Last May, Lobby 385 in San Juan hosted its first-ever collaborative tasting dinner—an ambitious six-hands event with Adobros, the Filipino supper club making quiet waves across Melbourne. 

The evening wasn’t just about food, it was about making a connection; it was about a homecoming for Michael Pastrana and Morris Danzen Catanghal  who after years of detours, disappointments, and discovery, found their renewed purpose through cooking; and it was about a shared belief that Filipino food doesn’t need to be elevated—it needs to be celebrated.

Adobros chefs Michael Pastrana and Morris Danzen Catanghal with Lobby 395's chef Kalel Chan | Photo: Lobby 385

Adobros began in 2024 as a by-invitation supper club in Melbourne. But the roots go deeper than that. Michael and Morris didn’t start as partners—they started as migrants: Morris in Italy and Michael in Australia. When they finally met in Melbourne, the purpose-driven conversations continued in the kitchen.

For both, food came at a crossroads. Michael had worked across industries before heading to Australia to study, eventually becoming head chef at a respected restaurant. 

Morris, meanwhile, had spent eight years in Italy running his in-laws’ trattoria and eventually transforming it into an Italian-Filipino fusion space. When the pandemic hit, he took a chance on Australia.

These aren’t origin stories built just for brand marketing—they’re real. Both chefs speak often about manifesting, not in the commercial, self-help sense, but in the quietly persistent way diasporic dreams often are. Adobros, for them, was never a question of if, but when. And this collaboration with Lobby 385? One of the manifestations on their list.

This collab at Lobby 385 is more than a dinner—it's a bucket list moment come to life for the Adobros | Photo: Lobby 385

It only took one online meeting with Lobby 385’s Chef Kalel Chan to make it happen. Less than a month later, the event was set.

The menu they served reflected this spirit: proud, inventive, personal, but never apologetic. There were no attempts to modernize for the sake of global approval. Instead, the dishes acted as conversations—between countries, memories, ingredients.

Adobros opened the meal with Trio Canapés: a standout kataifi-wrapped prawn palabok, babaganoush ensalada, and a playful tapsi arancini. Each bite hinted at their layered perspective as chefs shaped by multiple culinary cultures but rooted in a singular love for Filipino food.

Trio Canapés | Photo: Lobby 385

Chef Kalel’s Sinuglaw, brightened with boy bawang and coconut foam, bridged tradition and playfulness, while Chef Michael’s Nostalgia Delight offered seared scallops and yogurt tartare — nostalgic in feeling more than form.

Chef Kalel's Sinuglaw | Photo: Lobby 385

Nostalgia Delight | Photo: Lobby 385

Chef Morris’ Humble Beginnings, a pasta dish of tortelloni and octopus ragu, nodded to his Italian years, even as it leaned into Filipino flavors. The KOPA-grilled Ribeye by Chef Kalel grounded the night with comfort and craft. 

Humble Beginnings | Photo: Lobby 385

Dessert, as expected from Adobros, turned personal: their Adobo Dessert reimagined adobo sa gata with banana and soy spongecake—a callback to provinces where adobo is eaten with fruit.

Adobo Dessert | Photo: Lobby 385

Adobros doesn’t talk about elevating Filipino cuisine. They reject the word. These weren’t chefs trying to impress. They were trying to connect.

“Filipino food is already good,” they say. “We just need to love it, and share it.” 

In a world obsessed with reinvention, their mission is recognition. In an industry that often waits for Western validation, they’ve built their own table—and they’re inviting others in.

Rather than chasing Western validation, the Adobros are setting their own table—and opening it to everyone | Photo: Lobby 385

For Lobby 385, this dinner was their first tasting menu event. For Adobros, it was a milestone. But for everyone lucky enough to be in the room, it felt like the start of something more: a reminder that food is not just sustenance or spectacle. It’s identity, built one dish—and one story — at a time.

Visit Lobby 385 at 385 P. Guevarra Street, San Juan, Metro Manila. Stay connected with @lobby385ph and @adobros.au on Instagram.