Chef Tatung will soon open his new restaurant, dubbed Alab at Scout Rallos, near the corner of Tomas Morato, Quezon city in time for Mothers Day 2015. The new restaurant is testament to Chef Tatung’s passion for refining and promoting Filipino food. The restaurant’s more accessible commercial location is a welcome development by admirers of Chef Tatung work.
Alab serves Filipino food with burning passion. The restaurant attempts to express a clear narrative of what Filipino cuisine is amid all the noise and confusion of the Filipino Fusion food trend. It combs through the fibres of our diverse culinary roots, and weaves it into a cohesive tapestry of flavors, textures and stories, dishing out food that is honest, unpretentious and heart-warming, but more importantly unapologetically Filipino.
Alab is youthful and forward-thinking. Alab’s interiors are modern and elegant; with very subtle references to classic Filipino architectural design elements making the vibe very contemporary and chic. Service too is warm and gracious, without being unobtrusive or gimmicky. According to Chef Tatung the rebranding and reformatting of his former restaurant into Alab is, “an attempt to template the Filipino restaurant concept for the global stage.”
The Food
For Alab, Chef Tatung takes a back-to-basics approach to his food. He stays true to the essence of the dishes, without embellishing it too much beyond recognition. “It’ important you give diners what they expect, especially when it comes to the classics”, Chef Tatung explains. He also chose to use only locally sourced ingredients.
To aid guests when ordering, Alab’s menu is set on a “dose-dose” (12-12) framework which features two sections of twelve dishes each which guests can simply point on the item on the menu ala turo-turo. The first section called Hinahanap-hanap kita features the classics or the “Must-haves” of any Filipino restaurants such as the kare-kare, Crispy pata and adobo. While the second section called O lumapit ka features must-try regional favorites and modern Filipino dishes with dishes such as the Piyangang, a Tausug dish using burnt coconut; Penuneng, an ilocano blood sausage and Calderetang kanding, classic Cebuano verion of the stew. For this section Chef Tatung takes inspiration from almost-forgotten recipes or indigenous cooking techniques and ingredients rarely used in mainstream restaurants and give them new life by making them available to his diners.
The servings sizes at Alab are modest, a generous portion for one person or a good amount to share with a group along with other dishes. The dishes are reasonably priced to allow guests to order multiple dishes to create a true Filipino dining experience—several dishes of various flavors and textures shared on a communal table. Each visit to Alab can become a unique gastronomic experience simply by mix-matching items on the two sections to create a different repertoire each time.
Function rooms and more
Alab is also an ideal venue to hold all sorts of small and medium-sized function in any or four (4) private function areas. Alab can accommodate a total of 185 persons with main and private function areas combined.
Alab also features a Filipino deli in one corner selling an array of products from around the country. As well as Signature Alab cakes, pastries, breads and our Alab signature Filipino ice cream flavors.
Alab is located at 67 Scout rallos, near corner of Tomas Morato, Quezon city with tel numbers 9621176 / 3649631. www.alabcheftatung.com
