This Poblacion Rooftop Bar Is Your Under-the-Radar Spot for Asian Tapas + Tipples

Ugly Duck
White Rabbit, 5672 Doña Carmen Street corner General Luna Street, Makati City
Contact: 0936-981-5462
Instagram: www.instagram.com/uglyduckpoblacion 
Open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Tuesday to Thursday, Sunday); 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. (Friday and Saturday)

(SPOT.ph) However you call it—Pobla, Pob, Pobs—Poblacion isn’t going anywhere as the young Manileño’s go-to come Friday nights. The abundance of dining and drinking spots in the area mean you don’t have to go too far for a great-tasting bite or sip. Some spots might capture your attention more easily simply by virtue of being more visible to the naked eye, but it’s well worth exploring the area’s less in-your-face gems—like Ugly Duck, a food-and-drink space on the rooftop of Quay Concepts-owned “multiconcept lifestyle hub” White Rabbit.

Also read:
The New Poblacion Dining Spots to Put on Your Must-Visit List 
The Urban Insider's Guide to Poblacion, Makati City 
This Asian Bistro Lights Up Salcedo Park With Spunky Bites and Sips

Check out the must-tries at Poblacion bar Ugly Duck:

The Gen Zs are onto something. Go up the nth floor of White Rabbit—yep, this entails going up a few flights of stairs, but we love a good glute burn—and you’ll find the neon sign with Ugly Duck’s moniker.

The name, of course, intrigues. The place is anything but ugly, what with checkerboard tiles and dim lighting with neon-lit accents—in a way evoking retro disco bars, while retaining a hip temperament that fits right in with the rest of Poblacion. Keep an eye out for the duck-themed doodle on one of the corners of the walls, breathing quirkiness to the mix.

Quay Concepts CEO Marco Baluyut and partner Moira Cheng Baluyut love to travel, and pay tribute to the telltale tastes of these destinations through Ugly Duck’s menu. Global elements—those from Asia in particular—are aplenty, with their strong suit perhaps lying in their section of Asian-inspired tapas and pintxos. (Note that the food in the photos, taken during the recent media launch of White Rabbit, are only sampler-sized in portion; actual regular portions will be larger.)

Classic flavors from the continent are employed in fresh ways here: think Charsiu Croquetas (starts at P220/three pieces) made sweet and savory with a filling of Chinese BBQ pork, and Katsu Croquetas (starts at P180/three pieces) that reimagines the Japanese chicken cutlet as a pass-around bite doused with garlic and soy sauce. These bites, of course, as best taken in tandem with Ugly Duck’s signature cocktails—like the berry-centric Very Berry Sangria (P500) with Rumbullion spiced rum, Mathilde blackcurrant liquor, strawberry puree, and red wine; and the lighter, brighter Apple Sour (P450) that evokes apple pie spiked with Christian Drouin Selection Calvados.

You’ll see Ugly Duck giving subtle twists to make global dishes more Filipino and vice-versaThe Oyster Aburi Sisig (P360), for one, takes a page from the Japanese technique of aburi (torching) to add smoky depth to the Filipino beach pulutan. Meanwhile, bright and zingy is the name of the game in the Bass Ceviche (P380)—which is made more Filipino with their use of calamansi as the acid and a fried lumpia wrapper as a topping of sorts you’re meant to break into with your spoon.

Garlicky ol’ gambas gets an umami boost with Chinese X.O. sauce in the XO Gambas (P200); don’t forget their clever use of mala oil (Szechuan numbing chili oil) for added heat in their Ribeye Steak Salpicao (P870). And if you’re looking to nosh on something more substantial, you’ll be happy to know Ugly Duck also serves heavier plates—like the signature Ugly Duck inspired by Japanese cold soba, but with rice (as a more Filipino alternative, we’re told) in an earthy mushroom broth, topped with fried mushrooms and tender slices of duck.

More About White Rabbit

White Rabbit is also home to Apotheka, a club and performance venue that carries on the Asian theme. The group also has two other concepts that’ll soon be opening in the building; give their socials a follow in the meantime for updates.

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