Gallery by Chele
After a few nights of eating out I stayed at home for a day to catch up on some work and a bit of rest as well. Jet lag is still kinda bothering me as I’m only able to sleep for a few hours every night. I guess it takes some time to get accustomed to the drastic change of + 13 hours here in Manila and get acclimatized as well with the drastic heat and humidity. It’s nice to be out and be able to get some sun here in Manila as opposed to the cold winter weather that is currently in NYC.
I am super excited though for our next destination as we are visiting the famed Gallery by Chele located at the Clipp Center in Uptown BGC. Chef Chele Gonzalez is an award-winning Spanish Chef who is quite famous here locally when they opened Gallery Vask about a decade ago. Gallery by Chele is the new modern remodeled restaurant which is the precursor to Vask.
The place is not so easy to find as it is located on the 5th floor but once you locate the place you know that you are in a gastronomic temple. Considered by many as 1 of the Chef’s that has brought global attention to Philippine Cuisine, Chele is known for his molecular approach to cooking and with his wide use of fermentation. This is a meal that I’ve been waiting for a while now to happen, and you have no idea how excited I am that we are finally here at Gallery.
We started our meal with a Proclamation Gin cocktail with sampaguita to start our dining experience. We of course are taking the full 9 course tasting menu for this evening with wine pairing ☺
The prologue was an amazing set of amuse bouche that set the tone for the evening. The mushroom meringue and corn tamales were exceptional.
Our journey started with Layers which was with blue crab.
Next was the French Connection highlighting the diversity of “sigarilyas” or winged beans.
The third dish was a charcuterie platter featuring various cured meats prepared by Deli by Chele.
Shades was the fourth dish with cashew milk and pipino melon.
The charred pulpo was next with papaya.
Jamon followed with bok choy and josper which was excellent.
I had the sour ribs for my entrée with black garlic puree and leeks.
Overall, this was such a great meal and the techniques they used were exceptional.
For dessert we had the Baguio which was a strawberry panna cotta and talandang which had rum and various textures.
Our meal ended with the epilogue which was their take on the bibingka that was out of this world.
I was so impressed with all the dishes and the experience as a whole. I will surely come back here the next time I am back here in the Philippines…
#KULINARYATRAVELS is off to METIZ next…