Manila Bay Express

Manila Bay Express is a family-owned, owner-operated Filipino restaurant in Grandview, Missouri, where chef Norma Thayer serves her family’s from-scratch recipes — turo-turo–style combination platters, three styles of lumpia, pork sisig, silog breakfast plates, and a signature broasted chicken — in a small counter-service dining room just off Route 71.¹²

Description

Manila Bay Express is a Filipino restaurant occupying a strip-mall storefront at 6305 Main Street in Grandview, Missouri, just off Route 71.² The menu centers on family recipes prepared from scratch by owner-chef Norma Thayer, served in a turo-turo (“point-point”) format where guests order at a counter in the back, pre-pay, and select from combination platters and à la carte Filipino staples.² The kitchen offers three styles of lumpia (skinny fried Filipino spring rolls) with seasoned shrimp, ground beef, or vegetables; pork sisig (minced pork and vegetables served on a leaf-covered platter with rice and sides); pancit noodle dishes; and silog breakfast plates pairing fried rice with a protein.² The restaurant’s most-cited dish is its broasted chicken — cooked in a specialty pressure fryer for an exceptionally crispy exterior — which reviewers single out as a return-worthy standout.³

Ownership and history

Since 2014, Norma Thayer has worked to bring traditional Filipino cuisine to the Kansas City area, inventing and reinventing her restaurant concept around her family’s own recipes.² The business carried earlier names — Valley Broasters and then Manila Bay Ihaw Ihaw — before settling on Manila Bay Express, and it has been serving classic Filipino food at the Grandview location since August 2021.² Thayer operates the restaurant as a family enterprise alongside her two daughters, Adrianne Boyd and Maruth Thayer, and son-in-law Brandon Boyd.²

Links

• Website (online ordering): https://www.manilabaykc.com/
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/manila-bay-express-grandview
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ManilaBayExpress/

Sources

Disputes

None recorded.

Footnotes

1. Yelp — Manila Bay Express, 6305 Main St, Grandview, MO. https://m.yelp.com/biz/manila-bay-express-grandview — asserts: address (6305 Main St, Grandview, MO 64030), Filipino cuisine, current hours (Tue–Sat 11–7, Sun 11–3, closed Mon), open status, listing updated May 2026. ↩

2. Feast Magazine — “Manila Bay Express is serving fantastic family-made Filipino cuisine in Grandview, Missouri.” https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/manila-bay-express-is-serving-fantastic-family-made-filipino-cuisine-in-grandview-missouri/article_95c7307e-0b78-11ec-8e38-538b109ced48.html — asserts: owner-chef Norma Thayer; concept since 2014; Grandview location since August 2021; former names Valley Broasters and Manila Bay Ihaw Ihaw; family operation (daughters Adrianne Boyd, Maruth Thayer; son-in-law Brandon Boyd); from-scratch recipes; lumpia, pork sisig; counter ordering format; strip mall off Route 71. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. The Pitch — “Eat This Now: Broasted Chicken at Manila Bay Express.” https://www.thepitchkc.com/eat-this-now-broasted-chicken-at-manila-bay-express/ — asserts: signature broasted chicken cooked in a specialty pressure fryer for a crispy exterior; pancit and silog on the menu; Filipino fare. ↩