MANILA, Philippines?Pepper Lunch has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a nondescript ?lonely man?s? eatery in Tokyo, several years ago. Now, it has become an ubiquitous ?fast-service? restaurant chain in Southeast Asia.

Since it opened a few months ago in Manila, the place has been packing in crowds, particularly big families, at the Power Plant Mall. Part of Pepper Lunch?s appeal, says chef Jeroen van Straten, managing director of Benmark Group Holdings, Inc., is its novelty.

Benmark, which Van Straten and his wife Cecile put up, is the exclusive franchise holder of Pepper Lunch in the Philippines. The Singapore-based Suntory Group bought the rights from Pepper Lunch?s Japanese owner to have it franchised overseas.

?Whether you go for steak or any of the salmon, pork and chicken dishes we offer, anybody can be a chef here,? says Van Straten. ?It?s simple and it?s fun. Our service may be fast, but we?re certainly not a fast-food restaurant.?

The restaurant?s interactive element allows diners to cook their own food, particularly those juicy steak dishes, the way they want it. And they don?t even need a teppanyaki table or distracting waiters with knife-throwing skills to do it.

Each dish, which usually comes with a generous serving of Japanese rice and vegetables, is served in an iron plate that heats up to 260?C. Diners can mix their food and even spice it up with any of Pepper Lunch?s two signature sauces.

?If they want their food well-done, they can leave it on the plate until it cools,? says Van Straten. ?If they like it medium-well, they can either set aside the meat using another plate or place it on top of their veggies.?

Although the meat is already tasty in itself, diners can make it sweeter or spicier by sprinkling the sizzling dish either with honey brown sauce or garlic soy sauce. And don?t forget to spread the restaurant?s signature brown pepper butter on that slab of meat.

Pre-tested dishes

Best sellers include Shimofuri (marbled) Pepper Steak, Combo Cut Steak and Hamburger, Beef Pepper Rice and Yawaraka (soft) Loin Steak. The Salmon Pepper Rice, Teriyaki Pepper Chicken and Teriyaki Salmon are also doing well.

?If you take away the rice, almost every item can be considered South Beach (diet),? says Van Straten. ?And since the meat dishes are cooked on hot plates, they?re healthier.?

Like most ingredients, the sauces come from Japan. In fact, every dish Pepper Lunch serves is like the gastronomic equivalent of a mini United Nations: meat from New Zealand and Australia, Chicken from the US, salmon from Norway, rice from Japan and vegetables from the Philippines.

?Nothing comes from the Netherlands except me,? says Van Straten, who also works at the family-owned Dome chain of restaurants.

But unlike in Dome where Van Straten is free to come up with his signature dishes, his and Cecile?s involvement in Pepper Lunch is focused purely on management and marketing.

Except for a few dessert items that the couple introduced, every dish, including the ?shake? salads and ?take away? selections, were pre-tested and approved in Singapore.

Pepper Lunch in the Philippines has the distinction of being the pilot restaurant for the chain?s new interiors, which includes, among other features, softer padded chairs. Currently, it also has the highest gross sales among regional franchisees.

Interesting story

How the restaurant got its name as well as its humble beginnings on the fringes of Tokyo Bay, is a story in itself.

?The owner loves pepper,? says Van Straten. ?Since he wanted to put up a restaurant, he figured that naming it Pepper Lunch sounded more inviting and less expensive than Pepper Dinner.?

The owner?s first branch catered mostly to Japanese office workers, particularly men. Like most ?lonely man?s? restaurants, the first Pepper Lunch had a bar area with tall stools where harried customers would sit down and eat their meals alone.

The setup may have been plain, but the food was good enough to merit the Suntory Group?s attention, which promptly bought the rights to represent Pepper Lunch abroad. It had to modify the original concept, however, if Pepper Lunch was to appeal to a broader range of customers. And the rest, as they say, is history.