Imagine the taste of Crab Chawanmushi. An intriguing soup: clam broth, crab meat and crab froth, seafood custard base with pandan lemongrass oil.
Scallop and Crab Mantou Brioche
Scallop dumplings
We didn’t need to imagine, but in fact, had a taste of it—our novel experience of a soup like no other: delicious crab meat with a texture your palate isn’t bound to forget, the custard that balances the crab taste, and a very refreshing broth. The crab is good enough as a light meal, honestly.
Filipino seafood through Asian lens: Chef Francis Tolentino and Francis Flores
Crab Chawanmushi was among the highlights served at the opening of Cerulean seafood fine dining by Chef Francis Tolentino at the Shops, Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati.
In a country known for one of the richest marine resources in the region, but not quite known for a Filipino (solely) seafood restaurant, the establishment of Cerulean by the Forefront Group (the Taupe of George Clooney/Michelin Guide-fame) is a bold audacious move. Why? Because in the Metro Manila dining scene, seafood fare is usually just an add-on to the steaks, the burgers, and the pastas. How independent-minded of Forefront to make a contemporary dining concept centered on seafood, Philippine seafood, not imported. It’s a bold statement that apparently is borne on faith—faith in a segment of diners that wants a fresh—and refreshing take—on seafood, for a change, and believes that seafood could be filling and delicious, even not alongside meats.
“The idea is simple,” began Francis Flores, the marketing innovator/disruptor behind the Forefront Group. “We noted that there’s no modern seafood fine dining…. There’s seafood in Chinese restaurant or in the dampa…. We saw the opportunity and the gap.”
Flores and Chef Francis Tolentino, the imaginative chef known for his almost clinical approach to detail and innovation, especially where flavors are concerned, know only too well how rich the Philippine seas are, yet ironically how expensive and niche seafood fare could be. So the idea is to make all kinds of local seafood accessible and elevate them using fine-dining Asian flavors.
“The idea is to take seafood cuisine to the next level,” said Chef Tolentino. “Respect the seafood…. its soul intact…. while using Asian flavors.”
Therefore, it’s not only steamed and limited to traditional cooking, the Cerulean dishes use many Asian flavors (citrus, spicy, tangy) while keeping the Philippine seafood itself as the core of the cuisine—the sole is the soul, so to speak.
Chef Tolentino has been sourcing fishing and slow-food communities as far north as Pangasinan.
For starters, we had a refreshing Scallop Dumplings (seafood mousse, pork knuckle cashew broth, chili garlic oil), and Scallop and Crab Mantou Brioche (steamed and fried brioche, crab chili custard, onion scallop butter)—brioche with just a hint of saltiness and butter. There was also the Kombu Mackerel Ceviche (cured and dry-aged mackerel, fermented pineapple, coconut vinaigrette sesame), and Dry-aged Tuna Loin with ripe mango vinaigrette, fermented pineapple, coconut vinaigrette.
Tuna Loin Crudo
Aside from Crab Chawanmushi, another soup option is Jellyfish Laksa made of prawn tartare, shrimp bisque, laksa broth, jellyfish noodles.
Chargrilled Pampano
Dry-aged bisugo
The mainers brought out what’s out there from the market—Chargrilled Pampano with green curry sauce, fermented pineapple vinegar; Dry-aged Bisugo (chargrilled threadfin bream, tomato nam prik, green mango salsa).
Then comes what is filling: Scallop Claypot Rice consisting of scallops, sea cucumber, XO rice; or the Chipirones Claypot Rice consisting of baby squid, calamansi kosho, black garlic. This a la carte dish is a meal onto itself.
Chef Tolentino noted that Cerulean sticks to local seafood, while the flavors are from all over Asia.
Smoked chocolate tart with tinapa crumbs
Uni ice cream sandwich
The desserts are a grand showcase. Chef Tolentino proves that he can whip up cake, ice cream—using Philippine seafood, or the flavors of it. The must-tries are Uni Ice Cream Sandwich (uni ice cream, fermented kamias caramel, gamet biscuit, gamet referring to edible seaweed from northern Philippines), Smoked Chocolate Tart (with tinapa or smoked fish crumbs, pistachio butter, calamansi caramel, sugarcane ice cream), Crab Mango Sticky R-ice Cream (blue crab ice cream, mango sorbet, burnt molasses, mochi).
Cerulean’s is a la carte, not tasting menu. Its other appetizers are Tinapa Caesar Salad, Yellowfin Tuna Ceviche, Chili Aligue Prawns. For noodles and pasta: Tuna Mapo Tofu Noodles, Soft Shell Crab Pepper Noodles, Seafood Laksa Noodles, Blue Crab Ramen, Chipirones and Salted Egg Pasta, Tiger Prawn Sambal Pasta.
It has Mains with Rice: Pepper Shrimp Rice, Coconut Sambal Swordfish Rice, Dry-aged Tuna Estofado Rice, Tamarind-Glazed Gindara Belly Risotto, Palapa-smoked Maya-Maya, Masala-grilled Ulang.
Honestly, seafood has never been this mouth-watering. If you want to stay away from meats, pork fat, this is also guilt-free dining, relatively.—Thelma San Juan
