Filipino Cuisine, But Make it Fine Dining, at the New and Improved Hapag

Manila’s fine dining scene is so tiny that any news of a major restaurant opening is invariably met with excitement and celebration. The anticipation is even more pronounced when the unveiling is from an individual or group well-entrenched and well-loved in the local dining community. 

That certainly applies to the minds (and hands) behind Hapag, whose latest incarnation transports it from its nondescript street-level original location in Quezon City to a luxurious high-rise in the immeasurably fancier commune of Rockwell in Makati. Creative interpretations of decidedly Filipino fare from Chefs Thirdy Dolatre, John Kevin Navoa, and their partners have thrilled and satisfied enthusiasts for years, but Hapag 2.0 kicks things up a notch and engages much more than just taste buds.

High ceiling and mood lighting characterize the main dining space of Hapag

Photo by PJ Cana.

If you’ve ever attended an event at The Fifth at Rockwell, which you access through an elevator right across from the Starbucks Reserve inside the Powerplant Mall, you need only climb up two more stories to arrive at the new home of Hapag. When you see the graceul peacocks encased in glass and the fancy double doors with handles that form the Hapag “H,” you’ll know you’ve come to the right place.

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As with improved versions of most anything else, every detail is well thought-out and executed flawlessly at the new Hapag. A reception desk welcomes guests before they’re whisked off behind yet another set of double doors to the main dining space. A stunning rattan chandelier is perhaps the first to snatch attention, followed by three paintings on one wall with uniquely Filipino themes: national hero Jose Rizal set against text that reads ‘I don’t write for this generation” stylized like the Snellen chart you’d see at your optometrist’s office, an old market scene in the middle, and a calesa. If, for some reason, you’re still wondering what sort of cuisine this restaurant serves, these visual cues ought to put those questions to rest.

Quartet of amuse bouches: Lumpia, Silog, Chicharon, Pinalamanan

Photo by PJ Cana.

Kinilaw

Photo by PJ Cana.

If you’re no Hapag virgin, you can ask for old favorites, but you need to try a special 10-course introductory degustation menu in order to understand where the Hapag boys are now in their culinary journey. They named the menu Metodolohiya, or Methodology, which you’ll know something about if you’ve ever turned in a research paper in school. It references a structured process to arrive at a conclusion or goal, which, in this case, is clearly about turning ordinary ingredients into something spectacular served on a plate.

And therein lies Hapag’s genius: the chefs are trained in classical cooking techniques and choose to apply these methods to reinterpret familiar Filipino flavors. After a hot, clear Nilaga soup of beef bone and smoked beef fat, for instance, there is a quartet of amuse bouches with names like Lumpia, Silog, Chicharon, and Pinalaman. They sound like things you can get at any carinderia or mall restaurant, but the bites are anything but ordinary. The Silog, for instance, is served with gamet or local dried seaweed, burong sinangag, Alaminos longganisa, egg mousse and atsara, while the Pinalaman is the Hapag flakes (like homemade Skyflakes) with tagilo or fermented shrimp with roasted bell peppers, which mimics the flavors of a cheese pimiento spread.

Pinausukan is bonete bread with a duo of spreads

Photo by PJ Cana.

Pinasingaw is prawn and corn galapong with salsa macha and palabok miso sauce

Photo by PJ Cana.

A highlight is the Kinilaw, or the Hapag version of the ceviche. Malasugi or blue marlin fish is drenched in a mango vinegar dressing and served with watermelon, cantaloupe, and kamias, which serves as the souring agent. It’s topped with pickled onions, cucumber, and singkamas. It’s surprisingly easy to mess up kinilaw, but this version is just the correct amount of tart and refreshing, as I imagine the ideal ceviche should be.

The rest of the courses in Metodolohiya vacillate between simple and charming to surprising and mouthwatering. Pinausukan is fried bonete bread—a perfectly baked version of the kind of bread you can get at your neighborhood panaderya—with a kiniling-garnet butter and kiniling-mulberry jam. It’s kind of ballsy to serve bread in the middle of a progressive tasting menu, but here we are and you’ll be hearing no complaints from me, especially if its’ this good. Meanwhile, the main heavy dish is the Binakol / Inadobo / Insalada. Chicken and pork meat is mixed with liver and gizzard in adobo rice, sous vide egg and pickled jalapeño. There’s a binakol (chicken and coconut broth) and a salad of ripe and green mangoes, grape tomatoes and sukang Iloko vinaigrette served on the side.

The ensalada portion of the main heavy course is comprised of ripe and green mangoes, tomators, and fresh lato drizzled with sukang iloko vinaigrette

Photo by PJ Cana.

Kinulta is goat cheese ice cream

Photo by PJ Cana.

For dessert, Kinulta is goat cheese ice cream with candied pili nuts and citrus honey. Rich and creamy, the ice cream punctuates the meal with a satisfying period, although the chefs choose to add just one more quartet of bites comprised of traditional Filipino sweets—Turon, Hinorno, Kakanin, and Inasnan. There’s something for everyone (even the serving of fruits dipped in citrus sea salt that is a favorite in many households) but feel free to take a bite and skip if it’s not to your liking.

A quartet of sweet bites: Turon, Hinorno, Kakanin, and Inasnan

Photo by PJ Cana.

Climb up to Aya for drinks before or after your meal at Hapag

Photo by PJ Cana.

There’s a bar upstairs called Aya if you’re feeling up for libations with a view of the high-rises of Rockwell, but you can also choose to go back down to earth (literally go down seven floors to ground level) after this indulgent meal. The purpose of Hapag, we believe, is to line Filipino cuisine up with the world’s greats, and make us feel proud that what we all grew up eating can stand toe-to-toe with anything else served in the swankiest of places elsewhere in the planet’s culinary capitals. And with this new place and Metodolohiya, I’d say, job well done.