What do you miss most on the food/drink front when you are away from the Philippines or haven’t been back for a while?  

Honestly, what I miss the most are nostalgic things from my childhood – our cook’s baked spaghetti, Pancake House pan chicken, Shakey’s, fish balls from the street, stuff like that. I also miss reasonably-priced and good Asian food like Chinese, Thai, Japanese cuisine... oh, and warm taho and fresh buko juice!

What is the first dish you want to eat when you return, and where do you go for it?

If I fly in close to dinner, I end up wanting to go to Tsukiji for chūtoro sashimi, their Wagyu and fried rice, gindara, and then avocado ice cream from Milky Way. If I fly in during the morning, I go to Wildflour for a silog.

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Do you have a favourite restaurant in the Philippines? For fine dining and for more casual experiences?

I moved away six years ago and I don’t go home as often as I would like to. When I do, it’s not for very long amounts of time, so unfortunately all I have been able to do is drool over the exciting new places in the Philippines that I have yet to try. But my tried-and-tested favourites to visit when I go home are Wildflour, Locavore, Mecha Uma, Las Flores, Tsukiji, Shang Palace [which is now closed], People’s Palace, Mamou, etc. . . . basically, the restaurants I already liked before I left home.

If you have visitors/guests with you, where do you go to give them a real taste of the Philippines? 

At home! The best Filipino food is from someone’s house.

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Where do you like to meet up with old friends for food/drinks? 

I usually let my friends decide because I’m not familiar with the new nice restaurants anymore. The last time I was home (which was before COVID-19), we went around Poblacion a lot. We ate at Alamat and had drinks at OTO, then enjoyed midnight drunken street food munchies. I also like The Grid at Rockwell, where I had La Chinesca a couple of times.

Do you have a favourite bar and/or café in the Philippines?

Again, I’ve been gone for a while now so my favourites are either not new or sadly, not even open. I used to hang out a lot at Finders Keepers/ Black Market, Rocket Room, M Cafe, and Boogie [all of which are currently closed]. I can’t wait to go back home and stay longer than ten days (for a change). I usually don’t have much time to explore the new hot spots.

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Any other must-visit food/drink spots when you are back? 

Oh my god, so many – Helm, Gallery by Chele, Toyo Eatery, Hapag (for a return visit, because I actually dined at Hapag the last time I went home), Linamnam, Sambar, Metronome, and Metiz.

Do you take any food or treats back home with you from the Philippines? 

All the time! Barrio Fiesta bagoong, lemon garlic tinapa from Blue Kitchen, mushroom chicharon, Lapid’s chicharon (to name a few). Recently, I asked a friend of mine who went home to Manila to get me some Gastronômade sauces by Aaron Isip. My daughter always asks me to bring back instant pancit canton and Jollibee, haha!

Where do you go to find authentic flavours of home where you live?

I make it myself! One of my favourite things to do is to test flavours I love and combine them with French seasonal produce. A lot of these tests from home end up on my menus.

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