An inspired tasting menu of Pinoy flavors

TPlus the opening of a Japanese food hall, and a returning Chinese American food concept

heir donuts and pizzas have made missing their multicourse menu bearable, but now that Hapag Private Dining is back to serving the inspired Filipino repertoire they have become known for, it’s time to have a proper meal and give the young chefs the acknowledgment they deserve.

The current 10-course tasting menu features their longtime crowd-pleasers such as laing stones, uni arroz caldo and ginanggang ice cream. But also in the mix are six dishes that celebrate our cuisine and ingredients in new ways.

As the name LuzViMin suggests, the three bites by chefs Thirdy Dolatre and Kevin Navoa are inspired by flavors of our country’s island groups.

Luzon shows off techniques applied to northern produce, from the freshness of Batangas tenderloin and their house-fermented mustard to the pickling of Ilocos gamet seaweed and curing for the salted yolk puree.

It is followed by their savory take on the Visayan delicacy Napoleones. A smoked eggplant ensalada is lodged between baked dough, topped with Iloilo oyster, glazed with their 8-month-old kadios miso, then finished with a light labanos-ginger-lato salad.

For Mindanao, they make a version of Zamboanga’s famous Alavar sauce—a mixture of crab fat and coconut milk—for the cold crab salad with pineapple palapa jam, and Davao pomelo on a crispy seaweed rice cracker.

‘Salu-salo’ style

In the past, customers had to choose their entree from a limited selection, but now the three items are served salu-salo style in relatively smaller portions, but large enough to be shared.

There’s Duck Estopato, dryaged duck breast with sweetish sauce and pickled banana blossom; Pinasingaw na Lapu-lapu, fish fillet smothered with an 8-month-old black bean miso paste, wrapped in banana leaf, then steamed; and their version of Inihaw na Baboy, 24-hour sous vide Sprite-marinated pork belly finished on the grill with pork jus.

As much thought and care is put on the side dishes that include mango ensalada, burong mustasa, grilled pako dressed in homemade langka vinegar syrup; and a palayok of plain rice with a strong aroma of pandan.

Apart from feeling stuffed and satisfied, I always come out of a Hapag tasting menu inspired, excited and convinced that the future of Filipino cuisine is promising, thanks to talents such as Dolatre and Navoa whose hard work and research are evident in the plates they produce. (Hapag Private Dining, Katipunan Ext., 201 Katipunan Ave., Project 4, Quezon City; tel. 0947-5601853)

Chinese American food concept returns

Ping Pong Diplomacy was an SM Aura restaurant launched by Him Uy de Baron and Noel Mauricio under the Tasteless Food Group back in 2017. Serving Chinese American cuisine with a dash of reinvention, the joint was closed but now makes a comeback, this time at The Grid Food Market.

A handful of crowd favorites have been revived including Crunchy Eggplant, Dan Dan Rice, Ping Pong Wings, Not Mapo Tofu and Simple Fried Egg, that come in trays good for sharing. Nothing has changed from these dishes, except that they are now offered in a different location. (The Grid Food Market, R2 level expansion, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive cor. Estrella, Makati; thegridfoodmarket.com; bit.ly/shop-ppd)

Japanese greats under one roof

The Standard Group continues to bring Filipinos good-quality Japanese food. First, there’s Yabu, which people go to for tonkatsu. Then, Ippudo, a reliable brand for raPrudente men. Recently, they added two new concepts: tempura and yakitori.

For sumptuous bowls of Edomae-style tendon, there is Hannosuke, helmed by chef Shinya Kaneko. He uses heirloom recipes passed down to him by his grandfather who was known for his tempura back in the 1950s. Served with pickled vegetables and miso soup, a tendon set is marked by the scent of sesame oil, specialty flour for a crispy texture, and the Hannosuke family tendon sauce flown straight from Japan.

For mouthwatering yakitori, The Standard Group turned to chef Katsunori Yashima for Hakata-style barbecue skewers grilled over Binchotan charcoal. Yakitori Hachibei is a family-founded business that’s been around since 1983, and they now bring their expertise to Manila, allowing foodies to enjoy items like their signature buta bara (pork belly), tori momo (chicken thigh), and steak seasoned with yuzu kosho (salt with dried yuzu and green pepper) or tare, a teriyaki sauce.

All four brands are at the Kiwami Food Hall, designed by Tokyo-based architectural firm Studio MYU. The space also houses a bar serving highballs and Sapporo on tap as well as a Hokkaido milk soft serve bar, where you can enjoy smooth soft serve with a lengua de gato

cone, or in a cup with kuromitso boba. (Kiwami Food Hall, L/G, C3 Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City)