Head out to Dish at the Power Plant Mall in Rockwell Center.
Anything this cool and zany can only come from the troika of EJ Litton, Rikki Dee and Philip Cu-Unjieng. But of the three, it is EJ Litton who openly pleads guilty to that endearing "misdemeanor" we call Dish.
"Yes, I admitDish is my brainchild," EJ confesses, but obviously not in tears. "I formulated the concept out of my years of experience running Strumms and Stars, and having to line up at fastfoods, like at the Enterprise. What I did was to change the fastfood idea a little by making the customers sit down, and have someone else do the lining up for them. Its fastfood and fine-dining all rolled into one big 240-seater function-concert hall. Basically, its a place I myself would like to go to unwind."
The business venture began as a fun undertaking among the three friends. Since they all wanted to milk EJ dry of his experiences in running Strumms and Stars, they all agreed to pump in a little capital for the "gimmick" place. Well, what started out as "fun" metamorphosed into a full-blown occupation for the three. Philip, who sometimes stays until the wee hours to close the place, looks all tired and quaky in the morning. But he says that hes enjoying every minute of it.
"Its amazing to see, especially on Tuesday nights, all these 40-ish and 50-ish people lining up to get a table at Dish," EJ says. "Tuesday is 60s music, and almost everyone would be dancing and partying. Its really amazing!" No wonder EJ, Rikki and Philip usually have to scramble for additional chairs to accommodate the swelling crowd. Its SRO almost every night.
Customers have seven food preparations to choose from: Filipino, Spanish, American, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai and Italianbut all with a twist. This time, customers have the luxury of fine-dining services and, while waiting, enjoy a good round of live music.
"There is a certain expectation in the level of quality of what our customers will be eating, and enjoying," Philip, who is also the executive editor of People Asia magazine and a contributor to this magazine, clarifies. "With the seven choices, we are actually giving you something thats different, whether its lunch, merienda or dinner. Im sure youll find something you like."
Live concert-style music is one of the biggest come-ons of the place. Each night, Dish presents an eclectic mélange of what the bands would be like, and would like to play.
On Tuesdays, for example, its Spirit of 67 with a full repertoire of 60s and 70s music. When Mulatto comes on board for their mid-week gig, its almost always 70s music. On Thursdays, theres the pop sensation Side A band. The Rage band then comes along on Saturdays to give their unique rendition of the 80s sound. The other bands line up for their version of the tunes of the 90s. After the bands, Dish brings out what they call "DJ Music"a night of partying with the best spin doctors in the country.
"We plan to keep moving," Philip and EJ disclose. "We dont want to have just one band perpetually within a one-day line up. We want other bands to have their kick at playing here at Dish so we could see who among them really connects with the audience."
The crowd that frequents Dish (Philip attests that some turn up almost three to four nights in a row) is in itself an assorted clique of both young students and yuppiesand oldies who still have a little kick and spunk left in them. Philip bears out that people have become so used to the party atmosphere at Dish that at times, they move some of the chairs to make room for dancing and, quite literally, boogie on the restaurant floor as the guest bands play. Its a thing they dont want to restrain, Philip explains, because what is a place without the party spirit? Too, Dish is where television and film stars hang around to "take five".
"We want to make it a multi-purpose hall," EJ explains. "Theres food, entertainment, guest bands, a function hall for fashion shows, conventions, corporate meetings, product launches, for whatever one cares to doyou name it. In effect, there is no limit to what we can offer our patrons. The possibilities are endless."
However, Philip explains further, its not only partying that they want to get into. Dish also serves a hefty lunch package for students of the nearby Ateneo graduate school and employees of the business establishments around Rockwell. Its a little bit above the food court priceabout P170 per lunch packbut its still affordable. "We want to broaden our reach and the services we offer. We want people to know that Dish is a place where they can enjoy the ambience and selection of food for a reasonable price. We do not want Dish to be a snooty, upscale restaurant. We want to cater to a wider, more varied crowd."
Check Dish out and see if that crowd includes youchances are, it will. Ill bet my dish on that.