New Neighborhood Find: Hapag MNL in Katipunan

My husband and I celebrated my 28th birthday at Hapag MNL, a newly opened creative Filipino dining concept owned by a group of young chefs. And thanks to Eatigo, we got to enjoy a 30% discount for our dinner reservation (on a weekday).

The place is intimate, with a few wooden tables and a bar area facing the open kitchen. I loved the interiors and styling put together at Hapag – the bare walls, the twig chandeliers, the leafy indoor plants, all came together and made us feel welcome and cozy. A good start!

The Menu

Judging by the one-page menu, one would say that these ingenious chef-owners really put their heart and soul into ideation and food preparation. There must be a long narrative behind the dishes and their given names. Hmmm..

The Food

1 Starters (Panimula)

Before we started our sumptuous meal, our server welcomed us with fresh complimentary bread handmade with Kalinga black rice, paired with locally made butter and honey.

We had the following for starters:

1. Laing stones
2. Oyster bonete
3. Sinuglaw

Laing stones was definitely the star of the night. It was a completely different take on the traditional Filipino vegetable dish. Hapag upped their game and transformed it into one that piqued our curiosity — with the pebble stones, squid ink balls, twigs, and edible leaves stemming out of a black palayok (clay pot).

But where’s the laing, you ask? It’s stuffed inside those black balls, and each one is meant to be eaten together with the leafy greens. The mix of flavors blend and explode inside the mouth and creates a very rich taste profile.

Oyster bonete came in close second. The buttery buns stuffed with kangkong and fresh juicy oysters from Aklan were to die for. I’m not a chef but I know what good food tastes like! The adobo aioli and mulberry reduction mixed in this mini masterpiece surely brought out all the flavors and added extra zest to the seafood.

And then came the Sinuglaw. Recently coming home from our South America honeymoon trip, I really missed their fish ceviche and was looking for a Filipino counterpart that would measure up.

This tasty recipe created with fish kinilaw, grilled pork, and picked vegetables had a positively different take on presentation and taste. The chefs managed to highlight the fish and relish it with pork, vinegar, and coconut milk, without looking soggy at all. The acidity of the dish was contrasted by the sweetness of fermented mango dressing and garnished with vegetables. Yummm!

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2 Mains (Pangalawa)

Of course, celebratory dinners would not be complete without my favorite drink — red wine. The hubby ordered us a chilled bottle of Malbec called Finca de los Andes.

For mains, we tried half of what’s on the menu (3 out of 6):

1. Kare kare ni Lola V
2. Bistek Tagalog
3. Pato at Adlai

If you’re not the type who eats kare-kare, this deconstructed Hapag version will change your mind. I mean, just by looking at it, you’d already drool over the juicy oxtail flakes, the mustard-colored peanut sauce and the smoked eggplant puree (which we also loved!). For us, the real star of this dish was the meat, cooked so tender, with just the right amount of flavor, and not drowning in sauce and bagoong!

Hapag’s playful presentation got us personalizing our own kare-kare by mixing and matching with the veggies and sauce. Lola V must be proud of her boys :))

Our second main dish, the Bistek Tagalog, looked more like an angus steak with crusty outside and medium pink meat inside. It was perfectly cooked and topped with onion strings. We happily devoured the steak together with the fruity notes of our Malbec wine.

Last but not least was the Pato at Adlai, which was a dry-aged duck breast, served with sampinit reduction and adlai salad. Sampinit is a local wild berry similar to raspberries. It’s probably one of the few times I’ve tried Philippine duck, because growing up as a kid my family would always order peking duck from Chinese restaurants. The meat was actually lean and juicy, and complemented the zesty adlai salad.

However, comparing it to the other two mains we had, this probably ranks third (or maybe it just did not match the rich flavors of the beef and ox?). It could have worked better if we paired the duck with apahap mayonesa (pan seared sea bass). Another reason to go back?

We love the fact that all orders came with either multigrain rice or adlai — both healthier substitutes for white rice. I got to try all three of them and left the rest to Mr. Chua to finish. Admittedly, I had to leave room for dessert, and red wine! HAHA!

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3 Dessert (Panapos)

Klentz and I shared the dessert called The Tropics, made of house-churned coconut ice cream, roasted pineapples, polvoron, latik with fish sauce. It was a good palate cleanser – not too sweet and the texture light like a gelato. I ate more than half our order since I’m more of the coconut and latik person.

Hopefully next time they also serve bibingka or saba!

Expense

That time, they only accepted cash payments so we had to withdraw from a nearby ATM machine.

Our total food bill for food and wine was Php 4,850. With the 30% Eatigo discount, we just paid Php 3,395.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Verdict

This millenial restaurant gives an interactive and homey vibe with its warm interiors and thoughtful creative dishes. Hapag Manila not only elevates the Filipino cuisine but they also made an effort to go back to their roots (homeland, maybe) and combine local ingredients with modern culinary techniques. I did not even know we had local berries that tasted like raspberries!

My heart is filled to see bolder takes on traditional dishes such as kare-kare and laing, which deserve to be known and loved by more people around the globe.

I will definitely go back to try the remaining items and new creations on their menu, and perhaps their private tasting menu (I heard they arrange those), too!

Needless to say I give 4.5 stars to Hapag for their food presentation, service, and interiors, but I think the taste and variety can still be improved. After all, they are a work in progress. May I suggest adding modern adobo and bicol express on the menu?

• Presentation – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
• Taste / Food Variety – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
• Value For Money – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
• Ambiance – ⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5)

Nonetheless, I still think the Hapag boys did a fantastic job to put everything together; must have been tons of work to conceptualize and make things happen.

I’m excited for what’s to come for the Hapag team and I’ll definitely go back for more!

Contact Hapag

• Hapag Manila is located at Katipunan Ext., 201 Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City; open from 6:00 – 10:00 pm, Tuesday to Sunday
• Contact number: 0947-5601853
• Instagram: @hapag.mnl