A love that lasts: F&B tastemakers share why they love the Philippines

Co-founder of Mercato Centrale, host, consul of Monaco

The new normal led to collaborations across the entire industry that had been unthinkable–from high-end restaurants to fast-food chains, and bazaar merchants. A few months into the first lockdown, Mercato Centrale opened up Bonifacio High StrEat–an al fresco market that brought together an eclectic mix of food tenants. At the market, you could literally taste the love and hope that went into every dish. Furthermore, patrons knew that with every dish they ordered, they were helping a business – whether big or small – get back on their feet.

See also: Eggslut's founder chef Alvin Cailan on what it means to be Filipino-American

Chef-owner, Toyo Eatery

One of my most favourite things to eat is Filipino BBQ; there are so many great examples all over the country. With different cuts of pork, or chicken, all places have their own styles and techniques for tenderising meat, and their own dipping and basting sauces too. I’ve always loved the taste of the grill, and the rough, raw setting of the street under the late afternoon sun. Pair that with a soda along with a fun, friendly conversation, and you have an afternoon well spent.

See also: Filipino cuisine: Do we need international recognition to move forward?

Chef, Sala Bistro, Sala, People’s Palace, and Blackbird

The Filipino merienda is such a delightful idea...a ritual that I enjoy as much as British afternoon tea. Bibingka galapong from Glenda Barretto’s iconic restaurant Via Mare, is one of my favourite merienda treats. Freshly cooked in banana leaf over charcoal, these fluffy, slightly sweet cakes made with ground rice, local white cheese, salted duck egg, topped with butter and freshly grated coconut, are a delicious Filipino delicacy.

See also: Colin Mackay on the importance of teamwork in the restaurant industry

Chef-owner, Metiz

For me, it isn’t a particular dish or restaurant. It’s a combination of events, past and present, that evoke a deep sense of nostalgia and familiarity. It’s the aroma of garlic and bagoong hitting the oil in a smoking hot wok. It’s the redolence of vinegar and soy sauce simmering away proteins in a pot, or the distinct fragrance of freshly cooked white rice. It’s the kick that awakens the palate with every dip of sawsawan. It’s the sense of community that can be shared between complete strangers when food hits the table. That is what I love about home.

See also: Metiz chef Stephan Duhesme on re-defining Filipino food

Chef-owner, Helm, Savage, and The Test Kitchen

When I came home in 2010, I was met with a whole new world of ingredients, unfamiliar and foreign. Little did I know at that time, how much our local produce would shape me as a chef. I have had many fond memories of food and dishes, but what sticks out the most is our act of eating as a group, the sharing of stories and conversations. Our culture is like no other and anyone coming to the Philippines needs to experience the social aspect of the dining table as well as our local ingredients.

Co-founder of CloudEats and Boozy.ph

My mother’s side of the family is from Iloilo and I had spent a lot of time there when I was young. My fondest memories always involved the signature sweet treats of this region including barquillos, a very light rolled wafer (my favourite is made with goat’s milk) and piyaya, a muscovado-filled flatbread. The delicacies produced out of this region are so well-loved by my sweet tooth! One of my favourite desserts is ube ice cream with crushed barquillos, sprinkled with pinipig—simply divine!

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Co-founder, CEO of The Wildflour Group

My family has built many memories at our favourite Chinese restaurant, Marco Polo. But the trips we’d take to our province, Zambales, are what stand out in my memory. Within the two-hour travel time northward are infinite tastes that created the foundation for what I look for in comfort food. We’d stop for burong isda in Pampanga. I love those strong fermented flavours tempered by a heap of steaming rice, mustasa, and fried hito. Pinoy elders were also onto something by pouring fresh gatas ng kalabaw onto hot rice—it’s even better, with tuyo.

See also: India's imperial sights and incredible spices: Travelogue by Ana de Ocampo

Founder, The Wholesome Table

I love the idea of a simple grilled or barbecued piece of meat and vegetables on a plate. Add a squeeze of calamansi, with some soy sauce and chopped chilis and everything is perfect. Chicken inasal is one of my all-time favourite dishes, I will always order that if it’s on the menu. Having said that, I’ll never forget my first boodle fight experience. It was divine! I couldn’t stop eating. For me, it really celebrates and shows off the spirit of the Filipino–simple, generous, vibrant, and always about community and gatherings around a table.

See also: Bianca Araneta Elizalde shares her recipe for success

Chef-owner, Sarsa

I recently shot a series on the cuisine of the Philippine Cordillera region and have to say that it opened my taste buds to an entirely new spectrum of flavours that have been overlooked. The food’s character is mostly formed primarily by smoke, salt, and time. Time in the period it took to cook, and in the means that its traditions were formed. It is food as provided by the land with just the minimum interference of man. Filipino food you can trace to the very roots of our culture.

See also: Chef JP Anglo of Sarsa on lessons he learned during the pandemic

Restaurateur, La Cabrera, Bar Pintxos, Txoko

I love the quirkiness of the Filipino palate that translates into the food offerings across all markets! I guess our colonial past has a lot to do with the food we create and enjoy. Food exposure in the different stages of my life – as a kid, teenager, and young adult, are all my favourite food memories! It also helps that I’m from Davao, grew up in Manila, and married a Cebuana.

See also: La Cabrera's Carlo Calma Lorenzana on the value of great steak

Restaurateur behind Milky Way, Tsukiji, Azuthai, and Cirkulo

If I were to introduce foreigners to Filipino food, I would begin with the simplest
of Pinoy breakfast fare: the ubiquitous sweet beef tapa, glistening red tender tocino bites, or crispy fried dilis. As a child, I remember admiring a glistening piece of red meat with a sunny side up egg in my mum’s original Milky Way on Aguado Street in old San Miguel. Driving up to Baguio, we would make a quick stop at Vilmar, Tarlac, where we would be welcomed with the smell of garlic fried rice and tapa, which signalled that we were more than halfway to our destination.

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