New restaurant: Gilbert by Australian chef James Viles

The restaurant will be Modern Australian—something we haven’t seen in our local restaurant climate. “Natural is one thing we’re huge on, nothing too polished,” the Aussie explains, describing the tents of Australian cuisine. “And we’re extremely focused on produce: we would much rather spend all of our time, money, and effort in the best mud crab or tomato that we can get our hands on than do all this fluff with it,” he continues. “We’d rather let the lamb be the lamb than dress it up to look like something else.”

True enough, Australia is revered for its quality ingredients, be it dairy, meat, or produce. It’s also home to countless indigenous Australian ingredients that you’d rarely see in Philippine restaurants, if at all. “We’ll bring pretty much everything we can get our hands on,” he beams excitedly. “We’ll do a lot of fresh green pepper leaf from Tasmania. The Davidson plum, finger limes, things like that. Native banksia, native hibiscus.”

See also: 6 decadent Filipino ingredients you should know: asin tibuok, taba ng talangka, and more

Guests can also look forward to one-of-a-kind dishes encouraging Australian and Filipino flavours coalesce. “Your adobo, I love,” Viles professes. “I love the flavour of adobo. And I know this might sound a bit odd, kangaroo tail is a very delicious meat—especially when it’s cut into segments and becomes gelatinous, almost like eating pork belly but almost like eating oxtail too. So we want to do a nice, sticky, beautiful kangaroo tail, but adobo. Then there are some warm-water fish here that I’d love to use, like some of the mackerel, so we’ll pay a lot of respect to what’s here, too.”

Similarly, Gilbert’s beverage program will have strong roots in Australia and some Filipino flair peppered throughout. “We’ll use a lot of Australian spirits and a lot of Australian wines—predominantly 80 to 90 per cent of the menu. So it does showcase Australian stuff, but we might use calamansi in an Australian drink. I’ve come here, you’ve got these unbelievable calamansi limes, and I think I’ve had more margaritas in the past two days than I have in my entire life,” he chuckles.

See also: Spirits of the land: A guide to lesser-known Asian alcohol

Those who know him will attest to Viles’ culinary style: natural and unfiltered, rugged yet refined. Through Gilbert, Viles invites guests to immerse themselves in a tactile dining experience free from pretensions. “I think Western culture gets it wrong,” he discloses. “Sometimes, I get a plate of food and look for the grub at the table. I need to feel something. I can’t feel anything personally, in my heart, through a fork. So some dishes, you will eat with your hands.”

Read more: Where To Eat Filipino Food In Melbourne, Australia: Serai, Kariton Sorbetes, and More

Gilbert rejects another dining trope common in Western cuisine, too. “I never liked the way Western cultures eat,” Viles shares. “I don't like it as it is very selfish. Food is about enjoying things together, creating conversations, and creating memories.” So at Gilbert, Viles throws out the rule book. “I want it to be super refined, but I also want to show people that to be a great restaurant, you don’t have to be degustation…[the food has] got to be tasty, that’s the biggest thing. So tasty that you want to order it again on the same night.”

Much like the river it’s named after, Gilbert claims to be as rough as it is pristine—an ode to a time that predates ornate buzzwords and chasing trends. “I”m old now,” Viles sighs. “I don’t want the gimmicks. I want reality, a nice and natural approach because that will never fade. It’s not a trend, but life. That’s the way forward, I think.” 

NOW READ

A Taste of Home: Melbourne-based chef Ross Magnaye's favourite Filipino eats

Chefs tell Tatler about the state of the dining industry in the Philippines

Eggslut's founder Alvin Cailan navigates what it means to be Filipino-American