Manille: A French-Filipino Table Story by Filipino-Chinese chef Wado Tan Siman and American chef Jeffrey Le Bon happens on June 25 and 26 at Brutal by Wadough in Quezon City.
What happens when a Filipino chef from the QC suburbs collaborates with an American chef of French roots? The result is Manille—an intimate two-night, eight-course dinner happening on June 25 and 26 at Brutal by Wadough’s, a fine dining restaurant located in a sweet spot that straddles Quezon City and Manila.
The POST was invited to a special media preview last June 19, and we’re happy to report that we had the loveliest of evenings. More than just a dinner conceptualized by two talented chefs, Manille gave us a peek into the coming together of these chefs’ distinct heritage and perspectives on food. We were then delighted with a menu that boasts reimagined local classics and bold, unexpected pairings. Read on to know how the dinner went!
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A restaurant of few oddities
Brutal by Wadough’s is an offspring of Filipino-Chinese chef Wado Tan Siman’s eponymous (and pun-ny) bakeshop, called Wadough’s, in Maginhawa. Considering the rather odd location of the restaurant, chef Wado said the area is home to him, and he actually lives only a few minutes away.
“When we got the place two years ago, naisip ko, we’ve been here for the longest time, why not elevate the dining experience in my home city,” he tells members of the media just before the first course was served. Brutal sits on the border that separates Quezon City from Manila, just a stone’s throw away from Quezon Avenue, España Boulevard, and Welcome Rotonda, and right in front of UDMC hospital.
So I can’t help but ask the good chef, which is his home city then, Quezon City or Manila? To which he gave The POST a specific yet slightly confusing answer: his water bill is under the city of Manila, his for electricity bill is under Quezon City. However, he considers himself a batang Kyusi through and through, even if he studied at the University of Santo Tomas.
But it’s not only the location that’s a bit of a curiosity, it’s also the name of the restaurant itself. The word “brutal,” is not exactly an obvious choice for a chic fine dining restaurant carving its own name in what can be a (ahem) brutal local F&B industry. In both English and Filipino, the word carries a negative connotation. It’s not exactly music to the ears, is it?
Chef Wado explains that apart from the restaurant’s edifice, which is inspired by brutalist architecture, the word “brutal” could also mean “unapologetic” or “straightforward,” just like the food they offer. In a nutshell, he describes it as “elevated comfort food,” a menu that’s a coming together of the different flavors that he’s tried through his travels.
Boston-born chef Jeffrey Le Bon, meanwhile, forms the other half of Manille. He brings his French heritage with him to the menu, as well as his 22-year experience as a chef in Hong Kong. A few months ago, he thought of giving the burgeoning Manila food scene a try, with a focus on curated fine dining experiences. For Manille, what chef Jeffrey wanted was a menu that melds seamlessly with chef Wado’s food, which he describes as having “a lot of Mediterranean influences.”
Before the eight-course dinner commenced, chef Wado enthused that they’re not out for recognition or excellence, they just want to share food that’s “brutally good.”
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Eight courses of creativity and culture
Our taste buds were opened with an outstanding chilled tomato soup which reminded me of gazpacho. True to its name Ensalada, the Spanish word for “soup,” the first course was like a salad in soup form. For texture and a hint of saltiness, it’s mixed with a delectable salmon pastrami and salted eggs, and finished with a pinch of fresh pakô on top.
This was followed by one of my favorite courses of the evening: Dinakdakan. I never thought I would get to taste dinakdakan which, for the unfamiliar, is similar to sisig but with the meat chopped more coarsely, inside a pani puri, a deep-fried breaded hollow spherical shell of South Asian origin. This dish is as creative as it is delectable, elevated by the pleasant smokiness of the dinakdakan. It comes with edamame and a ratatouille relish, and served with sinamak on the side which you can drizzle (using a pipette) on the pani puri as liberally as you’d like.
The starters were paired with a bold aperitif—my favorite of Manille’s three cocktails—called Spicy Batwan, it’s aperol and tequila with the added citrusy-spicy kick from batwan and chilies.
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Up next on the menu were back-to-back seafood-forward dishes, starting off with Pugita, grilled octopus with a mash of harissa sweet potato and onion cream. Some may find the octopus a bit tough, but for me it just had the right bite, with the sweet potato mash giving it a pleasant, earthy sweetness.
Chef Jeff takes pride in making really good risotto, and his skill with the Italian dish shone through in Aligue, another of my favorites on the Manille menu. This risotto is definitely more Filipino than it is Italian, made indulgent with aligue or crab fat from which it gets its name. It’s topped with a razor thin strip of chicken skin and a big, fat, juicy scallop. This dish made me smile with every bite.
The seafood dishes were paired with Brutal’s interpretation of Sangria, one which uses Bugnay (or Bignay wine), which lends the drink a deep red color and a refreshing fruity taste.
The first of the two mains was Lamb Pares, tender and succulent lamb meat served with rice and egg, of course, but those come in the form of a yaki onigiri stuffed with a runny quail egg. It also comes with a bright spring onion espuma, balsamic glaze, and garlic confit that helped tone down the gaminess of the lamb. The dish was good, but a bit too sweet for my taste—perhaps good old kalamansi and soy sauce on the side (ever-present in any paresan) would have been a good idea.
Then there was the Pato—seared duck, blueberry gastrique, Mediterranean couscous, and melted red cabbage. I wish the duck was a tiny bit more tender but everything else on the plate was flawless.
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The last two of the man courses were paired with a quirky reinterpretation of Samalamig, a favorite Filipino refreshment. Your usual samalamig of brown sugar syrup, lemongrass, and grass jelly was made bolder and stronger with soda fizz and Don Papa rum. The drama doesn’t stop there: the concoction was smoked, and the smoke trapped inside the glass with an edible paper lid. Punch a hole through it with a straw and see the smoke rise from within. Really cool—and really strong. It’s the perfect drink to have on a Friday night when you don’t have to worry about what time to wake up the following day.
To end the night on a sugary high, we had a two-dessert combo, which I both loved. First was Uling, a delightful plate of seemingly disparate creations that surprisingly complement one another: charcoal meringue, marmalade sponge, kalamansi curd, brown butter pinipig (ugh this was super good), sesame mousse, and fresh fruits. What a playful medley of flavors!
We capped the night with Peras, a dish inspired by a recipe from chef Jeff’s childhood. It’s mille-feuille (puff pastry) with chocolate whiskey cream, poached pear, almond crumble, and caramel. I regret not ordering coffee to pair it up with. Simple and comforting, it was the perfect way to end the eight-course dinner that was faithful to its promise of culinary creativity.
Manille: A French-Filipino Table Story is happening on June 25 and 26 only at Brutal by Wadough, Sto. Tomas corner Nicanor Ramirez Streets, Quezon City. P4, 100++ per head with limited seats available. Call +63 954 308 7638 or follow.@brutalbywadoughs on Instagram.
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