Phat Wong: Defying Orthodox with Style

by food and life

Shrimp, Pomelo and Young Coconut Salad - pretty as a peacock.

When was the last time a restaurant had a lasting effect on you? I am still delirious with the frenzy of good eats we had at Phat Wong, a quiet Asian cafe inconspicuously tucked at the LRI Plaza along busy Nicanor Garcia Street in Bel-Air, Makati City, Philippines.

Here, dishes get a new lease in life in the skillful hands of multi-awarded Chef Ariel Manuel of Lolo Dads fame. Coming out of an open kitchen, our food resembled little parcels of surprises – dissected, reinvented and ingenuously presented.

That evening, I was determined to stick to my non-meat diet so I went for two appetizers and was not disappointed at all.

The Shrimp, Pomelo and Young Coconut Salad was pretty as a peacock. It donned a curly spray of ruby tip and green leaf lettuce held in a young coconut ball gingerly scooped out of its shell in one piece. Inside were sweet jewels of pomelo lightly dressed in coconut milk and lime but the pièce de résistance was a jumbo shrimp romancing with a sprig of cilantro that cascaded precariously on one side.

Fresh lumpia reborn. A picture of perfection.

I also had a serving of Fresh Lumpia (vegetable spring roll) but spring roll it is no more! Shreds of healthy heart of palm and exotic wood ear mushroom came in a square parcel of goodness that sat on a coulis of sweet soy garlic and peanut sauce.

And because sweet endings make for a perfect meal, we indulged in a couple of popular desserts, complements of the house!

Halo-Halo Moderno - a gentle assault to the palate.

Halo-Halo Moderno like the name suggests, is a tweaked interpretation of an icy Filipino dessert similar to Malaysian ice kacang: sweetened beans, banana, jackfruit and tapioca gracefully topped with soft granita icicles and laced with coconut milk enhanced with captivating notes of kaffir – without a doubt, a gentle assault to the palate!

But not to be outdone was the Baked Meringue served with sweet slices of mango and banana on a fragrant pandan coulis then garnished with a crystalline structure of caramelized sugar.

Baked Meringue - oh, what a tease!

I certainly don’t know who Phat Wong is but if he is the inspiration behind the satisfying comfort foods we unraveled in this jewel of a place, then I am definitely smitten and will surely be back for more.