New One-star Michelin resto Flow serves intention with Peruvian flair
MANILA, Philippines – There is another Chino Roces restaurant that has successfully cracked the coveted One Star list of Michelin Guide Philippines, and it is a restaurant that promises an experience of good food and good wine that draws influences from Peru.
Flow in Green Sun Hotel offers a tasting menu that in the words of its two young chefs, Kevin Uy and Gabriel “Gato” Ong, is an “experience in itself.” The other two restaurants along Chino Roces are Toyo Eatery and Inato.
Michelin describes its food as an extension of the chef’s globetrotting culinary journey who use “extensive use of local ingredients, creating varied textures and layered sauces to craft flavors that are innovative and harmonious. From forests to coastlines, the distinctive terroir of the Philippines is a treat both for the eye and the palate.”
“We hope to take you on an adventure, on an experience like no other, but at the end of the day, we hope to give you an experience that's really memorable, and really, according to what you'd like to have. We want to welcome you to our home because Flow is our home. And we're there more than our actual home. So, welcome to our home. We're here to feed you. We're here to nurse you, and we're here to make you happy. So, please come through,” Ong said to a group of reporters during the interviews after the Michelin unveiling last Thursday, October 29, in Marriott Hotel.
Ong and Uy may seem young but they have been to the best kitchens in the world.
Uy spent five years in Peru training under Chef Virgilio Martinez and Pia Leon at Central, one of The World’s Best 50 Restaurants. He also spent time at the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastian and did reasearch in the Andean mountains.
His record speaks for himself but Uy strikes as a chef with a knack for humor.
“I’m still processing the fact that I am even wearing this jacket right now, mainly because it doesn't fit me,” he told the reporters, eliciting laughter.
He continued, “But honestly, the prestige and the honor that comes with this, I, I don't know if it's the same for you because you were the number one guy in back in school [referring to Ong], but when I was in school, I was not always the best student, but we always wanted to do things our way and we ended up reconnecting and I think what made, you know, apart from our team is the fact that we complemented each other perfectly. So that's something that's really important to us.”
Ong, meanwhile, worked at Two-star Alain Ducasse in Morpheus in City of Dreams in Macau and in Three-Star Amber at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.
The chefs take pride in their tasting menu, culled from years overseas, and their hardworking team. But apart from these, they underscore one aspect that defines dining at their restaurant.
“I think apart from our team is the intentionality that we give to our dishes. We work with so many ofmany potters and artists to create an experience like no other. So that's something that we're very proud, proud of,” Uy said.
Ong added, “We're very excited for everyone to try our cocktail pairing, our wine pairing. It's a full experience. The food is there, but the beverage brings it full circle — everything, the design of the restaurant, full of intention. It's all for our guests.”
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