MANILA -- For a busy celebrity chef like JP Anglo, life does begin at 40.

Besides looking after five branches of his popular Negrense restaurant Sarsa, he still found time to introduce six new dishes to Sarsa’s menu in time to celebrate his birthday.

The new dishes are rooted in Negrense sensibilities with some Chinese touches here and there.

“Maybe it's also a phase that I'm going through, you know my wife's Chinese. Deep down, I love Chinese food. I always cook contemporary Chinoy food at home. Here, it still has to be Filipino. You can say that this is more mestizo. The food still had to be Ilonggo rooted,” explained Anglo during an intimate gathering of friends and family.

Anglo isn’t slowing down. He and his wife, Camille, are in fact working on a new concept.

“We have this new concept that we're very passionate about and that's sort of like, I think we're comfortable doing it and if you're comfortable, I guess you're more confident.,” said Anglo.

The chef kept mum about the new concept not wanting to jinx it. But whatever that concept will be, Anglo’s foodie fans will definitely be waiting for that to open its doors later this year.

Meanwhile, here are the new dishes they can enjoy at Sarsa:

Crispy rich chicharon bulaklak accompanied with super sour and slightly sweet atchara vinegar. It seems that the atchara was liquefied into the vinegar to give it that balance. If you want to add heat, ask for a piece of siling labuyo and crush it into the dip. Jeeves de Veyra

The Inasal Chicken Chop is an inasal chicken breast that’s been flattened and breaded. Eat this with sinamak and Sarsa’s chicken oil to enhance its inasal flavor. Jeeves de Veyra

Paksiw na Crispy Pata is definitely not your run-of-the-mill crispy pata. Anglo separates the crispy skin from the meat and uses a liver sauce with a touch of anise to complete the dish. Jeeves de Veyra

Mango and Tuba Sweet and Sour Pork is the most Chinese of the bunch opting to use mangoes and tuba vinegar to provide the sweet and the sour instead of pineapples. Jeeves de Veyra

Crispy Batchoy has crispy canton that you get in your favorite Chinese restaurant with garlicky La Paz batchoy sauce topped with pork, fried liver, and chicharon. Mix this in while the sauce is hot to get the extra al dente egg noodles soaked in Ilonggo goodness. Jeeves de Veyra

Fried Tadyang with Ginamos Gravy. Ginamos, the Ilonggo version of bagoong, is used as a salty sauce for his breaded crispy-on-the-outside-and-tender-on-the-inside beef ribs. Jeeves de Veyra