurel, Roxas, Quirino and Magsayasay," says Mr. Reyes, who was still in high school when the Plaza opened.
"Our restaurants were the Plaza Royale, which served European specialties, a steak house called The Branding Iron, and a Chinese restaurant named Willow Court," says Millie.
The Plaza Royale was the first to introduce Western-style smorgasbord dining, which was orchestrated by Swedish chef Gosta Pettersson. At the Willow Court, managing partners Mina Yu and Bonnie Sycip flew in the best cooks from Hong Kong. The Plaza was also the first to introduce the brunch concept, which it offered every Sunday at The Plaza Cafe.
At the basement of the complex was Plaza Airways.
"This dining outlet’s interiors were made to look like an airplane fuselage and we showed travelogues here by day. At night, it was a supper club where the likes of singer Angie Lopez, Joe Cruz and his Octet and Nestor Robles and his band performed," according to Millie.
Mr. Reyes recalls Rudy Carpela and his band doing cover versions of Sergio Mendes and the Brasil 66, a hit among club regulars. Other entertainers who did stints at the supper club were Al Quinn and his Dancers, Oscar Obligacion and Los Amigos, Fred Nepomuceno and his Band and singer Betty Rivera.
"The goal then was to uplift the standards of the food industry from food quality, food presentation to customer service. Everything was air-conditioned, even the kitchens and restrooms," says Millie.
Mr. Reyes recalled an incident where he overheard one of Nora Aunor’s Lucky 12 group of production assistants gushing over the very sweet smell of The Plaza restrooms.
Millie credits her mother Imelda Reyes with being the restaurant’s ultimate one-woman PR department. It did not matter whether one was a First Lady, a Miss Universe, a Hollywood actor or an ordinary diner. All were welcomed by Mrs. Imelda Reyes with her characteristic warmth and hospitality. She personally attended guests and friends alike and could always be depended on to accommodate special requests, even at a moment’s notice.
"I don’t know how she did it, but my mom was everyone’s darling. She had this charisma that was hard to resist," says Millie.
It was The Plaza’s impeccable reputation and expertise in handling big events that landed them the contract to be the official caterer of the Reception Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center.
With a capacity of 5,000, meeting the PICC Reception Hall’s culinary requirements was formidable, but seasoned restaurateurs that they were, Millie and her staff delivered.
"Behind the praises was hard work. Sourcing place settings for 5,000 was a hard task," says Millie. "Then, there was the matter of training 500 waiters and supervising 100 chefs and designing an international menu."
The Plaza was also the official caterer for the 1980 and 1981 Manila International Film Festival. Aside from world leaders and international bankers, screen idols, like Brooke Shields, Jeremy Irons, Franco Nero, Toshiro Mifune and many others, savored The Plaza’s specialties.
In the mid-’80s The Plaza gave in to the public clamor for more Filipino restos and opened Aling Asiang. Named after Doña Engracia, the restaurant served freshly grilled seafood and the best of Filipino regional specialties.
In 1989, the Plaza set up its central kitchen operations at 423 Shaw Blvd., corner Mabini St. in Mandaluyong City. It was named The Plaza Foodshoppe. It currently houses a small deli restaurant and sells convenience and party food-to-go over the counter.
From this facility, The Plaza is able to fill in catering needs for up to 1,000 persons.
The Plaza currently manages a 50-seater coffee shop at the Greenbelt Shopping Plaza. It’s a must stop for us, Philippine STAR Lifestyle assistant editor Ching Alano and a host of other friends. The coffee shop’s pasta, pastries, and good coffee are the best treats after hours of bargain shopping.
The latest on The Plaza is that it has been chosen as the exclusive concessionaire of the Wack Wack Golf and Country Clubs for all banquet events at its newly-constructed clubhouse. The Mediterranean-style building houses a 300-seat banquet hall for hosting weddings, baptismals, birthdays and any type of receptions.
The Plaza also operates the Wack Wack Cocktail Lounge. Open daily from 4 p.m. onwards, the lounge serves a host of dishes that complement a wide choice of wines, liquor and non-alcoholic beverages.
Back Spin (fried lumpiang Shanghai with sweet and sour sauce), Back Nine (golden fried meat dumplings), Par Putt (beef salpicao), Putter’s Choice (marinated Angus beef topped with onion rings) and Big Bertha (crunchy boneless pork knuckles) are just some of the delicious treats one can munch on while enjoying cocktails and listening or singing along to jazz music, love songs, standards, Broadway and original Filipino tunes.
As exclusive caterer of the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club, The Plaza offers a wide choice of cuisines that include Filipino, European, Chinese and vegetarian.
As it celebrates 35 years of being in the food service industry, the restaurant launched two special promos: The Best of The Plaza, where clients can avail of different menu packages for 50 persons for just P35,000; and The Plaza Turns 35, where clients with contracts worth at least P3,500, are entitled to a raffle entry that can win them a trip to California, USA.
Running The Plaza has since been passed on by Mr. Reyes to Millie and her sister Marijo Reyes Ferraren, both graduates of the Ecole Hoteliere de Societe Suisse Des Hoteliers of Lausanne, Switzerland.
In the coming years Millie Reyes promises to still dish out the finest cuisine. And if you chance upon her at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club Cocktail Lounge and talk to her about the restaurant business, she’ll also give you lots of food for thought. By the way, that was also the title of a weekly column she used to write for the Philippines STAR.