Hapag introduces its Cordillera menu
Hapag achieved a defining milestone by earning one Michelin Star in the inaugural Michelin Guide for Manila, its Environs, and Cebu 2026. Its latest tasting menu makes diners enjoy a culinary journey through Northern Luzon.
Hapag was founded by chefs and business partners John Kevin Navoa and Thirdy Dolatre with a clear mission to reframe Filipino cuisine as a complex, ever-changing regional cuisine. Each menu is conceived as a journey into the Philippines’ diverse food cultures, highlighting traditions that have long remained overlooked. Research and storytelling guide the process, allowing regional narratives to shape both the flavor and form of what is served in one of my favorite restaurants in Manila.
Hapag continues to highlight the archipelago’s depth and the distinct identities across its regions, and its latest tasting menu, Cordilleras, is an exploration of the food cultures, preservation traditions, and agricultural heritage of Northern Luzon.
Following an extensive research expedition through Ifugao, Mountain Province, Kalinga, and Baguio City, the Hapag team set out to better understand a region whose food is often overlooked. They discovered a rich tapestry of food traditions shaped by geography, community, and generations of ingenuity.
Kevin says, “For me, the Cordilleras remain largely unknown and undiscovered. It’s a place you need to experience firsthand to truly understand. You can read about it online, but being there is completely different.”
Thirdy adds, “Most of what I knew about the region was centered around Baguio. But once we traveled through Ifugao, Mountain Province, and Kalinga, we discovered a much deeper and more diverse food culture. Every province had its own ingredients, techniques, and traditions.”
The tasting menu starts with Duck Lini’ku, inspired by the Cordilleran practice of cooking poultry over fire. Courses that follow involve preservation, fermentation, and communal dining traditions. Noteworthy dishes include a trio of starters—Pinunnog—duck pinunnog (Ifugao pork sausage) ragu, mountain pickles, garlic mousse, chicken skin tuile; Kinuday (Benguet smoked meat) Tartare—raw and smoked beef, salsa matcha, caviar, pickled kamias, roasted garlic aioli, gamet (Ilocano seaweed) rice cracker; and Mushroom Dinadakan—mixed local mushrooms,dinakdakan aioli, fried cosmos, lumpia; Etaglaw, a meeting of etag (traditional Igorot preserved pork) and kinilaw (traditional Filipino raw seafood dish); Pansit à la Pogi, inspired by the neighboring culinary traditions of the Cagayan Valley; and Salu-Salo, a family-style course inspired by a memorable breakfast they had at Farmer’s Daughter prepared by Irene and Ruel Bimuyag, as well as a community dinner at GAFA Agri-Tourism Farm in Mountain Province. The Salu-Salo course consists of Beef Tongue Kiniing (Cordillera smoked meat)—48-hour cured and smoked beef tongue kiniing, tapuy (rice wine) jus, cucumber chimichurri, garlic puree, pickled rakkyo (Chinese onion), Smoked Pork Longganisa (smoked recado-hamonado longganisa, sukang Iloko aioli, papaya atchara), Prawn Pinuneg (prawn, duck pinuneg blood sausage, cashew nut and liver sauce, strawberry sweet chili sauce), Green Mountain Salad with pinipig, pili nuts, citrus vinaigrette, and black and red heirloom rice topped with crisp, fried shallots.
Rice, a cornerstone of life in the Cordilleras, appears throughout the menu and takes center stage in the final dessert course, which showcases traditional delicacies and preparations inspired by the region’s enduring gastronomic legacy.
Kevin points out, “This menu feels more intentional. Rather than recreating traditional dishes, we’re expressing our own cooking through the lens of the Cordilleras. It reflects what we learned there and how our cooking has evolved over the years.”
Thirdy concludes by saying, “Rice was probably the most important ingredient we encountered. You quickly realize how central it is to everyday life in the Cordilleras. We were also repeatedly introduced to inandila (kakanin, bukayo custard, and latik), a traditional rice delicacy that many communities are actively working to preserve.”
(The Cordilleras tasting menu is available for P 7,500+ per person. Wine pairing is priced at Php 3,000+ per person, while the non-alcoholic beverage pairing is available for P 2,200+ per person. Guests may also opt for a coffee pairing featuring beans sourced from the Cordilleras. Hapag is located at the 7th floor of The Balmori Suites, Hidalgo Drive, Rockwell Center, Makati City. Reservations may be made through www.hapagmnl.com.)
