00:00Honestly, I didn't feel pressured,
00:02but I wanted to carve my own way.
00:05Really, I think her influence is still there.
00:17I think it really started with growing up
00:19with my family's love for eating well.
00:21I interned in a restaurant in New York,
00:23which really made me love the industry a lot.
00:25And lastly, I do travel regularly with my family,
00:28my mom specifically,
00:29and there's this one trip where we really researched
00:33on sort of like the signature regional dishes of Italy.
00:36And I really fell in love with trying to find
00:39the best version of each dish.
00:40And I think that's what really prompted me to make Amano,
00:43which is a fresh and faithful Italian restaurant.
00:45I thought of other paths, actually,
00:48rather than hospitality,
00:50but I think the pull of seeing happy faces
00:54from all the guests of my mom, of my uncles,
00:58and all their restaurants sort of really pulled me in
01:01and made me want to consider that path as well,
01:04but doing it my own way.
01:10Amano, actually, probably is five years old now.
01:14I consider it a fresh and faithful Italian restaurant.
01:16Whereas we are anchored by tradition of Italy,
01:20we try to find tiny tweaks
01:23to still make it the best version of it.
01:25It's actually a ever-evolving thing for us
01:28that we keep trying to make our own best version
01:30or what we consider our version of a traditional dish.
01:34After Amano, we opened Ramen Run,
01:37which is a, actually, it used to be Ukokei Ramen Run,
01:41which is a restaurant in Pasay Road.
01:43They had this really famous Tantan man,
01:45and he was considered sort of the pioneer
01:47of ramen here in the country.
01:49During the pandemic, he wanted to go back to Japan.
01:52We actually just tried to really convince him
01:54that the home was still here for him.
01:56And what was so nice is that he trusted us with his brand
02:00to not change the things that mattered to him,
02:02but also to bring it to a next level.
02:04Steak and fries is not your traditional steakhouse.
02:07It's, we serve steak with French fries,
02:10but also with steak rice,
02:12because as we all know, we're here in the Philippines,
02:15and everything's just better with rice.
02:18We opened it in December of last year,
02:21and it's been doing quite well, and I'm proud of it.
02:27In terms of opportunities for Filipino hospitality brands,
02:31I've noticed that a lot of international brands
02:33are coming in more and more,
02:35and I'm hoping that in the next five to 10 years,
02:37the opposite happens in the sense that
02:39homegrown Filipino brands expand and go to other countries.
02:43It's because I think our level of hospitality here,
02:46our unique Filipino hospitality,
02:49is able to shine even more so when abroad.
02:57You really have to make and learn from your mistakes,
03:00make mistakes, and also learn from them
03:02to be consistently working towards your goals.
03:05It's something that I've only been able to say now
03:08because it's been five years,
03:10but I think always learning from the mistakes
03:13and trying to find ways to improve
03:15and to prevent them from happening again.
03:21In terms of handling criticism,
03:24I think it's really treating it firstly as feedback
03:27and that they mean well for you.
03:29As a team, hear, and then listen,
03:31and then learn from it, and then respond, most importantly.
03:34Especially with your response, it really has to be immediate,
03:38but more importantly, it's also finding ways
03:40to show them that you have long-term solutions,
03:44and lastly, ways also to prevent it from happening again.
03:49Her influence is really more than specific things that she did.
03:55It was more the consistency that it's been more than 25 years,
04:00and she treats people the same way,
04:04she treats her customers the same way,
04:07and her work ethic is the same as when she started.
04:10Honestly, I didn't feel pressured,
04:13but I wanted to carve my own way.
04:15But I wanted to carve my own way.
04:17That's why Amano proudly is, I would say,
04:22was very different from what Italian restaurant she started.
04:26Of course, the rules of Italian food are the same,
04:29but I really tried to make it as different as a concept.
04:32But I think all the things that I learned and heard from her,
04:37just being in her periphery,
04:40is quite obvious in the restaurant.
04:43So as much as I want to say that I did my own way,
04:48really, I think her influence is still there.
04:56I think quite a few.
04:58Chef Jordi Navarro of Toyo Eatery, most especially,
05:01because he champions Filipino ingredients,
05:04and I think that really is something admirable,
05:08and I'd like to think that I try to apply that in all my concepts,
05:12whether Filipino or not.
05:13So aside from Jordi, I really admire the Moment group,
05:16most especially Eli Antonino and Abba Napa,
05:20most especially because of the way that they're able to
05:23grow their restaurant group
05:26in a way where their quality still remains.
05:31They really make an impact with the food culture here in the country.
05:35And lastly, my uncle, Oya Forres,
05:39cousin Raul and Tita Malu Forres of Mamu,
05:43with the way they've also grown their restaurant group
05:47and still maintaining their heart and soul,
05:50and also their restaurant food standards
05:53are still as delicious as it was when it first opened.
06:08For more information, visit www.fema.gov
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