Pink Panda

Nestled on the ground floor of the Y2 Residence Hotel, Erwan Heussaff’s Pink Panda offers a culinary journey across some of Southeast Asia’s gastronomic delights. The restaurant, which opened in March 2014, is inspired by the region’s street food culture.

The restaurant’s street food inspiration is never far from the surface. From the vaunted graffiti-like murals to the jeepney-inspired booths and the alfresco ambience, Pink Panda exudes the street food culture. The open kitchen and furnishings also exemplify a modern industrial sleekness, which suits the restaurant’s environs.

“We use flavors and ingredients that are used in Southeast Asia, but we make it our own”, says Monique Monasterio, Pink Panda’s marketing manager. For starters, try the dimsum aptly called ‘Dimsum and then Some,’ which offers a generous serving of spicy shrimp dumplings, succulent pork mushroom shu mai, kuchay shrimp dumplings, pumpkin and shrimp dumplings, and shrimp hakaw.

Follow this up with the, Puncak Chicken Sate, a mouthwatering helping of chargrilled chicken skewers, roasted in rich peanut sauce, and served with fried shallots, and pickled vegetables. The tender chicken melts in your mouth and is complemented by the bold peanut sauce.

Another terrific dish is the Crab Mie Goreng Egg noodles, composed of hand picked crab meat, vegetables, a sunny side egg, and sambal sauce made of chilli peppers and kecap manis, an Indonesian sweet soy sauce. The thin egg noodles serves as a base for the dish’s potent sweet and spicy flavors. This is a hearty dish that goes well with the meaty chicken sate.

For seafood lovers, the butter fried tilapia is tasty and fresh. Cooked with black pepper, spices, steamed bokchoy, young corn, and fried ginger, the dish is an experience you will soon not forget. Cap off the meal with delectable buchi, which is coated in black and white sesame seeds. Each of the five pieces is stuffed with either dark chocolate, peanut butter jelly, or sweet bean paste in the interior of the pastry.

Ultimately, what Pink Panda offers is a modern take to the urban gastronomic experience that is shaping Southeast Asian palates today. It is flavoursome, unpretentious, and unapologetic over the spices and ingredients that govern this region today. 

Pink Panda G/F Y2 Residence Hotel 4687 Santiago Street cor. B. Valdez and Singian Streets, Makati City +632.224.3000 loc. 3057