Filipino cuisine is hard to define. It’s not just sour, it’s not just salty, it’s not just spice—it’s a complex mélange of history, people, and places. It’s always personal and visceral when you taste someone’s interpretation of the memories that you grew up cooking and eating. A bite would either scar you for life or take you back to the best of times.

Once, people would have raised their eyebrows at the idea of a Filipino tasting menu. Thankfully, those days are long gone. Now, there are Filipino tasting menus aplenty across the Metro, and as a foodie—it’s quite exciting! So imagine my glee when I got handed this assignment for HerEATage, the newest tasting menu at Gallery by Chele.

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Inspired by the eponymous documentary series featuring the culinary trips chefs Chele Gonzalez and Carlos Villaflor took last year, each HerEATage episode (available to watch in TrueID.ph via a QR code in postcards given with each course) was as much a feature of people and place as it was of food, technique, or ingredient. Wisely, they kept their purview within Luzon and purposely went off the beaten path and made some less obvious choices.

While some courses are directly reminiscent of the dishes they are inspired from, some just selectively take techniques and evocative flavors. The menu is available in a six-course or a ten-course meal with an option for wine or cocktail pairing, so of course, for sake of Metro.Style readers— we had both.

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We started bar side and after watching the trailer, we enjoyed a welcome drink called the Seasonal cocktail, because yes—it changes with the seasons.

The first prologue of bites was based on Bicol. Bicol was a gentle romp of ocean flavors starting with Uni Pate grounded with pomelo and dalandan, followed by Crab Lato –a delicate slice of crab and coconut fresh lumpia topped with lato (sea grapes).

Binondo was more brash with a Bao filled with house-made pastrami and the standout Meringue de Sal. Meringue as your pandesal to an adobo pate sandwich made me bug-eyed upon hearing, but my apprehension was for naught—as a bite made me want to steal my dining partner’s portion. It’s an adobo sandwich that literally melts in your mouth and lingers with that unmistakable adobo acidity.

Pampanga was our last stop with a Sisig Taco that had a squid ink taco shell, grilled pulpo for protein, and pickled shallots and herbs. Quite tasty, but it was the standout Kare-kare bonbons that stole the show. Crispy balls of beef cheek Kare-Kare dipped in bagoong dip—how trite to call it an explosion of flavor—but it was. A mic drop moment for the Bites portion of this culinary journey.

Meringue de Sal Gallery by Chele

Sisig Tacos Gallery by Chele

'I want to tell a story in a plate,” chef Carlos declares in the trailer of HerEATage. What were those stories? Checkout the gallery with the courses and pairing options below.

1st Course: Siruma | Kinilaw - Inspired by Chef Chele’s visit with Kuya Tikoy and Ate Jen of the fishing village Siruma in Camarines Sur, Bicol, the first course was a Kinilaw of mackerel with house-made pineapple vinegar as the souring agent, accompanied by boiled onions, a roasted pineapple sorbet, and micro cilantro. Wine: Masottina, Prosecco Collezione 96 Brut. A great pairing as it rounded off the sweet-sour bite with acidity and just the right amount of bitterness. Cocktail: Clarity (clarified tomato water, vodka, celery). Each cocktail pairs with two courses, and it was a challenge to stop drinking this ‘bloody mary’—as it was not only refreshing, but the tomato flavor balanced the sweetness of the dish with some earthy flavors.Gallery by Chele

2nd Course: Camalig | Pinangat - Still in Bicol, Chef Chele discovered the intricacies of Pinangat in Camalig, Bicol courtesy Chef Ato from Socorro’s Restaurant. His Pinangat is a souvide lobster with aromatics, wrapped in kale leaves, served in a broth of smoked coconut milk and seafood stock, topped with fried alamang, and drizzled with cilantro oil. This is not pinangat in the strictest sense as there’s no taro leaf, but it did pack umami and unctuous seafood flavor aplenty, especially with the fried alamang contrasting in texture and flavor with the perfectly cooked lobster. Wine: Von Der leyen Riseling Kabinett 2019. The slightly sweet wine took away some of the more lingering flavors of the umami-rich alamang. Cocktail: Clarity. Bloody Mary’s are great paired with lobster for a reason. Gallery by Chele

3rd Course: El Kabayo | Foraging - Foraging was all the rage in many parts of the world, but as the HerEATage documentary would remind us—our tribal brothers and sisters have been doing it since time immemorial. Guided by Albert with his trusty bolo in hand, chef Chele went foraging in El Kabayo, Bataan. A layer of snapper cured with kafir, chilies, and ginger, punctuated with little slivers of tibig (a local fig) and pingol bato (leaf, souring agent) brought together by a viscous Banaba kombucha poured tableside. For as much as chef was roughing it up in the forest, the result of his trip was a smooth spoonful from start to finish.
Wine: Hakurakusei Junmai Ginjo Sake. Served chilled, this sake’s grapefruit notes stand up to and balances the sweetness of the dish.Cocktail: Gin Pili (Proclamation gin, pili orgeat, lime). With this course, the cocktail amps up the nutty sweet flavors of the fish. Gallery by Chele

4th Course: Cabiao | Buro - For this course, Chef Carlos interprets Buro after a visit with Jake Bautista at Cabiokid, a permaculture site in Cabio, Nueva Ecija, which of course—plants rice. Buro which is the process and the product of fermenting rice with meats sauteed with garlic, onions and tomatoes is one of my favorite things in the world. My dinner partner would never touch it though, so this was an exciting course for me personally. Grilled Emperor fish (White Maya-Maya) in a banana leaf pouch, on a generous spoonful of sautéed red rice buro and aromatics, with pickled onions, and topped with fresh and grilled mustard leaves, it was unmistakably buro with the red rice gave it a nutty undertone and didn’t taste overly fermented. I wanted to lick the plate clean and was eagerly anticipating the leftovers from my dining partner’s plate, but alas—he finished it.Wine: Stemberger Zelen. Using the Zelen grape variety, this wine had fruity notes with smoke undertones. It’s a funky wine paired with funky food. Cocktail: Gin Pili. The buro was tart with tomatoes, so the sweetness of the drink tempers that. A great pairing. Gallery by Chele

5th Course: Hermosa | Binuho - Tribal traditional cooking and the challenges faced on preserving and passing it on was the focus of Chef Carlo’s visit with Ms. Erlinda of the Aeta communities in Hermosa, Bataan. Binuho or cooking in bamboo is one of those traditions, while it’s not exactly replicated in the restaurant, the clean flavors that bamboo cooking evokes were in this course of steamed ulang and vegetables in a clear bilukaw soured broth. Wine: Gernot Heinrich Zweitgelt 2016. Earthy notes of the wine complement the sour broth. Cocktail: Perfume (pisco, blue leaf flower, bay leaf). A sip grounds the dish with its slight bitterness while adding sweetness thanks to the pisco. Gallery by Chele

6th Course: Silang | Cochinillo - Silang is not top of mind when we think Cochinillo, but Henry Brolagda’s Lucciole Farm in Silang, Cavite featured in the HerEATage docu proudly grows organic native pigs primed for great lechon and cochinillo. In Chef Carlos’ dish, cochinillo is served with adlai and prepared non-traditionally – in a souvide first then roasted, with the usual stuffing flavors (sibujing/sakurab, lemon grass, ginger, etc) imbued instead into the pork jus-based sauce. Wine: Denis Jamain Domaine de Reuilly Les Pierres Plates Rouge. Pinot Noir and pork’s always a great pairing, and this wine is extra friendly. Cocktail: The Galeon (tecquila, watermelon, hibiscus, habanero) The tart and zippy flavors of this cocktail pairs well with pork. Gallery by Chele

7th Course: Iskrambol - After tasting Iskrambol in the restaurant’s teambuilding, Chef Chele created his own version --- strawberry sherbet with the lightest touch of banana essence with pieces of meringue and housemade dayap marshmallows. Tart and sweet, while the sherbet was much too smooth to be an iskrambol, it was a treat to eat all the same.Gallery by Chele

8th Course: Camarines Sur | Laing - For our main course, Chef Chele takes on the iconic Laing after a trip to a taro farm in Camarines Sur, Bicol with Rica Buenaflor of Que Rica. A revelation. Who knew beef and laing would go so well together? Like a deconstructed beef rendang but with laing flavors, elevated to one of my best bites of the year thanks to the punchy addition of the chimichurri. Wine: Vina Pedrosa Crianza Ribera del Duero. The fruity top note of this Crianza works with the sweetness of coconut milk, and the tannins arrive rather smoothly. Cocktail: Potwashed (latik, rum, cacao) This course has my favorite cocktail, dish and pairing of the night. It accentuated the sweetness of the coconut and the smoke/dried element of the taro, while being boozingly delicious on its own. Gallery by Chele

9th Course: MNL | Mango - For our first dessert, a coconut panacotta was dotted with fresh mango, streusel, lime gelee, mint and thai basil. A creamy and sweet counterpoint to the previous savory coconut dish. Cocktail: Halaya (vodka,ube,coconut) An alcoholic dessert that tasted of ube (thanks to housemade purple yam syrup) with the barest hint of toasted coconut, I enjoyed this course 3x more with this cocktail pairing. Gallery by Chele

10th Course: Amadeo | Coffee - Coffee textures was inspired by Chef Carlos’ trip to Amadeo, Cavite with Chit Juan, the president of the Philippine Coffee Board. Honoring the long journey of coffee from bean to cup, the course explored highlighting the coffees in different preparations from a Liberica coffee ganache with white chocolate and cream, a Robusta coffee meringue, to an Excelsia coffee ice cream. Wine: Quinta da Romaneira Fine Tawny Port. This port offered blackberry notes and sweetened this non-sweet coffee dessert course. Cocktail: Halaya. The cocktail added that trademark ube nutty sweetness to the dessert. Gallery by Chele

Just like how our culinary journey started, your HerEATage trip ends with a bite with an interpretation of Bibingka--Japanese cheesecake in a banana leaf, topped with pili nuts, and grated duck egg yolk.

Final notes

I would highly recommend the cocktail pairing as I found myself liking more courses with mixologist Radge Egar’s libations. That said, the journey with wine did hold a lot of surprises, even featuring a sake. Thankfully, if you want the best of both worlds--there is a cocktail and wine pairing option in the menu. Not only that, HerEATage has a vegetarian version.

“There is lot to learn about Filipino regional cuisine,” said Chef Chele in HerEATage’s laing episode. With storytelling at its core, it’s exciting to imagine how and where this menu could travel. Visayas perhaps?

Related Story: Where To Dine As If You Were In The South Of France

Gallery by Chele is located at Clipp Center, 11th Avenue corner 39th Street, BGC, Taguig. For more information, follow @gallerybychele on Facebook or Instagram. To watch HerEATAGE the documentary series, click here.

Lead photo: Jeeves De Veyra