CEBU CITY, Philippines – Facebook group ‘Let’s Eat Bai’ was started by entrepreneur JP Chiongbian in 2017 as a community where local foodies could share what’s on their plate.

The group’s original intent was to create awareness about the local food industry. But after Cebu was placed under lockdown on March 28, the Facebook group quickly became a platform where restaurants and food entrepreneurs could continue doing business online.

The group allows enterpreneurs in the food industry to post what they’re offering to the group, which prompted the group membership to skyrocket. There are over 41,000 members as of this posting. 


This was Chiongbian’s way of helping restaurants hit by the quarantine orders, which under Mayor Edgar Labella’s executive order, banned dining in restaurants, due to the novel coronavirus threat.

“Share what’s on your plate and help local restaurant owners and home businesses generate more revenues,” Chiongbian wrote on the page. “We also encourage all members to create awareness by sharing here new online and farm to market vendors to make it more convenient for everyone to order from home.”

While food delivery services like GrabFood and Foodpanda have not gone offline and are exempted from quarantine, ordering options on these platforms can be limited.


Aside from restaurants, the group has entrepreneurs selling frozen meats, seafood and desserts.

There are also services that help do the grocery shopping for a fee. 


The coordination is direct between the seller and buyer. 

Some sellers have their own delivery drivers, while others can send items via GrabExpress and Lalamove.

Scrolling through the group’s page, some of the most popular items for sale are lechon belly, biko, binignit, sikwate, and turon.

These are food items traditionally associated with Holy Week in Cebu, which, due to the quarantine, most will have to celebrate from home.



Anyone can sell, although Chiongbian, the group’s moderator and a longtime food entrepreneur, asks posters include price, payment methods (if they accept bank transfer, GCash or Paymaya), if customers can do pickups, and delivery options.



Those services can cost from P50 to P200 or more, depending on the pick-up and drop-off locations. 

Check out what’s selling this week in the group here. – Rappler.com

(Editor’s note: The original version of this story said the group was started after lockdown. This has been corrected)