All Fired Up

There’s a point being made when you turn Bicol’s traditional laing into squid ink-battered spheres topped with pickled mango. As one of Hapag Private Dining’s signature dishes, laing stones best represent the kind of cuisine the nondescript Quezon City restaurant wants to champion. By spiffing up the often messy plate of spiced coconut milk-braised taro leaves and converting it into an edible “stone garden” adorned with fresh herbs and finished with a table side spritz of pickling liquid, a typical provincial home fare turns into an elegant appetiser that merits a crisp white linen and a social media post.

“We decided to open this kind of restaurant for one reason only—to showcase Filipino food and to know how far we can push the boundaries of the cuisine,” says chef slash co-owner Thirdy Dolatre. Together with Kevin Villarica and Kevin Navoa, he launched Hapag, a 42-seater tucked behind a congee, chicken and Tagalog into a feast for the senses.