These New Dishes Are Luring Us Back To Our Favorite Restaurants in Makati And BGC

New dishes on fire at Savage

G/F The Plaza, Arya Residences, McKinley Parkway, Taguig, IG @savageMNL

Chef Josh Boutwood opened Savage about a year ago, introducing the Manila dining crowd to his take on “pre-industrial cooking,” employing live fire and charcoal as his preferred way of cooking. He shares, “Since its infancy when I first opened it, I feel that Savage is now, figuratively, in its adolescence stage. It’s about time to make changes to emphasize the maturity of the brand. So I refined and polished the menu, adding dishes here and there, removing some but keeping the core items that we are known for.” 

While his signature dishes—Deviled Eggs, Rib-eye, Barramundi, Tuna Jaw, among others—remain on the menu, he has found new ways to apply fire to the new meat and veggie dishes now on the menu. The Cucumber dish is one example, as he chars cucumbers (who would’ve thought!) in fire, then dresses them in distilled vinegar and dill oil, and serves with a crab fat emulsion. It’s an explosive sensation of crunch, fat, and acid. 

He is especially proud of his Veal Chop, not a meat usually seen on Manila menus, gently grilled and topped with a parsley-lemon gremolata and Pecorino cheese, and served with an onion and bone marrow emulsion adding an extra punch of flavor to the more delicate “meatiness” of veal. 

Perhaps the most spectacular dish, requiring 48 hours’ advance notice, is the Lamb, a whole leg of lamb slow cooked 36 hours over fire, rubbed with a paprika-onion-garlic-sugar-rosemary blend. Like all of Savage’s dishes, this one is meant for sharing, and is an especially celebratory choice this holiday season.

Tapenade’s playful new Mediterranean menu

Discovery Primea, 6749 Ayala Avenue, Makati City, (02) 7955-8888

You already enjoy the pizzas, all-you-can-eat salad bar, and Mediterranean dishes at Discovery Primea’s all-day dining Tapenade. But Executive Chef Luis Chikiamco recently debuted a few more surprise items to jazz up the mostly Mediterranean menu. He plays with Mediterranean flavors in different ways, but without straying too far from the familiar. 

A definite crowd pleaser is the Rigatoni al Sugo, which he describes as the pasta version of Tapenade’s bestselling Pizza Salumi, tossed with Italian guanciale, fennel sausage, and smoked bacon for a meaty, tomato-rich indulgence. For steak lovers, the Wagyu Beef and Mushroom Paella combines paella rice cooked in beef broth and topped with generous slices of Wagyu, cooked to the desired doneness, in our case, medium rare. 

Chef Luis then transforms traditional Italian veal saltimbocca into Prawns Saltimbocca paired with risoni (rice-shaped pasta) and prosciutto crisp. Another Italian classic, veal Milanese, becomes U.S. Pork Milanese using thin pork cutlet instead of veal, which the server tops with black truffle cream and soft boiled egg, before slicing it for sharing. Tapenade’s Salad Room has also been enhanced, according to Chef Luis, with more composed salads, sandwiches, and desserts, available for P888++ per person for lunch and dinner.

Your Local’s Asian-style breakfast now available

106 Esteban Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City, yourlocal.ph

Legaspi Village stalwart, Your Local, recently debuted its breakfast menu to feed a neighborhood that has steadily increased in dining options, a great alternative to the mall-based restaurants nearby. 

While famous for its modern Asian fare (and bestselling Salmon Donburi), Your Local now offers breakfast staples like the millennial-friendly Chorizo and Avocado Toast and the comforting Fresh Fried Egg and Salmon Sandwich. But it’s the Southeast Asian, or more specifically Malaysian-inspired, breakfast dishes that are worth the early morning visit. Beef Rendang Eggs Benedict substitutes the usual ham with Malaysian spicy beef and coconut stew, topped with hollandaise, a 64°C egg, and English muffin, seemingly odd but the combo actually works. 

Salmon Otak Otak is a bit lighter, but just as flavorful, pairing traditional fish cakes, similar to a salmon mousse, with coconut rice, shredded egg, and pickles. For a sweeter meal, the Coconut Gula Melaka Pancakes are a must—fluffy coconut and chia pancakes, served with kaya jam, gula melaka (palm sugar), and fresh mangoes. Another upside to breakfast at Your Local? The restaurant serves excellent coffee from next door neighbor Yardstick.