When I think of a typical Filipino restaurant, I imagine a casual setting, bright and noisy, with bandehados or serving platters of crispy pata or inihaw na isda or kare-kare laid out on the table for sharing, with unlimited rice and make-your-own sawsawans included. It’s a familiar experience that most Filipinos can relate to—comforting, delicious and always filling (nakakabusog).

And then there’s Lore, Chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou’s ambitious new Filipino restaurant that aims to be all of the above—comforting, delicious and always filling—but on his own terms.

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Located at One Bonifacio High Street Mall in Bonifacio Global City, Lore seems to require a bit of explaining. It’s fine dining but with bare wooden tables and paper placemats instead of the usual white tablecloths, fine crystal and silverware. It serves Filipino food but in individual portions via five-, seven- or 10-course tasting menus, rather than family style. Ranging from P2,600 to P4,800, the menus may seem pricey but aren’t completely out of reach. However, before you get too worried, rest assured that Lore handles its multiple personalities with confidence, thanks to Chef Tatung’s deep knowledge of Filipino cooking and storytelling prowess.

Chef Tatung may be most well known as the jovial persona behind his Simpol cookbooks and YouTube videos. But for Lore, he taps into his more “serious chef-y” side, one I had the privilege of working with as editor of his award-winning Philippine Cookery: From Heart to Platter published in 2016.

In a way, Lore is the natural offspring of Philippine Cookery where he creates and innovates dishes using the traditional techniques, dishes and ingredients he so meticulously describes in the book. He does so using the template of a degustation—a fancy French term for a well thought-out progression of small plated dishes—to bring structure to the many ideas he plays with throughout the menu.

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The meal starts with Sari-saring Palaman at Tinapay, a call back to our memories of just-baked pandesal from the neighborhood panaderia. Homemade buns, served still warm, come with a tray of spreads—chicken galantine with raisin jam, chicken liver pâté, calamansi mostarda and tinapa butter—gently easing diners into the meal with something familiar and comforting.

More personal memories abound throughout the meal. Chef Tatung showcases lots of fresh seafood as an homage to his growing up years in Cebu near the sea, whether it’s raw tuna and sea urchin livening up his Kinilaw, or crab and shrimp beneath a squid ink crepe in his Lumpia Fresca.

The chef reminisces about Chinatown in the form of Camaron Relyeno, prawn stuffed with sausage, wrapped in caulfat, and served with a sauce made from haw flakes, a favorite Chinatown candy he enjoyed as a kid.

In keeping with the holidays, Chef Tatung creates “Christmas on a plate” with his Bringhe of coconut-infused adlai (instead of the traditional malagkit), homemade jamon de Bulacan, with a luxurious add-on of seared foie gras and clam foam. It’s an indulgent dish in all its fatty-salty glory, befitting how Pinoys celebrate Christmas to excess.

Chef Tatung doesn’t just dig deep into his own food memories for inspiration, but looks to culinary history as well. His Mariscos con Sarsa Verde brings Iberian flavors to the forefront, with Mexican pipian in the mix, by way of the famed Sulipan kitchens of old Pampanga. The Spanish-Mexican influence is also present in his Pato con Salsa Tsokolate, duck served with a Mexican mole-like tablea sauce and grilled corn salsa. The dish was inspired by a recipe for “Pollo con salsa de chocolate” culled from the seminal cookbook, Condimentos Indígenas, written by Pura Villanueva Kalaw in 1918.

Perhaps his most spectacular dish (and my favorite), Moros y Kristianos delves deep into Muslim Mindanao and its contentious history with the Christian majority, via slow-braised short ribs served with both a spice-laden Tausug-style black burnt coconut gravy and a creamy white coconut sauce, showing how harmony can be achieved through contrast.

Chef Tatung - Chef Tatung Sarthou may be the most recognized (and busiest) chef in the Philippines today, running Pandan Asian Café in Quezon City and Tatung’s Private Dining in Antipolo. With Lore, he now adds fine dining degustation-only restaurant to his ever increasing list of accomplishments

Interiors - Lore keeps things casual yet festive, with an indoor gazebo, two private rooms, and an al fresco balcony that brings a bit of warmth and sunshine to its mall-based location

Sari-saring Palaman at Tinapay - Served with homemade pandesal, this array of Sari-saring Palaman or spreads—chunky chicken galantine with raisin jam, tangy calamansi mostarda, rich and creamy chicken liver pâté, and smoky umami-laden tinapa butter—tease the contrasts in texture and flavors to come in the succeeding courses

Kinilaw - Served in a shell atop ice, this elegant Kinilaw of raw tuna and sea urchin with pickled pineapple freshens the palate, with sweet potato strings as the perfect crunchy complement

Camaron Relyeno - Chef Tatung took inspiration from past visits to Chinatown, as he infuses five-spice into his Camaron Relyeno or sausage-stuffed prawn, and concocts the accompanying sauce out of pink-tinged haw candy, a classic Chinese sweet made from hawthorn fruit

Lumpia Fresca - Traditional Lumpia Fresca is reimagined as a delicate squid ink crepe over a generous mound of shrimp, crab meat and turnip. Instead of the usual sharp garlicky sticky sauce, this lumpia is refined with a subtler, and frankly much more pleasant white garlic sauce and cilantro gel

Mariscos con Sarsa Verde - Smoked hamachi and seared scallops elevate this Mariscos con Sarsa Verde inspired by the heritage cooking of Sulipan, Pampanga. Fresh and nutty, the accompanying sarsa verde references Mexican pipian, but using spinach, green tomatoes and almonds instead

Pato con Salsa Tsokolate - This standout Pato con Salsa Tsokolate traces its inspiration to a simple chicken recipe in the 1918 cookbook of Pura Villanueva Kalaw. The tablea sauce offers a savory almost buttery richness without overpowering the duck, while the grilled corn salsa brings a necessary brightness to the dish

Sorbetes - A welcome palate cleanser made with whatever fruits are available (mine was strawberry) is always served before the meat dishes

Bringhe - Traditional Bringhe is transformed into a multicolored, indulgent holiday dish that features local ham and seared foie gras on a bed of coconut-infused adlai, with clam foam lightening the calories. Somehow, all the seemingly disparate elements work their magic together

Moros y Kristianos - Slow braised till tender, beef short ribs are the backdrop to the provocatively named Moros y Kristianos. The dish is a spectacular clash of cultures and flavors—spicy smoked black and creamy white—with coconut as the unifying factor. The black sauce is based on the Tausug technique of burning coconut in charcoal to create an aromatic spice-laden sauce

Mango Jubilee - At first bite, this Mango Jubilee is instantly familiar, albeit more refined and not as cloyingly sweet as the classic restaurant dessert Filipinos know and love. Chef Tatung’s version is a more balanced affair with the addition of tres leches cake and lemon sabayon to complement the flambéed mangoes and vanilla ice cream

Halimuyak - Halimuyak is a refreshing and very drinkable (even at lunchtime) cocktail of gin infused in jasmine tea, with dalandan and strawberry, one of many signature cocktails offered as pairings to the tasting menus. Wine pairings are also available

After traversing various regions and historical eras, for the end of the meal, Chef Tatung brings us back to a familiar place, with the ever iconic Mango Jubilee, ubiquitous in most any restaurant dessert menu. This flambéed mango and vanilla ice cream combo gets an upgrade, though, with tres leches-soaked sponge cake and a lemon sabayon.

I mentioned earlier that Lore displays the “serious” side of Chef Tatung. But after the meal, perhaps I misspoke. The food is serious because the dishes have been well thought out, researched, and tweaked to achieve that balance of texture and tone expected of fine dining fare. But it’s a pretty fun experience too. The tropical-themed interiors give off a relaxed vibe, where loud, boisterous families can feel just as welcome as serious food snobs. And the must-try signature cocktail menu helps liven the mood, as attested by how much I enjoyed my Halimuyak cocktail of jasmine tea-infused gin with dalandan and strawberry.

Lore plays with our expectations of what a fine dining restaurant should look like or what a Filipino restaurant should serve. It certainly is both, but doesn’t care to stay too strictly within those bounds. Nor is it trying to be avant-garde or experimental. Lore simply moves the notion of the classic Filipino restaurant forward, bringing refinement, intelligence and imagination to the food we so love.

So the real question is: does the food taste any good? The quick answer: yes it most certainly does. The meal I had was comforting, delicious, and after 10 dishes and a few cocktails, definitely most filling.

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Lore | Contact: (0977) 804-9888 | Email: reservations@loremanila.com | FB or IG: @LoreManila | Address: 3rd level, One Bonifacio High Street Mall, 5th Avenue corner 28th Street, Bonifacio Global City.