Lopez and Tan take turns introducing the courses, starting with a trio of “snacks” which help introduce their cuisine—a mung bean tart with shrimp cooked in shrimp oil derived from its shells, tapioca crater with smoked scallop tartare, and an onion dumpling filled with more caramelized onions and mushroom embellished with spring onion oil, pickled onions, and a fried onion and cheese crumble. They make it clear that they are not progressive Filipino, but more focused on classic cooking techniques utilized in elevating the flavours of local produce. “I also hate wasting food,” Tan explains, “which is why we try to use everything, even the skins or vegetables that are close to spoiling and would normally be thrown away. In the restaurant I worked in in New York, they threw away so much food! I don’t want to do that in my restaurant.”

Their tomato course demonstrates this even further, with tomato trimmings turned into powder and wilted basil that would have been thrown in the bin but proves to still be useful when infused with oil. The surprising flavour variations stem from one of Tan’s frustrations, which he harnessed into innovation. “When I was in New York, there were so many different tomatoes,” he narrates, “I would literally buy several kinds and snack on them. I miss that now since we do not have that kind of variety with our local tomatoes. However, applying the right techniques can extract the different flavours from the fruit.” Each bite exhibits a contrived personality—smoky, semi-sweet, tangy, and complex—delivering the range the local tomatoes would otherwise be lacking.

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Even water that potatoes were boiled in does not go to waste, as the starchy water is dried out and the remaining sludge is seasoned and cooked into “chicharron,” a kropek-like chip perfect for scooping up the mussel salad with potato gnocchi, espuma, and dill oil. It was my favourite dish, along with their eggplant cappelletti in an eggplant red pepper sauce that was so rich I thought it had cheese, but it did not, with spikes of flavour coming from a gremolata, preserved lemons, and parsley oil.

Surprisingly, I was almost too full for the remaining meat courses, which I just nibbled on. But, saving a space in a corner of your stomach for dessert is recommended. The pre-dessert of pineapple sorbet with a coconut gelee and flowers was a refreshing and flavorful treat, followed by toasted rice ice cream with the flavours and textures of, yes, more rice, black sesame, and raspberry.

More from the author: Old Manila welcomes new Chef de Cuisine: Gaël Kubler

Tandem is truly a fitting moniker for chefs Alex and Mikee’s valiant first effort, with the duo working together and taking turns in leading when their personal strengths call for it. While a plant-forward menu might not have been a happy surprise for some of their earlier guests, now diners are given a nice little introduction to how they do things here. It does not feel like their ideals are being imposed upon you, because the agenda is to cook good food the way they feel it should be done—sustainably and conscientiously. When an idea is not pushed down people’s throats, others tend to become more receptive, especially when they taste this delicious.

If you asked me five years ago, I would have baulked at the thought that a plant-based dish— such as that faux chicharron or that eggplant stuffed pasta or even that tomato done five-ways—would catch my attention and linger in my mind long after I have had it. You know that something is having a moment when it is embraced willingly and without much pushing and pulling. For plant-based, that moment is now, and for Tandem— it could not have come at a better time.

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