Flow in Makati Wields Funky Flavors at Full Force

The wandering and boisterous minds of Chefs Kevin Uy and Gabriel Ong behind the burgeoning Peruvian cuisine-leaning Flow in Makati prefer their dishes and even design choices to be a little jagged and off-kilter.

You could say they are also each other's yin to their respective yangs: Uy being the more eclectic and visually freelance of the two, with Ong being the more structured and classically grounded chef.

Building their flavor sanctuary pebble by pebble involved harnessing a formidable admiration for Peruvian food developed largely during Uy's five-year tenure as a chef in Centrale, in the heart of Lima.

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Amazon starter from Flow's nine-course tasting menu

"Peruvian and Filipino cultures aren't too far apart," he says. "It's interesting to see where and how different worlds intersect," Uy told Esquire Philippines.

The one-two punch of Uy and Ong is predicated on the ethos of Gabriel, or "Gato," closing Pandora's Box without losing the essence of what his partner's vision is.

We got to experience Flow's nine-course tasting menu (which will run you around P5,900, with optional cocktail pairings at P1,800), which aims to transport you to the landscapes of the Amazon, Manila, River, Coastline, Lima, Mountain, Cacao, and Yacon.

Take the "Amazon" starter, for example: a holistic deconstruction and utilization of the Philippine banana.

It is served three ways, as a syrup-glazed saba, fried with a mole of aged saba, and tossed with a salad of cured fish and ubod.

The Manila scallops and cassava part of the journey

River

Mountain

Uy and gang then take us into a dish understandably called "Manila" that nails an obligatory scallop dish coupled with cassava, a uni emulsion, and a spirulina granita.

The journey then flows straight into "River," a very homey and comforting portion consisting of river prawn, tamarindo, and holy basil, all paired with a creamy Chupe de Camarón with ulang and finished with toasted bread to soak up the chowder. To our tongues, this was peak savoriness.

Before we move further, under no circumstances should you think of these works as "fusion," an umbrella term Uy detests and rejects profusely.

"Fusion because of the stigma behind the word fusion... what we do is so much more intentional... it is always embedded in culture," according to Uy.

The "Coastline" dish centers on loche, a protected squash variety indigenous to Northern Peru, worked into local seafood.

If one Peruvian staple would seamlessly meld into Filipino cuisine, it would be ceviche.

"Our ceviche is not really that sharply acid but plays around with the flavors of fruits. Our soup is not a soup; it's a foam," Uy explained.

This segues into "Lima": ceviche, fresh catch of the day, guyabano, kamote, and fish scales. The "Mountain" is the braised lamb shank and an Arepa made from Visayan white corn, an ode to the Andean people.

Flow's nine-course meal ends with the two desserts: one simply named "Cacao," a chocolate-less dish built from cacao components without the chocolate culminating in fudge, sponge, tangy sorbet, and candied nibs.

"Yacon" is the establishment's signature dish and is a fitting closer to the pedantic resourcefulness of Flow's team.

It is born from an Andes root crop that is transformed into a savory/sweet dessert crafted from every part of the root, skin to core, across textures and techniques.

The Cacao dessert dish, which makes full use of each component of the bean

Flow's signature Yacon desert

You'd be remiss to think that the culinary dynamos would be sitting idly while building a fortress from the ground up.

Later this year, they plan on opening a second spot in Park Central in Makati, focusing on à la carte, faster-paced, and more approachable concepts.

Uy floated the idea of including Lomo Saltado on the menu, a Peruvian tenderloin dish that is rarely done right according to the chef.

"The idea is to celebrate nature and natural materials...," said Uy.

"There's no set way to plate things. There's no like, oh, it has to be perfectly cut."

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