Kasama: Where Classic Filipino Flavors Meet Modern Innovation

Filipino cuisine has been the next hottest thing for a decade, and nowhere is that clearer than in the widely-celebrated hit, Kasama, which Chefs Tim Flores and Genie Kwon started right before Covid struck and the world went into lockdown.

Getting a Michelin starMichelin StarA prestigious rating awarded by the Michelin Guide to restaurants of exceptional quality, with one, two, or three stars. A Michelin star confers global recognition and can transform a restaurant'sGo to Michelin Star Glossary, a James Beard nomination, and more, the chefs were named Best Chefs of the Year by Robb Report U.S. in 2022. Add in appearances on the hit TV series, The Bear, and it’s no wonder the lines for brunch extend around the block and the waiting list for the pricey tasting dinner is six months long.

Patriotic pride aside, the word-of-mouth bears out. Three options await the patient foodie by day: the Filipino Breakfast (longganisa, tocino, garlic rice, and a fried egg), chicken adobo, and the longganisa sandwich which Sydney enjoyed in The Bear. Flores mines the comfort food of his roots, striking gold. Ube huckleberry pie is not the only peak in Kwon’s pastry array. But surely, getting casual right is simply par for the course?

The challenge is the degustation, which starts with just getting a table. Get on the “in case of cancellation” list, and be quick to click and arrive on time for a winningly complex 12-course gastronomical experience. Not just ordinary tangy-sweet brown, here is a tantalizing textured, flavor fusion with piquant depth and umami sans “umay” enough to shine even at rarefied, esoteric, luxurious levels.

Nine savory courses twist tradition, kicking off with kinilaw, with a crudo of hamachi, caviar, and a dollop of coconut cream, rounding to adobo, and ending with squab inasal before three dessert courses. Pulutan presents an unexpected Maine oyster in crisp lumpia, and the deconstructed nilaga has a single delicate cabbage leaf on a piece of wagyuWagyuA Japanese beef breed celebrated for intense marbling that creates a buttery, melt-in-the-mouth texture, graded on a scale where A5 is the highest. Wagyu is a luxury dining staple prizedGo to Wagyu Glossary atop a spoonful of rice, with eye-closing hot beef broth sipped from a cup on the side. 

The triumph? A piece of lamb belly kare-kare in peanut sauce with pinpricks of bagoong, and toasted prata for dipping. For dessert, the corn semi-freddo and milk granita mais con yelo took the cake. Doubt no more: Pinoy cuisine has come of age at Kasama with dining at its finest.

This article originally appeared in the Premiere Issue of Robb Report Philippines.