MANILA, Philippines - Building a restaurant empire doesn’t happen by chance. It entails years of learning, making mistakes, and learning from them before one emerges triumphant.
Accidental restaurateur Raymund Magdaluyo of The Red Crab Group fame knows these too well. At 25, Raymond gamely took on the challenge of running the family restaurant business.
“My mom, Chiqui Eusebio, asked me to handle the publicity of The Red Crab in Mimosa, Pampanga. I was a senior researcher at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). I didn’t want to let my mom down so I accepted the challenge. I had no idea what I was up to at that time. It never occurred to me that I would soon run the family business,” Raymund recalls.
His professor Tommy Lopez at AIM told him that it would be best if he could define the seafood and crab dining in the country.
“Mr. Lopez encouraged me to find a niche that I can own. That’s what I did with The Red Crab Alimango House,” he explains.
Raymund let his imagination run wild and started thinking of other resto concepts that would tempt the palate of food-loving Filipinos. In 2004, Raymond set sail and put up Blackbeard’s Seafood Island. A year later, he launched Heaven ‘n’ Eggs, followed by ClawDaddy and Murray’s New Orleans in 2006.
“When we launched ClawDaddy, that’s when it hit me: I am, indeed, a certified restaurateur,” he says with a grin.
Claws Open
Raymund has been promoting seafood dining through his different restaurants like The Red Crab Alimango House in Newport Mall in Pasay City, which is the result of tweaking an old concept.
Newport City is the 25-hectare development by Megaworld, the same one that developed the successfully thriving Eastwood City.
“This is the newest happening place in the metro. With the opening of the Skyway, all roads will converge here,” Raymund says.
Raymund and his team decided to add Alimango House to The Red Crab’s name because they wanted to come up with a totally Filipino version of Western casual seafood restaurant such as Joe’s Crab Shack in San Francisco and Red Lobster, among others.
“The resto builds on what The Red Crab has established over the past 12 years: providing diners with quality but affordable seafood dishes,” Raymund notes.
Just to prove how serious they are with their seafood, a special section on the menu was devoted entirely to the sea’s bounty. There are five categories to choose from: Sinugba (grilled), Pinausukan (steamed), Sinabawan (soup), Pinirito (fried), and Seafood in Curries and Chilies.
Cooking Up A Storm
First-time diners shouldn’t miss the Typhoon Shelter Crab, which is believed to have originated in typhoon shelters (makeshift boats or sampans) in Hong Kong and whipped up by the fishermen themselves. This spicy crab treat is a specialty in Causeway Bay where the sampans are docked.
Back in the late Sixties, the fishermen would fry the crab in high heat with lots of chilies while kneeling down on their sampans during stormy weather. The dish was enough to keep them warm.
It’s hard to tell how spicy this dish is just by looking at it. It is covered with chopped roasted garlic that you could hardly see the crab and noodles underneath. Woven into this tiny brown bits soaked overnight in black bean sauce are chili peppers, which give the dish its distinct flavor.
Another yummy find is the Bouillabaisse Royal, seafood pochero served French style. Unlike the typical pochero, the resto’s version separates the soup (fisherman’s soup cooked pochero style) from the main ingredients. An assortment of seafood (dory, catfish, dalagang bukid, tilapia, mussels, clams and squids) is neatly arranged side by side with the Spanish chorizo and farm fresh vegetables. Aioli and rouille sauces are served with bread to enhance the flavor of the seafood fare.
Aside from Red Crab Alimango House, Raymund’s two other restaurants at the Newport Mall are Murray’s New Orleans Bourbon Street Ribs, Steaks & Oysters, and Mr. Kurosawa.
Dining In The Citi
To thank their loyal diners, Raymund has partnered with Citibank in its Citi Dining Privileges program.
The Citi Dining Privileges is a program that gives Citibank cardholders perks at select dining places not only in the Philippines but all over Asia as well.
“The promo originated in Singapore. It was such a huge success that we replicated it in other Asian countries. We started the promo here in July 2010 and we’ve been getting favorable feedbacks,” enthuses Alma Gruenberg, VP for retail marketing, Citibank.
With Citibank’s Citi Dining Privileges program, deciding on where to dine out is as easy as visiting their website (www.citiworldprivileges.com).
“We try to have representations from every price range category. So there are restos for the mass market as well as the affluent cardholders. We also managed to cover geographical locations. We have partner restos in Quezon City, Manila, Makati, Cebu and beyond the Philippines like Singapore, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Korea, and many more,” Alma explains.
Crab A Bite
Citibank cardholders who dine at The Red Crab Alimango House get a 10-percent discount and a free appetizer for a minimum purchase of P1,500. Not only that, all the restos under The Red Crab Group are part of the Citi Dining Privileges promo.
Get a free dessert for a minimum purchase of P1,500 when you dine at The Red Crab Café Crabs, Oysters and More at the first level of Gateway Mall, Araneta Center Cubao, QC.
For every five paying buffet diners at The Red Crab’s Seafood Club in Greenbelt 3, the sixth diner gets to eat for free; or get a 10-percent discount and a free dessert for a minimum purchase of P1,500.
A free salad or pasta awaits Citi cardholders when he/she spends a minimum of P1,500 on food and drinks at Fish Out of Water in Greenbelt 5, Makati City.
Get a 10-percent discount and a free dessert for a minimum purchase of P1,500 at Crustasia Crabs and Seafood House in Power Plant Mall Rockwell, Makati City. Over at Crustasia in TriNoma, every five paying buffet diners are entitled to a free buffet (5+1), or avail themselves of a 10-percent discount and a free dessert for a minimum purchase of P1,500.
H&E (Heaven & Eggs) gives a 10-percent discount and a free dessert (choose from available cakes and crepes) for a minimum purchase of P1,000.
Indulge in a free ClawDaddy salad or pasta for a minimum purchase of P2,000 at ClawDaddy’s Crab House and American Grill, Shangri-La Plaza Mall; at ClawDaddy’s Great American Picnic, Bonifacio High Street; and at ClawDaddy Crab House and American Grill, Centris Walk in Quezon Ave., QC.
“If diners find a better offer from other credit card providers, we’re willing to make up the difference,” stresses Mellany Montemayor, program manager for retail marketing, Citibank.
The Red Crab Claws Its Way To Shanghai
At 37, and with more than 30 restaurants tucked under his belt, Raymond can afford to take it easy, but the hardworking restaurateur declares, “There’s still a lot to do and more to accomplish. There are so many things going on in my head right now and I feel like I’m just starting. We’re opening The Red Crab Alimango House in Shanghai soon,” Raymund says.
Who knows? You might enjoy the same perks when you use your Citibank credit card there.