IT took just 12 years for the Myron’s Group to make the grand leap from selling ready-to-eat gourmet food at the weekend markets in Makati, to operating two restaurants and managing the entire food and beverage (F&B) operations of a major hotel in the Metro. The early success of Myron’s is a testament that hard work, sacrifice, singularity of vision and a relentless drive for self-improvement will yield positive results.
Ramon Eugenio, his wife Monica (neé Papa) and Melanio Resuma form the triumvirate that is at the core of the Myron Group’s culinary realm. All three are accomplished chefs. Ramon and Monica have studied here and abroad, and worked with a number of celebrity chefs like Elka Gilmore (Elka’s Restaurant), Daniel Bouloud (Restaurant Daniel) and Jacques Torres (Le Cirque), further honing their craft.
When they came home, they presided over the kitchens of five-star hotels like Shangri-La Makati and Mandarin Oriental Manila, and in the case of Monica, further trained under master chefs of crowd-pleasers like Le Soufflé and Paper Moon. Mel is a 28-year veteran in the local F&B industry, having worked his way up from a prep cook at the venerable Prince Albert Rotisserie of the Hotel Intercontinental Manila to chef de partie of Tivoli Grill at the Mandarin.
THE BEGINNINGS
ALWAYS looking out for new challenges, and emboldened by his education and short but meaningful experience in the industry, Ramon felt ready to go on his own. Leaving a stable job as a hotel chef, he set out in 1996 to organize the EC Food Corp., parent firm of Katips Bar & Grillery.
As a first-time food entrepreneur, “I was personally involved in every aspect of the business—from creating the concept and design for the restaurant, establishing the kitchen and dining-room systems, workflow analysis, creating menus, to managing the restaurant operations,” he says. But it was great relief for Ramon that all that hard work paid off: The restaurant earned back its investment in its first year of operation. Soon, other food entrepreneurs followed his lead, offering their diners nouveau Filipino comfort food.
Ramon further strengthened his business acumen by taking up a Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship at the Asian Institute of Management. His goal was to create a business model that would fully tap the combined potential of his and Monica’s experience, resources and imagination. This resulted in establishing their culinary philosophy and vision for a new corporate undertaking: “To make a difference in the dining experience of every guest by committing the highest quality and greatest value for every client, every team member and every shareholder we serve.”
TEAMING UP
TO help achieve this vision, the couple then asked Chef Mel, a colleague of Monica’s at the Tivoli Grill, to join them as Director of Kitchen Operations for the couple’s new company, called More Than a Weekend Gourmet Inc.
Starting in April 2005 the trio participated in the weekend markets at Salcedo Village on Saturdays and Legaspi Village on Sundays, selling such ready-to-eat gourmet items, such as United States Certified Angus Roast Beef, Roast Australian Leg of Lamb and various pastas.
“We were surprised that we became popular so quickly,” Ramon says. “In the beginning we constantly ran out of
food, because there simply was too much demand for our cooking.” Their small but loyal following encouraged the trio to open Myron’s Steaks Ribs and Seafood, named after Monica’s father Myron Papa, a year later at The Power Plant Mall in Makati.
“But in 2008 we wanted a place that would be relaxing and appealing to everyone whether it be a group of businessmen having a meeting, some friends having a drink after work, a family celebrating a birthday, or couple out on a date,” Monica said.
Myron’s Place opened with a breathtaking view of Greenbelt 5’s interior gardens, nothing too stiff and formal, but it was a place where diners could have a great meal without breaking the bank, or worrying which fork to use.
Ten years after first appearing at the Saturday Salcedo market, the group returned to Salcedo Village to open The Flying Pan at the Citadines Salcedo Makati. Open from 6 am to 12 nn, the Flying Pan is known for its Reuben sandwiches, juicy burgers and thin-crust pizzas. It also serves a great all-day breakfast menu. The Flying Pan also provides room service for the in-house guests of the hotel.
MOVING UP
THE success of the group’s operations at Citadines Salcedo encouraged its affiliate property, Ascott Makati, to run the latter’s F&B department.
In 2016 Myron’s closed its doors in Greenbelt 5 and transferred to the sixth floor of the luxury serviced residences. The group serves breakfast to the guests of the 362-room property and additionally handles room service and the dining requirements at the executive lounge and the Filipinas Hall. One year later on its first anniversary at Ascott, Myron launched a new menu featuring 21 new creations, a collaboration of the bold trio. The updated menu is a mix of old reliables and exciting new dishes.
“This past first year allowed us to look into the needs
of this new market from a culinary perspective. Our sous chefs were only happy to take the challenge and, frankly, we are most excited with this latest iteration of the menu,” Ramon enthuses.
Noticeable standouts include Chipirones Fritos served with Squid Ink Aioli; Handmade Spinach Fettuccine with Chorizo, Mussels, Shrimps and Oregano; Coriander White Snapper with a Röesti Cannelloni filled with Spinach and Mushrooms; and a number of delectable oyster recipes.
Of course, the restaurant is known for The President, a 500-gram certified Angus Beef Rib Eye steak, “charred on the outside and perfectly juicy on the inside, with juices collecting at the bottom of a tilted warm plate.”
The menu also presents an array of new desserts, curated by Monica and Myron’s Executive Pastry Chef Al Agapay. The selection includes a luscious chocolate creation called The Magnificent Mr. C; Songbird, a Grand Marnier mousse in a chocolate case with caramel crunch; Shine, a lemon curd crème brulee; Once on this Island, a Nutella cremeux with balls of mango, kiwi and watermelon; and a quenelle of Mango Yogurt. Outside of Myron’s, the trio is also looking forward to opening the second branch of its Filipino-themed restaurant, Miguelito’s, at SM Southmall in Las Piñas soon. “SM had approached us to create a restaurant with a Filipino-food concept at the Mega Fashion Hall in SM Megamall,” Ramon says, and so Miguelito’s was born in December 2014.
Crowd-favorites include the Crispy Binagoongan, Sinigang na Bangus and Angus Beef Sisig. Ramon intimates that there is a huge demand for Miguelito’s to open in other locations, “which we are considering very carefully.”
With the engaging partnership of Ramon, Monica and Mel, the Myron’s Group will surely find more success in its future undertakings.