Manila Sunset

Manila Sunset
	A location in Cerritos, California
Company type	Private
Industry	Foodservice
Founded	1985; 39 years ago in Los Angeles, California
Founder	Ben Halili
Number of locations	7 (2023)
Area served	California; Washington;
Key people	Jay Halili (owner)
Website	www.manilasunset.com

Manila Sunset is an American chain of Filipino-themed restaurants targeted towards overseas Filipinos. It mainly features foods from its culture and places its seven locations in areas with the highest concentration of them, namely Southern California and Washington.^[1]

The restaurant is family-run and family-owned. Its ingredients are made from scratch and mostly shipped in from the Philippines.^[2]

History

The chain's first store opened in 1985, on Los Angeles' Sunset Boulevard, inspiring the restaurant's name, along with the idea that Manila was known for its sunsets. The founder, Ben Halili, who migrated to the United States from the Philippines, intended to provide food for Filipinos in the United States who had missed the food of their ancestry. Halili had previously owned a restaurant called "Mami's Best." It then became popular with people of other cultures, not just from the Philippines.^[1] Ben's son Jay Halili took over the business later.^[2]

The restaurant's website displays the following food items:^[1]

Bibingka (what the restaurant is known for; takes two days to make)^[2]
Pancit Malabon
Puto bumbong
Goto
Arroz caldo
Tokwa't baboy
Embutido
Lumpiang Shanghai
Fried lumpia
Fresh lumpia

Chicken barbecue
Manila Pork Barbecue
Pork Inihaw
Inihaw Na Pusit
Beef tapa
Beef Korean barbecue
Lechon kawali
Daing Na Bangus
Tocino
Longganisa

Locations

As of June 2023, Manila Sunset has seven locations, with six in Southern California (Cerritos, Los Angeles, National City, North Hills, Rancho Cucamonga, and West Covina) and one in Seattle.^[2] It is not currently planning on expanding.^[1]

Reception

The chain has been praised by the Los Angeles Times for its exotic and inexpensive menu.^[3] The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin also gave a positive review.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Official website". Manila Sunset. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Find Filipino comfort food at Manila Sunset". Asian Journal. June 19, 2018. p. 14. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
^ Jacobson, Max (January 20, 1994). "Big Cajun and Philippine Tastes Come in Small Venues". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
^ Cohen, David (March 9, 2016). "Restaurant review: At Manila Sunset, a rare find for IE foodies: Great Filipino cuisine". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2023.

External links

Official website

[official-1] "Official website". Manila Sunset. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.

[asianjournal-2] "Find Filipino comfort food at Manila Sunset". Asian Journal. June 19, 2018. p. 14. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.

[3] Jacobson, Max (January 20, 1994). "Big Cajun and Philippine Tastes Come in Small Venues". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.

[4] Cohen, David (March 9, 2016). "Restaurant review: At Manila Sunset, a rare find for IE foodies: Great Filipino cuisine". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2023.

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