Ben Chan: ‘It’s like bringing home pasalubong from a trip’

MANILA, Philippines - Ben Chan is a picky eater with certain preferences. For instance, beef is not one of his favorite foods — a distaste he acquired from his mother during childhood. He has an eye for restos with a clean and interesting ambience, and he will never go back to a resto where he encountered a speck of dirt. Of course, the quality of food is first and foremost, and when Ben gets to like a certain dish in a resto, he will be a loyal customer who can eat there almost daily. When he craves for the comfort food of his youth, he will go back to such inexpensive little eateries, even if his discriminating gourmet palate tells him to seek for the chic and the ones with Michelin stars. And Ben has such a sweet tooth that every meal must end with an excellent dessert.

Perhaps this is the reason why Ben is also now a restaurateur. He wants restos that he enjoys to be accessible to him.The wonderful thing is that we also get to experience these.

PHILIPPINE STAR: You are a top fashion retailer and now you have turned restaurateur, as the franchise owner of Paul and St. Marc Cafe,  and as a partner in Felix, Market at 5th, Florabel at Podium, Todd English Food Hall and Tim Ho Wan. What is the fulfillment you get as a restaurateur?

BEN CHAN: The fulfillment is very much like the Filipino custom of bringing home pasalubong after a trip overseas. There is something to be said about experiencing something new and exciting when you’re abroad and then bringing that home successfully to share it with your countrymen. It could be fashion, it could be food, it could be furniture, it could be anything. Ever since I became a retailer and constant travel became my lifestyle, the question that has always been on my mind is, “How can we bring this to Manila?” It has become part of my mission already.

What challenges do you find in being a restaurateur in Manila?

I would really like the quality of service here to be at par with that of Japan or Hong Kong. Those people really know what service means. They have perfected it. I think that good service goes with the Filipino temperament, since we are naturally kind and caring people. What we lack is focus and discipline and that can be very frustrating.

How is Manila’s food landscape changing?

It is becoming more and more global by the day. It pleases me to see all these new restaurants and food concepts from all over the world finding their niche in the Manila food landscape. In terms of variety we are definitely catching up with Hong Kong or Singapore. The best thing that can happen is for this food revolution to reach the masses, so that all Filipinos from all classes can enjoy delicious, nutritious food.

The Pinoys’ taste for food — how is it evolving?

Thanks to food channels, food blogs, and new sources of food information, Filipino taste has evolved very rapidly in the past few years. We are becoming more demanding in terms of quality of ingredients, freshness, health, and nutritional value. Likewise, Filipino food is gaining recognition internationally, and is all the rage now in New York. Foreigners are coming to appreciate the uniqueness of our cuisine, and I hope that soon enough our food can be just as part of world cuisine as Thai or Vietnamese food.