ORIGINS OF THE INASAL

Bacolod’s Burgos public market circa 1952 is said to be the inasal’s Ground Zero, where a young fish vendor surnamed Velez accidentally invented the marinated chicken as an appetizer for his drinking buddies.

But it was his mother Sabel who opened the very first inasal stall beside Floredith Theater along Araneta Street, next to the Bacolod City Hall and across from the Central Market. This was in the 1960s when Bacolodnons became movie lovers.

Sabel moved her stall to Cuadra Street near the Bacolod Public Plaza and adjacent to the city’s most popular cinema, State Theater. Her daughters Elisa and Nena helped her in running the thriving business, which attracted other inasal sellers to set up shop at the “Chicken Alley.”

As the inasal’s popularity grew in the 1970s, Nena and other stallholders transferred to a bigger site at the reclamation area known as “Manokan Country.” Meanwhile, Elisa and her business partners put up the original Chicken House on San Sebastian Street in the downtown area, which they later sold to architect-businessman Joe Cajili, who opened several branches and eventually expanded to Metro Manila in the 1980s.

CELEBRITY TURNS RESTAURATEUR

For award-winning film actor and TV star Joel Torre, no visit to his hometown Bacolod would be complete without his must-eat inasal meals. The food business was second nature to him, since his mother Luz de Leon-Torre was a pioneer in the catering industry.

Joel and his wife Cristy Azcona-Torre decided to turn entrepreneurs, opening the first JT’s Manukan Grille in 2003. Naturally, they chose Bacolod’s most famous recipe – the chicken inasal – as their signature dish, and they were not mistaken. When US celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern proclaimed Filipino food as the next big thing in 2012, he listed the inasal among the Philippines’ iconic foods.

Over the years, JT’s Manukan Grille has consistently gained a following in its various locations, making it to the top of SPOT.PH’s list as the No. 1 chicken inasal restaurant since 2015.

TODAY THE PHILIPPINES, TOMORROW THE WORLD

Most of the branches are located in Metro Manila, the country’s economic hub, but In 2017, JT’s Manukan Grille reached the country’s No. 1 beach destination, Boracay Island.

Named as the world’s best island for 2016 by the prestigious Conde Nast magazine, Boracay will serve as a gateway to the international market for the chicken inasal and other traditional comfort food of the Ilonggos, with JT’s Manukan Grille at the forefront. Also in 2017, a branch has opened in Davao City and in May 2018, the first outlet in Pampanga started operations. Branches in the provinces of Cebu, Surigao del Norte and Bulacan are slated to open later this year.

The restaurants are designed to convey the relaxed, provincial ambience of the original inasal store decades ago. Colorful walls, picnic tables and movie posters of Joel Torre are signature design elements. However, the company is gearing towards a more modern and industrial look to cater to the younger demographics.