If there’s any chef who can rightfully say he does things his way, it’s Marco Legasto. As executive chef of the recently opened 22 Jupiter Bistro Bar, he has crafted a menu that defies convention, with dishes ranging from the European (paella, Italian beef stew) to the American (hamburger) to the Asian (laksa, Hainan chicken) and, not to forget, to the downright Filipino (bagnet, goat kaldereta).

“I create my own cooking,” Legasto says, over lunch that includes truffle pasta, callos, tenderloin with spiced taro, seared tuna as well as scallops with foie gras and mushrooms. “I don’t like copying other people. I like creating my own flavors.”

Indeed, though some of the dishes in the menu may sound familiar, their flavors seem somehow different, richer. Maybe it’s because Legasto takes the trouble to go the distance.

Not for him the use of anything canned, bottled or powdered. The callos, for instance, is made only of slowly tenderized oxtail and tripe, simmered with stewed fresh tomatoes and saffron threads (definitely no canned tomatoes, he says). For the truffle pasta, he makes his own truffle paste using real truffles.

To cook the bagnet, he uses a technique he learned from the cooks in Ilocos: After boiling the pork very slowly in cooking oil, he dries it in the oven over very low heat. Having been fussed over by patient cooks, the pata is then carefully set aside and fried only when it’s ordered, the result of which is pata that’s crisp and tender.

But, after all, Legasto is backed by a ton of experience. After taking culinary courses in Manila and the UK, he cooked in various vineyards around Europe and also worked as a chef, before heading home and starting a number of restaurants. He helped set up the now famous Spiral Restaurant of Sofitel hotel, and was owner-chef of Purple Feet Restaurant in Wine Depot. He’s also currently owner-chef of Prime 101, a restaurant known for its steaks.

But it’s at 22 Jupiter where he feels he can really play with flavors. Although it’s a bar, where the lights are dimmed after 9 p.m. and a band plays nightly, the place, says its president Vince Tanjutco, also serves “good affordable food so people can come here for lunch and dinner.”

I tried Legasto’s recipe for lamb rendang, adjusting it for the home cook. I was pleasantly surprised at how hearty (and spicy) it was. But then again, why shouldn’t it be? It took me a while to gather all the ingredients, what with curry leaves, lemongrass, dried chilies, fresh chilies and coconut milk being only part of the equation. Then there was all the chopping, pounding and grating.

If this is what Legasto goes through in his kitchen, I thought as I tended to the simmering lamb for one hour, well, no wonder he can create all those wonderful flavors.

22 Jupiter Bistro Bar is in 22 Jupiter St., Bel-Air, Makati (toward the Edsa side). Open Monday-Saturday for lunch and dinner. For reservations, call 5567097.

Lamb Rendang

• 300 g lemongrass, flattened and finely chopped
• ¼ c curry leaves
• 1/3 c finely grated ginger or galangal
• 1/3 c dried red chilies, soaked in water then finely chopped (remove stems)
• 3 medium-size fresh green long chilies, chopped
• ¼ c shrimp paste (bagoong)
• 2-3 tbsp cooking oil
• 500-750 g lamb, cut into chunks
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• head garlic, finely chopped
• tsp dried shrimp fry (hibe)
• c water
• ¾ c light sweet soy sauce
• 2 c coconut milk
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fish sauce (patis), to taste

Remove the green leaves from the lemongrass. Flatten the white stalks then chop them finely. In a food processor, mix to a paste the lemongrass, curry leaves, ginger, chilies and shrimp paste. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large pot and brown the lamb pieces on both sides. Remove the lamb from the pot.

In the same pot, sauté onions, garlic and dried shrimp fry. Bring to a boil then add the shrimp paste mixture and the water. Stir in the lamb and let simmer for one hour or until liquid is reduced. Pour in the sweet soy sauce and coconut milk. Add the bay leaves. Cook until lamb is tender. Season to taste with either salt and pepper or fish sauce.

For more tips, recipes and stories, visit the author’s blog www.normachikiamco.com and Facebook fan page www.facebook.com/normachikiamco. Follow on Twitter @NormaChikiamco

Cook’s tips:

Curry leaves are available in the chilled vegetable section of some supermarkets, at weekend outdoor markets and Indian groceries.

For a less spicy flavor, remove some of the seeds from the chilies.

Be careful when handling the chilies as they could burn your skin.

If desired, strain the sauce before serving.