Tomato Dreams, Crispy Palabok, and a reimagined Filipino cuisine experience
This was Reimagined Filipino Cuisine—an ambitious, two-month culinary showcase across all Café Summit branches: Greenhills, Tagaytay, Naga, Galleria Cebu, Tacloban, and General Santos. Six chefs. Six reimaginings. Six edible love letters to the Filipino palate, childhood memories, and untamed creativity.
At the helm of this gastronomic experiment were two passionate captains: Barun Jolly, senior vice president and general manager of Robinsons Hotels and Resorts, and Cecille Padilla, RHR’s corporate director for food & beverage. Their vision was clear: This wasn’t just about plating food differently—it was about storytelling. It was about folding family histories into ravioli, balancing nostalgia with risk.
“The heart of Filipino food is its story,” Cecille said, as though that truth had been simmering for years and today, finally, the lid had been lifted.
At our table, murmurs began as we savored the dishes—each one accompanied not just by flavors, but by a chef’s quiet triumph. Chef Ernie and chef Ace, the culinary emissaries that day, took turns making the rounds. They were there to share, as if to whisper little secrets about the food. To casually unspool the origins of a flavor that somehow managed to be both brand-new and deeply familiar.
Chef Ace’s Braised Shortribs Kinamatisan Ravioli was my second to none. Pillowy ravioli hugging tender short ribs bathed in a tomato richness that made me close my eyes. It was a diary entry. Ace told us, with a soft smile, that he grew up on a farm where tomatoes grew a lot and were treated like treasure. His kinamatisan wasn’t a reinvention; it was a return. This ravioli, dressed in memory and invention, became the unanimous favorite at our table. We gushed. We swooned. I moaned, quietly but sincerely.
Chef Ernie’s Crispy Handrolled Palabok, on the other hand, was almost ceremonial. It came wrapped like a mystery, requiring a bit of tactile exploration. It felt like a slow dance and beneath the crunch lies the familiar—thick noodles, bold shrimp sauce, hints of garlic and tinapa, but done in a way that made you pause before the first bite. It was palabok reborn—not diluted, but recontextualized. As though the past had been respectfully wrapped into a crispy scroll and handed to the future.
Behind the gleaming buffet, the rest of the dream team of chefs—Mau, Kiko, Ricky, Remie—hovered in presence, if not in person. Their dishes, too, spoke volumes.
Chef Mau’s Crispy Lechon Kinunot was a geographical marvel, combining the pork decadence of Cebu with the coastal elegance of tuna belly and coconut cream. Chef Kiko’s Maya-maya, Kahel, at Lukban was like a citrus-tinged conversation with summer. Chef Ricky’s Chicken Hinatukan transported us to Eastern Visayas kitchens scented with ginger and lemongrass. And Chef Remie’s Beef Bulalo Riyandang—oh, what an audacious lovechild of Batangas and Malaysia—deep, soulful, unrelenting.
Each dish is a narrative. Each unfolding was distinctly Filipino, yet made new.
And the proof of the pudding, as they say? Well, no one went home disappointed. I watched as plates were emptied with increasing enthusiasm, as photos were taken, not for clout but for memory. As guests, we came with expectations, and we left with something better—connection. To the chefs, to each other, to a culture that continues to evolve with tenderness and flair.
There is no easy way to reinvent a cuisine so steeped in soul. But the team behind Café Summit—chefs, managers, visionaries alike—didn’t just attempt it. They immersed themselves in it. They peeled tomatoes, braised ribs, and wrapped palabok with their bare hands and big hearts. And that afternoon, under soft café lighting and a fiesta of flavors, their labor bore fruit.
“Hospitality by Heart,” Jolly Barun had said, and it occurred to me that this was more than a tagline. It was a promise. One that Café Summit delivered, bite by reimagined bite. Yes, Robinsons Hotels and Resorts will have guests savor Reimagined Filipino Cuisine with a uniquely curated experience: Each day of the week spotlights one inspired dish from a regional chef, turning every visit into a flavorful journey. Mondays begin with chef Mau’s Crispy Lechon Kinunot from Cebu; Tuesdays bring the citrus-kissed Maya-maya, Kahel, at Lukban from chef Kiko of Naga; on Wednesdays, it’s a comforting bowl of Chicken Hinatukan courtesy of Tacloban’s chef Ricky. Thursdays take a bold turn with chef Ace’s Braised Shortribs Kinamatisan Ravioli, while Fridays serve up chef Remie’s deeply spiced Beef Bulalo Riyandang. Saturdays are for indulgence with Tagaytay’s chef Ernie and his Crispy Handrolled Palabok. And on Sundays, all dishes unite in a grand culinary spread—a true Filipino fiesta where the week’s flavors come together in a grand spread.
