Bongbong's Manila Kanteen

Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s £50,000 Coronavirus Takeaway, Explained | Eater London

"A small, Filipino-inspired restaurant on Hackney Road that opened almost exactly a year earlier after its owners, Lee Johnson and Sinead Campbell, won investment on BBC Two’s Million Pound Menu. During the first COVID-19 wave the venue pivoted from restaurant service to private catering (April–June) to stay afloat, helping pay bills and support suppliers, but despite significant orders it later announced permanent closure because of the ongoing impact of lockdowns. Government spending on hot food for staff became a notable story when the Department of Health and Social Care recorded £47,528 spent on takeaways/catering in March and April (nine orders totalling £43,348 in April and one order of £4,179 in March); ministers defended the purchases as necessary to feed long-shifted civil servants, NHS staff, military personnel and contractors while other catering options were unavailable. The owners, who previously ran the street-food business BBQ Dreamz, plan to wait out the winter and relaunch their Honey Boo Boo food truck after a successful crowdfunding campaign, and some commentators noted that one investor’s marriage to a Conservative councillor may help explain the government’s patronage." - Adam Coghlan