Excerpts from the Hapag and Roots collaboration where both restaurants made waves and exceeded expectations and imaginations

Inside Hapag’s sophisticated dining space in Balmori Suites one Thursday evening, the landscape felt more tropical than urban. Even if it was devoid of balmy temperatures, the Hapag estate still became a slice of Siargao in the city.

It’s a feeling you could sense but couldn’t really see—save for the bustle of footsteps from Filippo Turrini, Ines Castañeda Matos, Daan Overgaag, Marina Castañeda Matos, and Ricardo Miranda de Sousa to and from the main hall against the efficient choreography of the Hapag team in the open kitchen led by its head honchos Kevin Navoa, Thirdy Dolatre, and Erin Ganuelas-Recto.

When I think about it, this buzz from the kitchen to the tables and in between guests is akin to an island-hopping expedition.

There is no question: This collaborative dinner simply called Kumusta, Roots represents the two restaurants’ connection to the land, the sea, and the people here and those from back home; what was found and what was lost in the pursuit of culinary innovation.

Regions to explore

The wooden tables in front of us then became a metaphor for seasonality.  Never mind that the Philippines doesn’t truly have seasons in the strictest sense. But here, the tables transformed into a forest floor from which botanical buds enclosing sturia caviar sprouted; a wooden puppet hand held cassava crackers with steak tartare and siargalaw (“a seed native to Siargao and the origin of the island’s name”); and slices of Cordilleran smoked blood sausage enriched the soil. 

On separate occasions, winter came and left: a pristine ceviche and a tinigib gnocchi each reminiscent of a slowly melting snowball dropped from the hands of (an) Angel—literally, a front of house mainstay in Hapag with impeccable attention to detail and service

On separate occasions, winter came and left: a pristine ceviche and a tinigib gnocchi each reminiscent of a slowly melting snowball dropped from the hands of (an) Angel—literally, a front of house mainstay in Hapag with impeccable attention to detail and service.

There is also a pool of richness with emerald and translucent reflections (carpaccio of tanigue and local herbs), a nipa fruit butter, and a Filipino feast of grilled suahe, roasted pork belly, and lengua releasing a heavy aroma into the air.

At the risk of sounding too poetic, these thoughts and feelings were apt expressions of that night when Roots flew to Manila to unpack an immersive Siargao experience in the city.

Where a flower arrangement used to stand in the middle of the restaurant, an installation featuring found products from Roots’ vicinity in Siargao now settled in.

Back to the roots

Though there are hundreds of kilometers (and nearly a decade) separating Roots and Hapag, there isn’t a huge difference between the two restaurants. Both understand regional cuisine and respect for seasonality and the ingredients available to them—and they paddleboarded down that path on their special two-night collaboration in February.

“The collaboration between our team and Roots was fueled by our shared values in cooking and a similar approach to our respective cuisines,” says Kevin Navoa, chef and co-owner of Hapag. “We are impressed by Roots’ dedication to using only locally sourced produce from the Philippines, with a strong focus on Siargao’s ingredients and incorporating them into their dishes.”

“The collaboration between our team and Roots was fueled by our shared values in cooking and a similar approach to our respective cuisines,” says Kevin Navoa, chef and co-owner of Hapag

And while the courses referenced some of their greatest hits and signature moves, their research-based improvisation and willingness to swerve into collaborative efforts recontextualized the 10-course dinner into a snapshot that reinforced Roots and Hapag as revolutionary forces they deservedly have become.

Instead of merely exhibiting what they have done on their own, Roots and Hapag played to their strengths and synthesized and expanded each other’s universe, while sharply illustrating what made them unique in their own right.

A new wave is coming

The best examples of this collaborative expression—from Roots’ lapu-lapu ceviche, tanigue carpaccio with wild herbs and nipa fruit butter, and sayote pie to Hapag’s refined seafood luglog and sensual pinuneg—helped fully realize what an introduction to a new audience should be like. Best of all, each dish is a gem in its own right, delivered at a pace that gives each ingredient on the plate to shine.

When you think about it, this is haute cuisine but only to an extent. Roots and Hapag are neither uptight nor overbearing. They are both haute and grounded. At ease with paying attention to discoveries as well as to their surroundings

Said Dolatre before the dinner: “Working with like-minded individuals, exchanging ideas, and crafting a dining experience that highlights both Hapag’s and Roots’ unique styles, as well as the deep connections between our philosophies, is something I’m eagerly anticipating.”

When you think about it, this is haute cuisine but only to an extent. Roots and Hapag are neither uptight nor overbearing. They are both haute and grounded. At ease with paying attention to discoveries as well as to their surroundings—as in the case when they foraged for forget me nots, binahian, and fresh herbs from Kai Farms or in the mangroves of Siargao or in the locales that each of them visit to craft their menus.

Anyone who has experienced Roots and Hapag’s alliance—or any other parallel collaborations, really—knows all too well the kind of deference these partnerships can bring. They can feel larger than life. Provocative at times. Even intoxicating.

Part one of the Roots and Hapag collaboration may have been an affair that surfed on possibilities and ended on cloud nine (with shots of kombucha and unique wines from various regions around the world), but come July when the Hapag team flies to Siargao for the second leg, this iconic partnership will surely ride on even bigger cloud nines.

Maybe even enough to get barreled into new shores.