Filipino cuisine is enjoying a renaissance with many chefs, both local and foreign, diving into traditional dishes with gusto and making them their own. Chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou is no stranger to this, having been championing Filipino cuisine in both his restaurants and his cooking shows for years.
Tatung’s Private Dining is Chef Tatung at his most playful. It is in this hidden gem tucked in the hinterlands of Antipolo that Chef Tatung fully flexes his creative muscles, whipping out inspired dishes that are feasts for all senses. His latest menu, Likha, is a tapestry woven with the various flavors of the Philippines.
The meal starts with Kinilaw na Tuna, a classic Visayan dish. Here, Chef Tatung includes unripe jackfruit and spring onions to the usual mix of ginger, onion, tomatoes, sugar, and vinegar. The result is a texturally tantalizing dish that explodes with flavor in every bite.
Chef Tatung shared that the addition of jackfruit is an ode to his childhood. “When we were kids, we would use jackfruit as a substitute for fish for kinilaw,” he shared.
This was followed by Seafood Binakol. An Aklanon dish that traditionally uses chicken, Chef Tatung’s version instead uses clams to add a briny note to the dish. The pure buko juice is brought to a simmer and infused with ginger and lemongrass to add more dimension while the shimeji mushrooms round out the taste with its earthy flavor.
The Eggplant Salad is a refined take on the traditional Ensaladang Talong. The addition of local Kesong Puti and the use of a Kalamansi-Honey Dressing adds some sweetness and salty tang that accentuates the fresh flavors of the cherry tomatoes, julienned red onions, diced cucumbers, all serving as counterpoints to the grilled eggplant.
Chef Tatung has also been busy developing deli products under his Tindeli brand and he generously showcased some of the crowd favorites in the bread course. Here, Lavoush, sourdough bread and pan de sal were served accompanied by thick rashers of bacon, a generous serve of liver pate, and a medallion of herb butter.
For the seafood course, Chef Tatung turned his sights to Mindanao, serving up Seafood Satti. The original satti is a Mindanaon take on Satay, a dish that is found in many Southeast Asian countries. The Filipino version is milder in terms of spicy heat but it still packs plenty of flavor. Squid, shrimp, and scallops are grilled and served with satti sauce, a peanut-based sauce flavored with turmeric, lemongrass, ginger, onions, and other local spices. Meanwhile, cutting open the pechay balls reveals Maranao yellow rice, which is cooked with turmeric and coconut milk.
To cleanse the palate, sorbetes made from pineapple, coconut cream and local rhum was served. Sweet, sour, and clean, with just the slightest presence of alcohol at the very end, the sherbet was a delight that prepared the diners for the rich course that followed.
The Corned Beef with Bone Marrow might not be Filipino in origin, but it takes inspiration from the ubiquitous canned product that has been the mainstay of any Filipino breakfast.
Here, Chef Tatung transforms the humble beef short plate into a rich main course through the magic of brining and smoking. Amping up the decadence is a torched bone marrow served alongside the corned beef while the garlic aioli helps cut through fatty richness of the dish.
The meal ends with ube halaya topped with a caramel pudding. This combines two Filipino favorites — ube jam and leche flan, into a harmonious dish. The thick texture of the ube halaya contrasts well with the creamy pudding while the sweetness of both items helps unify the dish.
A creator always puts his heart into their creation and Likha, the private dining’s newest limited-run menu shows the reverence Chef Tatung places on Filipino cuisine. Daring yet comfortingly familiar, the dishes in the new menu paint a picture not only of Filipino cuisine, but of a man who was molded by his love for it.
