The other ‘Lucky’ in Edu’s life

“I don’t cook but I love food,” Edu Manzano told the guests at his manager June Torrejon-Rufino’s birthday dinner last Saturday night (Feb. 28) at Lucky Rainbow (Royal Banquet) Seafood Restaurant in Makati City. “I eat anything…except meat. I am a vegetarian.”

Edu is co-owner (with Chinese partners) of the restaurant which happens to have the same name as that of his son.

“People who come here would tell me, ‘Ang sweet mo naman, pinangalan mo sa anak mo itong restaurant’,” added Edu. “It’s just coincidence. The original Lucky Rainbow was built on Quintin Paredes St. in Binondo years ago. Aside from Makati City, it has another branch on Banaue St., Quezon City.”

June’s well-wishers (some of them pictured here) feasted on these (gobbled up between servings of off-the-record showbiz gossip): Birthday Noodles, Lechon Macau, Sweet & Sour Pork, Crispy Chicken, Lo Han Chay, Abalone Chix Fried Rice, Steamed Lapu-Lapu with Special Soy Sauce, plus an array of desserts, including boxes of the famous Batangas suman brought by Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde.

Edu said the spices used in the preparation of the food by the chefs (from Hong Kong and Beijing) are imported from Laos, Vietnam, Korea and Cambodia.

“I’m familiar with spices because my friends and I are also engaged in distributing spices among different restaurants,” disclosed Edu. “I’m also involved in alcohol (not the ‘rubbing’ kind) distribution.”

Occupying the second floor of the Patriarch Building (#2224 on Pasong Tamo corner Don Bosco Streets in Makati City), Lucky Rainbow can sit as many as 300 patrons. Dividers may be put up for smaller private functions. Most of Lucky’s regulars are Chinese who come with their families.

(For inquiries and reservations, call 478-1385 or 0906-3366146.)