Hapag
It’s been a few years since I last came back home to the Philippines, and I have not been this excited for anything this long in years. Looking forward to seeing family and friends for sure and hanging out with everyone. After a long layover in Singapore, it was so awesome to finally land in Manila and be able to stay at home and sleep in my old room. Old friends texting me and inviting me to go out and try new places to eat at is definitely, my favorite part of coming back home. The list of places for this trip is quite long so I will try my best to get to them all but for starters we are headed to QC.
Hapag MNL located at 201 Katipunan Ave in Project 4 Quezon City is one of the hottest places to dine here in Manila. They have constantly been recognized as 1 of the best for the past 2 years at least. They have quietly been pushing Philippine cuisine forward with their unique take on our country’s unique landscape of flavors and exotic ingredients.
They highlight each region’s depth of flavors using various techniques and technology to capture the true essence of Pinoy gastronomy.
The hapag fermented black rice sourdough served with a side of butter with Palawan honey and fermented kamote “haleya” was excellent.
I could eat these starters all day and just signified how amazing this place is.
The snack box featuring different flavors from around the country also showcased their flawless technique and execution from the chicken inasal cracker to the soy caramel kutsinta.
The “kinilaw” dish which was blue marlin in a watermelon consommé, was light and bright, a good way to start the meal.
The Luz Vi Minda appetizer was a great trio of sorts that showed us dishes we’ve never even heard of before.
As the meal progressed the dishes got deeper into our archipelago’s rich culinary heritage and showcased foraged produce that symbolizes the depth and talent of Hapag’s team.
The inihaw na sugpo and with the munggo dayap glaze and
…the laing stones were the next 2 courses that kind of left an umami bomb on each bite setting the tone for the main course of the evening.
The uni arroz caldo which was so packed with flavor was followed by
the mango sorbetes pallet cleanser to prepare for the entrees to arrive.
The duck “estopato” (cured duck breast) and “pinasingaw” na lapu lapu (steamed red grouper) was served salo salo (sharing) style with a pot of pandan rice and some side vegetables and pickles. The duck breast was crisp and perfect while the grouper was flaky and flavorful and the whole dinner was such a great experience.
To end the meal was the ginanggang (black banana) ice cream and the choc nut cremeaux.
This was an epic meal and it makes me so proud to see fellow Pinoy chefs pushing the boundaries of Philippine cuisine locally.
#KULINARYATRAVELS is off to LAMPARA next…