Jhem’s Restaurant popularizes binalot dining

In the Philippines, fiestas and other big gatherings in the province would not be complete without meals being served on the ubiquitous banana leaf.

Jhem’s Restaurant recently brought this dining experience to Saipan with its binalot-style meals.

For only $3.50, diners can partake of all-time Filipino favorites such as tocilog, longsilog, and tapsilog, and Jhem’s house specials like fried tilapia with rice, tocino with rice, longganisa with rice, daing na bangus with rice, embotido with rice, beef tapa with rice, and pork steak with rice.

The establishment’s house specials come with fried eggplant, salted egg, and bagoong.

Humble beginnings

Owner Elizabeth Miyata said Jhem’s Restaurant started as a fresh fish and barbecue operation in September of last year but soon branched out to catering bento meals to scuba divers.

By early this year, Jhem’s had no choice but become a full-fledged restaurant, as its dine-in business began to outgrow its catering and take-out clientele.

Last month, it expanded its dine-in space from two tables to six because of the volume of customers.

Filipino palates longing for meals from back home just couldn’t get enough of Jhem’s Restaurant’s authentic Pinoy dishes that cooks Myra Tengco and Lionila Diaz said they all create from scratch.

Miyata said that aside from her restaurant not scrimping on ingredients and not taking short cuts in preparing meals, Jhem’s Restaurant has also become famous for the aforementioned binalot-style packaging.

Family business

Jhem’s is a true family operation as Tengco is the sister-in-law of Miyata and Diaz is her cousin. All three hail from the province of Cavite, which is just south of the country’s capital Manila.

Even the establishment’s name is all about family as the “J” stands for the owner’s 22-year-old son Junior, “H” is for Elizabeth’s husband Hitoshi, “E” is for Elizabeth, and “M” for their surname Miyata.

Recently, the restaurant added a fourth wheel, as it hired J.R. Guevarra to help with dine-in guests as well as deliver meals to patrons.

Entrees, soups, and desserts

Miyata said aside from their silog and binalot meals, Jhem’s Restaurant has also augmented its menu by adding entrees like dinuguan, chicken afritada, pininyahang manok, binagoongang baboy, menudo, escabeche, among others.

She also said they serve different kinds of soup dishes everyday of the week. Monday, for instance, is bulalo; Tuesday is sinigang; Wednesday is nilaga; Thursday is tinola, and Friday is monggo.

When it comes to panghimagas or desserts, guests can choose from halo-halo, toron, banana-con-hielo, fruit salad, leche flan, and ice cream.

Delivery and stamp card

Jhem’s ongoing stamp card promotion rewards a free meal to customers who have ordered 10 times. Miyata said they already have had a number of redeemers, as some guests dine in or take out as much as twice a day at the restaurant.

Miyata said they also deliver around the island with Garapan deliveries having no minimum orders, but outside Garapan customers must order a minimum of three meals.

Jhem’s Restaurant is located along Beach Road in Garapan a stone’s throw away from MITA Travel. For deliveries or take-out, call 233-5436.