Lechon ice cream atbp. in London

MANILA, Philippines — A restaurant offering reimagined Filipino cuisine, including treats such as lechon ice cream, recently opened in London, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Antonio Lagdameo said the newly-opened Kinilaw & Buko, located along London’s Hoxton street, is a welcome addition to the growing number of Filipino food establishments in the city.

“What makes the Filipino food movement in the UK unique is that today’s generation of Filipino and Filipino-British chefs are not afraid to reinvent Filipino cuisine. This is what keeps our culinary tradition dynamic and exciting,” said Lagdameo.

Established by Mindoro-born chef Francis “Ace” Puyat and 100 Hoxton founder Andrew Zilouf, the restaurant promises to bring to the table a revolutionary menu that will change the way Londoners will think about Filipino food, the embassy said.

“Filipino cuisine has a lot of influences from neighboring countries and European countries like Spain. There are some dishes that have always been our own such as kinilaw and tingle, and some that we have made our own such as kare-kare adopted from Malaysia and lumpia, our take on Chinese spring roll,” Puyat said.

“There is a wide range of different people within the Philippines as well, so added to the melting pot of foreign influences you also have a beautiful mix of different local cooking traditions,” he added.

The restaurant’s Kinilaw bar serves courses such as bagoong fisherman’s treat (daikon fermented shrimp, green peppercorns and fried garlic), mustasa cradled duck egg (salted duck egg, heirloom tomato, mustard leaf and grated cured yolk), diver hauls kapis treasure (hand-dived scallop, cucumber, radish, lime and fermented roe) and baboy bounty (pork belly, dice cucumber, chili and chicharon).

Special Filipino-inspired cocktails include Kalamansipation (gin, kalamansi lime, falernum and fennel) and Pinoy Island coffee (coffee, Pussers Navy Rum, Gran Marnier and condensed milk).

The Buko Bar offers tempting treats such as red bean butterscotch bomb (red bean ice cream, miso butterscotch sauce and ginger Anzac biscuit), pop star (lychee ice cream and sumac popping candy) and pig out (lechon, condensed milk, ice cream, sea salt and black pepper caramel popcorn).

Puyat said he combined his training in classical French culinary art with his penchant for explosive spices and bold flavors in the restaurant’s “eclectic menu.”

“Essentially, Filipino cuisine is the original Asian fusion art. It is a tradition I am happy to carry on,” he said.