MANILA, Philippines – Many say the best parts of traveling are the food and its culture, and that’s exactly what Hapag’s head chefs Thirdy Dolatre and Kevin “Nav” Navoa took back home to Metro Manila after traversing the southernmost provinces of Western Mindanao.
After journeying through Zamboanga, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi, the chefs of the fine dining Filipino restaurant in Balmori Suites, Makati City conceptualized a regional menu that carries not just the flavors of Tausug, Yakan, and Chavacano cuisines, but also the “rhythms of daily life shaped by geography, religion, and generations of cultural exchange,” they said.
Months after Hapag’s Western Visayas tasting menu — featuring Iloilo’s batchoy, Bacolod’s inasal, and more — the spotlight now turns to Mindanao, in what the team calls a “bold exploration.”
“Mindanao has always felt distant, even to us,” said Navoa. “But once we were there, the food, the people, and the stories opened up a part of the Philippines we hadn’t seen. This menu is our way of saying: there’s more to Filipino food than what we think we know.”
From curiosity to cuisine
Sheer curiosity drove Hapag’s team to explore the southern region this time around.
“None of us knew much about the cuisine from that part of the Philippines,” Navoa admitted.
“As a Filipino chef, I felt it was important to understand regional food techniques and traditions. After working on the Western Visayas menu, we wanted to keep digging deeper into the country’s diverse culinary roots. Zamboanga and its neighboring provinces stood out because they felt ‘foreign’ even to us, and we were intrigued by the strong Muslim and Malaysian influences in the region.”
The chefs chose Zamboanga, Tawi-Tawi, and and Basilan to feature, because logistically, “they were the most accessible within a six-day trip,” they said. Other destinations would have required 10-hour boat rides.
“Also, these places had a certain draw. We heard about the potential risks, which only made us more curious. The challenge added weight to the trip,” Dolatre said.
The team — which also includes Hapag partner and lead sommelier Erin Ganueles‑Recto — even experienced Ramadan in Tawi-Tawi, including a visit to Akantai, a local coffeehouse where pastries are shared and paid for on an honesty system.
“It’s like a local coffee shop where they serve a bilao of pastries and you pay only for what you eat. One snack, pastil, is eaten like cereal with vinegar. It gave us insight into the community’s trust and culture,” Recto said.
“This isn’t just about showcasing dishes,” Dolatre added. “It’s about recognizing how much of the Philippines we’ve yet to explore and giving that food the care and respect it deserves.”
Personal musings turned menu
“We’re focusing on honest storytelling, showing how our understanding evolved. We’re being thoughtful about pairings, too — like whether to include wine alongside Muslim dishes,” Dolatre said.
What’s served at Hapag is a 10-course tasting menu that feels like a journal of the team’s favorite travel moments — each dish has a story to tell.
And as guests go through each course, Hapag’s staff explains the memories associated with each dish, accompanied by a printed photograph of that memory, carefully displayed on the table as the course is served.
Hapag’s Western Mindanao journey starts with Tiyula Itim, a black beef soup from the Tausug that is typically served during special occasions. Its black color comes from charred coconut (a staple ingredient in Tausug cuisine), simmered with ginger, lemongrass, and citrus leaves.
The first spoonful of soup barely covers the spoon, so it’s like a clear broth. The taste is subtle in its coconut sweetness and smoky undertones, but bold in its aromatic flavors. It’s as comforting and homey as tinola, and feels like a savory hug in a bowl. This is in honor of the dish they first discovered at Restaurant Antien in Zamboanga.
When asked what about the cuisine surprised them the most, Dolatre said: “The sweetness in everything caught us off guard.”
“Even seafood dishes like clams and crabs were sweet. Then there were dishes like Tiyula Itum and different versions of Pianggang — beautifully balanced and smoky. We were impressed by how subtle and refined Tausug flavors could be.”
Inspired by Zamboanga’s breakfast streetside staple served as early as 5 am, in local satti houses like Jimmy’s Satti Haus, Hapag introduces the Satti — grilled beef and chicken skewers are served over rice and coated in a spicy, slightly sweet red sauce made from coconut, peanuts, and chili. Think of it as the cousin of Pinoy barbecue and chicken satay — it’s actually inspired by the region’s near distance to Borneo.
Hapag’s version offers four skewers — beef rump, beef tongue, chicken skin, and chicken isol — each with a distinct texture, but unified by a sweet-savory vibrant satti sauce. My personal favorite was the chicken skin and pwet ng manok — the former being crisp and the latter being juicy, but both of them fattily indulgent. I just wish the pieces were bigger!
Then comes a pause from the bold flavors. Agal‑Agal appears next — seaweed harvested from the shores of Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, which is one of the biggest seaweed producers in the country. The seaweed is lightly dressed, and topped with toasted spiced coconut called bukbuk.
Hapag pairs it with yellowfin tuna kinilaw, giving acidity and more freshness to the dish. The agal-agal’s texture is pleasantly chewy and bouncy, naturally briny, and complemented by the bukbuk’s nutty crunch. It’s not a flavor bomb, but it doesn’t try to be; it’s a welcome breath of fresh air.
Travels, tales, and tastes
As the menu progresses, you feel the influence of trade and travel more strongly — from the markets of Basilan and Tawi-Tawi comes Siyagul, a Yakan specialty traditionally made with stingray, coconut, and burnt aromatics.
At Hapag, they use swordfish, cooked in a coconut-turmeric mornay, and serve it with a crisp martabak flatbread spread with herb pesto, finished with cheese and caviar. This beautiful bread course became my centerpiece — it was an umami explosion and a medley of flavors and textures in one bite: the crisp and slight crunch of the Indonesian flatbread, the softness of swordfish, and the creamy mornay holding everything together in its funky, savory way.
After that flavor bomb, the Leche Flan takes things slower; in Western Mindanao, it’s often eaten not as dessert but as a palate cleanser. Hapag’s version keeps the dense custard base, sweetened with dark muscovado syrup, then tops it with a refreshing calamansi and lemongrass granita. Pickled scoby (living culture in fermented drinks like kombucha) adds a gelatinous texture that adds more tangy oomph.
Hapag’s Salu-Salo course, a tribute to communal Filipino dining and the name’s Filipino translation — “table.” We enjoyed the Junay, a Basilan rice cake cooked in burnt coconut, wrapped in banana leaf, and topped with fried shrimp and shallots — delicious enough to eat on its own — and the Riyandang, a Maranao-style beef short rib stew slow-cooked in coconut and toasted spices; soft, tender, and reminiscent of Indonesia’s beef rendang.
Dessert arrives like a celebration. Zamboanga’s Knickerbocker is attractive in its vivid colors and festive taste, and is the province’s playful take on halo-halo. This version uses compressed tropical fruits, pineapple jelly, langka jam, and a lightly sweet amazake-pili nut foam, topped with strawberry ice cream and edible flowers. It’s light, fruity, and creamy; I enjoyed it more than halo-halo, if I may say so.
Finally, the petit fours, Bang-Bang Sug, pay homage to Tausug coffee culture. Traditionally, these rice cakes are eaten with strong Kahawa Sug coffee in homes and floating cottages.
Hapag reinterprets them as chocolates — palikambing (smoked banana, caramel, cinnamon in milk chocolate), wadjit (sticky rice in dark chocolate), biyaki (corn mousse in white chocolate), and Sulu’s putli mandi (bukayo syrup in chewy kakanin coated in white chocolate).
More than just a meal
Recto curated the wine pairings and non-alcoholic beverages to match the flavor profiles of each dish. Most beverages are simple, sweet, and clean; they didn’t want to be too bold with the pairings that the drinks would take away from the complexity of the cuisines.
“Western Mindanao’s flavors are unapologetically bold, so our pairings had to meet that energy,” she said. Champagne Rosés, sweet Rieslings, Syrah, and even ginger bug and fizzy probiotic sodas offer layered flavors that complement the food rather than compete.
Hapag was recently awarded the Wine Spectator’s 2025 Award of Excellence, joining a global roster of “the best restaurants for wine.”
The Western Mindanao trip may have taken just a few days, but the community legwork proved challenging, Recto admitted. Fatigue set in, as every day started early and ended late.
“Planning and coordination were also tough before the trip,” Recto said. “Respecting local customs was crucial, like dressing modestly in predominantly Muslim areas. But the biggest challenge now is how we tell the story through food. We need to be accurate and respectful while making it accessible to diners.”
The menu wouldn’t be possible without the rest of the Hapag team in Manila’s kitchen, who were just as involved in the intensive R&D process. They also credit the people who opened doors for them.
“Undersecretary Myra Abu Bakar from the Department of Tourism was essential. She connected us to everyone. Wads, our guide in Tawi-Tawi, was another key figure. His love for the region made everything click for us. And Fanfan, a young Tausug chef, gave us a modern take on Tausug cuisine that helped ground our understanding,” Dolatre said.
There is so much more waiting to be discovered across our country — in its food, its cultures, and its people. Western Mindanao alone has many more tales to tell from other provinces, but this menu is a beginner‑friendly introductory course to just a few of the region’s delicacies.
Hapag plans to keep journeying to unearth these national treasures, bringing them back to Manila in ways that are refined but not too intimidating, for both Filipino and foreign diners to enjoy. Where to next? – Rappler.com
Hapag is located at 7F The Balmori Suites, Hidalgo Drive, Rockwell Center, Makati. It’s open Tuesdays to Sundays, 5:30 pm to 10 pm.