ONE OF THE LANDMARKS of the New York food scene, The Todd English Food Hall — in operation since 2010 in the legendary Plaza Hotel — has arrived in Manila as the newest dining destination at the 5th floor of SM Aura Premier SkyPark. It is the first branch of the restaurant in Asia.

The European-inspired specialty food hall — which offers nine diverse culinary stations offering fine food with freshest ingredients — was brought here by the Dee family of Concetti Globali, Inc., which is behind other restaurants such as Cerveceria and Mangan.

Managing Director Eric Dee met Mr. English in Kuala Lumpur about three years ago, and this led to a series of e-mails discussing possible collaborations. The two met again in New York, where Mr. Dee tried out the Plaza Hotel restaurant.

“Everything that you see here [at the SM Aura branch], if you’ve to the New York outfit, would feel the same way,” Mr. Dee told BusinessWorldduring the restaurant’s dry run on March 24.

“We really want it to be as similar to the original flagship as possible,” said Oliver English, the celebrity chef’s son and vice-president of Todd English Enterprises, which operates Mr. English’s many restaurants across North America. The senior Mr. English, agreed, saying, “We really want to stay true to this brand, and the brand is really all about New York-centric food.”

A CHEF’S TALE

Mr. English was born in Texas and traveled to Italy in his 20s, returning to the US to work in Michela’s in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He opened his first restaurant, Olives, in Boston in 1989, and since then, has opened restaurants all over the US, including locations in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York.

He was also a judge for the cooking show, Cooking Under Fire, and had his own cooking show, Food Trip with Todd English.

The chef is famous for his flatbreads, and he said he came up with his recipe by traveling through Italy and America, eating and learning in what he thought were the best pizzerias.

“It’s just really the fact that we kind of were the first designer pizzas around. The secret isn’t anything beyond what you see. It just happens to be a recipe that I developed. I think it’s probably just the dough,” said Mr. English.

One hundred lucky people — the first customers at The Todd English Food Hall at SM Aura which opened to the public on March 25 — have been promised free flatbreads for one year, said Mr. Dee.

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

The SM Aura restaurant was designed by Ivy Almario who kept the look of the New York restaurant in mind. According to Mr. Dee, some of the lights had to be custom-made to perfectly match the lighting in the Plaza Hotel Food Hall.

Done in black and white, with marble floors and wood paneling, the 900-square-meter restaurant features a cupcake Ferris wheel near the center, with the different food stations spread throughout the space. There’s a buffet vibe to the place, but the restaurant actually serves dishes à la carte, and the restaurant features open booths so customers can get up and watch their food being made, making dining a more interactive experience.

The Todd English Food Hall offers European-inspired cuisine, with a pasta station, a pizza station, The Grill, and a salad and charcuterie station. It will also have a raw bar offering fresh lobster from Maine, and also a sushi bar. The restaurant will also have an Asian station, offering different takes on Asian food and fried rice, which Mr. English said is a highlight here.

To cap off a meal there is The Dessert and Bread Bar which offers homemade ice creams among other sweet treats.

The Philippine branch features some things that won’t be seen in New York, such as Mr. English’s takes on the local lechon (roast suckling pig). It also boasts that its pasta machine is custom-built, and only one out of three in the world.

“People are more sophisticated now. Concepts like this would probably not have worked 10 years ago,” said Mr. Dee. — Joseph L. Garcia