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

Menu

Last verified: 2026-06-23 · Source: Yelp menu listing + RestaurantGuru menu page (aggregator-sourced; official online-ordering site is a JavaScript app that could not be rendered for price capture) · URL(s): https://www.yelp.com/menu/manila-bay-express-grandview · https://restaurantguru.com/Manila-Bay-Ihaw-Ihaw-Kansas-City-Missouri/menu · Confidence: Medium (prices aggregator-reported, not confirmed against the restaurant’s own current menu; two sources corroborate the dish lineup but differ on exact prices, so figures below should be read as representative, not authoritative)

Manila Bay Express runs a broad turo-turo–style Filipino menu spanning à la carte mains, silog breakfast plates, three styles of lumpia, pancit noodles, and large bilao (party) platters. Prices below reflect the more recent Yelp listing; where RestaurantGuru differs (generally lower), it appears to be an older snapshot.⁴⁵

Lumpia & appetizers

• Lumpia Shanghai (ground-meat fried spring roll) — ~$1.90/pc; Lumpia Hipon (shrimp) — ~$1.90/pc; Lumpia Veggies — ~$1.65/pc.⁴
• Lechon Kawali Appetizer ($8.25), Calamari Rings ($8.00), Jalapeño Poppers ($4.95), Mozzarella Sticks ($4.95).⁴

Silog (rice & egg plates)

• Garlic-rice-and-egg plates with a protein, ~$16.50 each: Tocino, Longganisa, Tapa, Adobo, Lechon Kawali, Corned Beef, Spam, Bangus (milkfish), Sisig, Bangus Sisig, and Broasted Chicken Silog.⁴

Pancit (noodles)

• Pancit Canton, Pancit Bihon, Pancit Sotanghon ($15.00 each); Pancit Palabok ($16.25).⁴

Mains — pork, chicken, beef, seafood, vegetables

• Pork & chicken: Menudo, Adobo, Sisig (~$16.50 each).⁴
• Pork: Lechon Kawali, Bicol Express, Dinuguan (~$16.50 each).⁴
• Beef: Kare-Kare ($18.50), Bistek ($16.50).⁴
• Seafood: Shrimps/10 pc ($16.50), Bangus Belly ($16.50), Pompano ($23.50), Pusit/squid ($23.50).⁴
• Vegetables: Pinakbet, Chop Suey, Ginataang Kalabasa, Ginataang Langka ($15.50 each); Tortang Talong ($4.95).⁴
• Ihaw-ihaw (grilled): BBQ Pork or Chicken on a Stick ($4.75), Liempo ($16.50).⁴

Broasted chicken

• The restaurant’s signature pressure-fried broasted chicken — singled out by reviewers as a return-worthy standout — also anchors the Broasted Chicken Silog.³⁴

Bilao platters (party trays)

• Economy Platter ($69), Premium Platter ($79), Seafood Platter ($95), Jumbo Inihaw Platter ($130).⁴

Desserts

• Halo-Halo ($8.95), Leche Flan ($5.75), Turon (~$1.25).⁴

Note: prices are aggregator-reported and subject to change; the Yelp figures above are the more current of the two sources captured. Treat as representative pricing rather than an authoritative live menu.

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. ↩ ↩²

4. Yelp — Manila Bay Express menu listing. https://www.yelp.com/menu/manila-bay-express-grandview — asserts: full current menu and prices — lumpia (Shanghai/Hipon/Veggies), silog plates (~$16.50, incl. Broasted Chicken Silog), pancit (Canton/Bihon/Sotanghon/Palabok), pork/chicken mains (Menudo, Adobo, Sisig, Lechon Kawali, Bicol Express, Dinuguan), beef (Kare-Kare, Bistek), seafood (Shrimps, Bangus Belly, Pompano, Pusit), vegetables (Pinakbet, Chop Suey, ginataang dishes), ihaw-ihaw grilled items, bilao party platters ($69–$130), desserts (Halo-Halo, Leche Flan, Turon). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

5. RestaurantGuru — Manila Bay Express menu page. https://restaurantguru.com/Manila-Bay-Ihaw-Ihaw-Kansas-City-Missouri/menu — asserts: corroborating menu structure and dish lineup (lumpia varieties, silog plates, pancit, pork/beef/seafood/vegetable mains, bilao platters, desserts) at generally lower/older price points than the Yelp snapshot; used to cross-verify the dish list. ↩