Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Winners of the MBKRS Awards 2012


My unalloyed pleasure in dining brought me to seeking out the best restaurants in Manila, and apparently the best have not been touted so and most of them have been kept secret by those who know the trade so well.  But thanks to the couple Elian Habayeb and Ines Cabarrus (owners also of Chihuahua Mexican Grill), authors of the best-selling coffee-table book  Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets, they have managed to spill the beans to foodies like us

Manila's Best Kept Secret  (MBKRS) is heralded  as the  “Oscar’s of the Restaurant Industry.” 
Thus, on the night of November 27  the winners were revealed one by one.   Too bad I wasn't able to attend the festivity, I've read that the crowd's number was record breaking and comestibles flowed to the brim.   
Here are the winners:
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

Subsequently, Ines and Elian were the one who organized and hosted the prestigious event and they 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 RochaJim 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 Gasconand Victor AnastacioJuice.ph’s Spanky EnriquezMelissa 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.joined by seasoned foodies and gourmands both in the media and the market.   
If you ask how they have picked the winners here is how - 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.  The Judges were as follows:
 
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

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.
 For more pictures and updates, visit www.mbkrsawards.com and like www.facebook.com/mbkrsawards to get real-time updates.

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