The Prince and The Hawker

On the way back from New Zealand to the UK, I was able to break up my trip and stay in Manila for a few days to visit some friends. Knowing that I’d want to sample what the local culinary scene had to offer, my friends brought me to Metiz mere hours after I landed.

Metiz is located at the southern end of Makati, the central financial city in Metro Manila. Situated on the ground floor, the restaurant has a welcoming and smart entrance straight off of the carpark. The restaurant name “Metiz” comes from a variation of the French version of the Filipino “mestizo”, referring both to the owner’s (Stephan Roxas Duhesme) heritage and the fact that Filipino cuisine is a mix of cultures of cuisine.

The dining room looked cool and modern, with strategic lighting to create a classy atmosphere but with the edge of an exposed ceiling. The kitchen was open-plan, but still partially separated to excite diners with glimpses of their upcoming meal.

One of the servers came over to take us to our seats. We were a group of five and were seated at a larger table against a rainbow backdrop of marinated, pickled, and fermented jars of ingredients. Other than providing a colourful background, the wall was a preview of some of the ingredients that would feature in our tasting menu.

Our server came over to explain the origins of the tasting menu – seasonal and local ingredients showcasing creative dishes grounded in Filipino staples: rice, vegetables, proteins (ulam), and sauces (sawsawan). The menu was available on our mobile phones through a QR code, which was a great reference throughout the meal. One look and I was intrigued on so many levels.

Time to Eat at Metiz

The first dish on the tasting menu instantly set the tone of the meal and reinforced the theme of the “mixing” of cultures and cuisines. Our server explained it as a trio of soups, and advised us not to mix them in the bowl. We were told to let the flavours gently meld in our mouths.

In the bowl were mongo (a Filipino mung bean soup), a ginger squash puree, and a chlorophyll concoction. These were adorned by a parade of local ingredients: bauko orange, dalandan, cherry tomatoes, and insulin leaves. Many of the ingredients were new to me, making the dish an exciting start to the meal. I found that the mild tastes of the mung bean and insulin leaves provided a clean canvas for the tangy citrus and ginger flavours to dance around.

The server introduced the next dish as their version of a lumpia. Lumpia are Filipino deep-fried spring rolls made with paper-thin wrappers. This dish at Metiz was like an unravelled lumpia. The wrapper sat at the bottom and was made from sourdough discard. On top was a complex and fresh mix of tofu, fermented pineapple, and various greens. It was definitely lighter than the traditional pork lumpia feeling, but also much more interesting.

The next dish was an interpretation of a kakanin, something that my Filipino friends had to give me some background on. Kakanin are traditionally a range of sweets made from glutinous rice and coconut milk. This one was made with muscovado sugar bound by pork fat and an egg yolk jam for a decadent mouthfeel. It was topped delicately with gouda and nyog (coconut) to lightly lift each bite.

Two humble staples, potato and corn, formed the basis of the next bright dish. A dizzying array of components came together, including mustard leaf, garlic, chicken fat, and smoked chillies. The sauce was made from fermented corn, milk, and oyster dashi, which I thought was interesting. All this was topped with crispy pork mixed with dou si, Chinese fermented black soybeans. I loved how there were so many unique flavours, but none were lost among the others.

After the playful starters came a seafood-forward dish of aged tanigue (mackeral). The tanigue was aged seven to ten days on the bone, and then filleted and poached in beef fat to 40 degrees Celsius. The sauce was made of red rice. On top was compressed talinum (a.k.a. fameflower, a tropical herbaceous succulent, a.k.a. local spinach). To finish it all off was a delectable topping of fermented rice and mushroom bits, banana chilli oil, and scallions. There was so much depth to this dish, I found myself discovering something new with every bite.

The last savoury course was brought by the server in two separate parts. In truth, the portions were significant enough to be two dishes. On one plate was a duo of aged Zambales pork. The pork as a whole had been aged two weeks. While the loin had been cooked for an hour, the rib had been cooked low and slow for 14 hours, resulting in a melt-in-your mouth texture. The jus was used to make a pork and clam sauce and the plate was finished off with some kalabasa (squash) flowers and a tangy fermented carrot ketchup.

Meant to be eaten alongside the pork but substantial enough to stand on its own was a plate of fried rice smothered in a decadent cured egg yolk and crab fat emulsion. The richness of the crab and yolk really popped against the familiar backdrop of fried rice.

By the time we made it to dessert, we were more than ready to satisfy our sweet tooth. Even though the savoury courses had been very rich, I didn’t feel overly full. Dessert was a beautifully presented dish. Shards of hardened ubod (heart of palm) concealed a ball of ubod ice cream. This sat on top of a pillowy mound of sweetened coconut milk. Lastly, drizzled all around was a sweet sauce made from saba, a local banana. This dessert was full of coconuty goodness without being overpowering.

Final Thoughts

My meal at Metiz was wild and wonderful. It brought me on a journey through local ingredients and Filipino flavours new to me. I was glad I was dining with my Filipino friends, so they could teach me about many of the ingredients and common dishes unique to the Philipines.

What was most interesting to me was that even though I knew I was not eating “traditional” FIlipino food, I could feel the essence and energy of Filipino food come through in the creative dishes. The meal’s energetic and meticulous feeling reminded me of another amazing Filipino-centric meal I had at Archipelago in Seattle.

I enjoyed that every dish at Metiz had almost too many components, but the chef made them work in a way that was complementary and differentiated from each other. This indicated passion and technical expertise to me.

At PHP4500 (~£65, US$80) per person, the price considering the calibre of food was great value (keeping in mind my “Westerner” point of reference). The menu is ever-changing and seasonal, which is another reason Metiz is so popular, not to mention that Metiz is one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023. I would definitely recommend booking a table if you’re in Manila.