Lore plays with our expectations of what a fine dining restaurant should look like or what a Filipino restaurant should serve
When I think of a typical Filipino restaurant, I imagine a casual setting, bright and noisy, with bandehados or serving platters of crispy pata or inihaw na isda or kare-kare laid out on the table for sharing, with unlimited rice and make-your-own sawsawans included. It’s a familiar experience that most Filipinos can relate to—comforting, delicious and always filling (nakakabusog).
And then there’s Lore, Chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou’s ambitious new Filipino restaurant that aims to be all of the above—comforting, delicious and always filling—but on his own terms.
Located at One Bonifacio High Street Mall in Bonifacio Global City, Lore seems to require a bit of explaining. It’s fine dining but with bare wooden tables and paper placemats instead of the usual white tablecloths, fine crystal and silverware. It serves Filipino food but in individual portions via five-, seven- or 10-course tasting menus, rather than family style. Ranging from P2,600 to P4,800, the menus may seem pricey but aren’t completely out of reach. However, before you get too worried, rest assured that Lore handles its multiple personalities with confidence, thanks to Chef Tatung’s deep knowledge of Filipino cooking and storytelling prowess.
Chef Tatung may be most well known as the jovial persona behind his Simpol cookbooks and YouTube videos. But for Lore, he taps into his more “serious chef-y” side, one I had the privilege of working with as editor of his award-winning Philippine Cookery: From Heart to Platter published in 2016.
In a way, Lore is the natural offspring of Philippine Cookery where he creates and innovates dishes using the traditional techniques, dishes and ingredients he so meticulously describes in the book. He does so using the template of a degustation—a fancy French term for a well thought-out progression of small plated dishes—to bring structure to the many ideas he plays with throughout the menu.