You may remember him in the 80s as Kenneth Peralta, the actor.
Binalot’s founders recently saw him in Dubai not as an actor but as a restaurateur and Brand Manager for the Little Manila group. Ken knows what the Filipino market wants while making sure the Emirati bosses are pleased with Little Manila’s operations.
Binalot boss and founder Rommel Juan had a good time discussing holiday events with Ken who so understands what food and drinks the OFW community looks for. “They like events and celebrations here,” Ken tells Rommel. The Pinoys enjoy the constantly evolving menu of the Little Manila restaurants, which are monitored closely by Ken.
Ken knows the local event people, the Filipino community, the media and most of all, the LM regulars. “Families come here on Fridays in big groups,” he declares. “This is why we open early for pan de sal, Spanish bread, ensaymada and coffee,” he continues. The rest of the week, workers, groups and barkadas look for the newly launched Corporate Lunch combo, Bilao meals and Fiesta Combo of Binalot, which can feed a family of eight to 10 as planned by in-house Executive Chef Jojo Joaquin.
Binalot opened almost two years ago and is set to open more outlets in UAE and the Middle East. For the Pinoy market, there is nothing like having a meal with family and noshing on the Pinoy-vorites like Tapa, Inihaw and Binagoongan Baboy especially since pork dishes are offered only in a few restaurants in the predominantly Muslim country. “Pork is what Pinoys miss,” Ken says. And with the locally available ingredients Chef Jojo and Ken asked Binalot to add some different Pinoy dishes to its Manila menu specifically for the Dubai community like the Beef Adobo, Chicken Sisig and Chicken Liver Steak which became bestsellers.
“All is well,” says Juan after observing how the Little Manila group has made Binalot accessible to Filipinos and even foreigners who have become friends or spouses of some Filipinos. “There are different nationalities here,” he says, noting that some Pinoys have married other nationalities now trying Pinoy food for the first time. “And maybe if they choose to come home to retire in Manila, they will still look for Binalot,” Juan beams proudly.
For more information about Little Manila and Binalot, check LittleManilaME and BinalotFiesta on Facebook. Or, log on to www.binalot.com.