Automat Explores Filipino Cuisine Thru Modern Manileño Lens

Automat
2316 Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City
Instagram: www.instagram.com/automat.mnl 
Opening on June 4

(SPOT.ph) Defining Filipino food is no easy task, not least for today's Manila dwellers exposed to influences from all over the country—and the world—in their day-to-day living. The modern Manileño’s diet is not quite purist when it comes to adhering to tradition; it's not so squarely defined and more like an assemblage reflecting the diversity seen in the city and its people. But the Manileño diet exists and it ought to be celebrated, and there’s plenty of room for experimentation within the subject.

It’s this very exploration of the contemporary Manileño ways of eating that piques the interest of the team behind soon-to-open Automat, led by chefs Stephan Duhesme and Arlo Gregorio. “We’re a Filipino restaurant but we’re doing it a little bit differently here,” says Gregorio in an exchange with SPOT.ph. “We’re looking at Filipino food from a more Manila-centric view in a sense, because all the different regions from the Philippines, and a lot of international inflections, are happening in Manila.”

In many ways, Manila is a melting pot of people, objects, and other elements from different parts of the Philippines and the globe, says Gregorio, all of which make for a colorful and distinct cuisine—where having Filipino viands with plates of rice sit side-by-side with the occasional use of imported ingredients, like Wagyu beef, or followed immediately with a carrot cake for dessert. “So all these new flavors and versions of Filipino food come out and this is what we’re trying to explore."

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Here’s what’s to come at Automat in Makati:

Slated to soft-open on June 4, Automat is rather hidden on the second level of the space occupied by sibling restaurant and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants lister (48th in 2023 and 84th in 2024 to be exact) Metiz at Karrivin Plaza. As of writing, there’s no sign yet indicating its location, and getting there entails going up a (not-so-easily visible) elevator or staircase and passing through a set of ridged doors. It’s when you’re in that you’ll see the lit-up sign with their name. The restaurant goes for an understated but polished look—decked with wooden stools, tables, and a bar for smaller parties—which allows the food to take the spotlight.

Of course, it’s hard not to draw comparisons between Automat and Metiz, which also tackles Filipino food. “Metiz focuses on traditional Filipino diet as seen thru modern lens—we focus a lot on rice, gulay, and seafood,” Duhesme tells us. Automat, on the other hand, takes from how the “contemporary Manila urban diet”—that is, how the Manileño eats in more current times. 

From this starting point, Automat turns the idea on its head with unexpected flavor combos, local and global ingredients, and updated methods of presentation. Comfort and nostalgia rub shoulders with the refinement and emphasis on excellent quality characteristic of fine dining as the term is understood today.

Rather than a long tasting menu, Automat primarily serves a three-course prix fixe (P2,300/head) that includes a starter, a transition course of sorts, and a set of mains. Whereas Western prix-fixes would traditionally be a solo-focused affair, Automat’s maintains a communal sense of dining that’s distinctly Filipino: should you be dining with a companion or group, Automat serves your food in the center, loosely intended for sharing. “So it becomes a sort of celebration on the table per course… like [how] in a Sunday handaan you have all these different ulam that come out,” Gregorio explains. (Pro tip, you’ll want to get different options from your eatmates so as to get the max variety for your buck.)

Among Automat’s specific explorations is the idea of sawsawan and how it can go beyond its literal translation of a dip or sauce, per its fundamental purpose of enhancing other parts of the meal. “​​We’re trying to redefine [the concept] in the restaurant—it doesn’t necessarily mean sarsa… it could mean a plethora of different things we’re exploring here, that compliment all the different dishes [we serve],” says Gregorio. Every course option comes with its own sawsawan, its own little sidekick; you are, of course, free to mix and match the different sawsawan of each dish with each other, in the same way you’d experiment tasting different viands with different ratios of the traditional toyo, suka, and patis to amp up the former’s flavors.

As with Metiz, you’ll see fermented elements (made in-house!) here and there, albeit less frequently than its older sibling. Given their Manila focus however, Automat’s menu is richer and more meat-centric—and we’re talking not just commonly found cuts, but also the likes of offal. Outside the prix-fixe, Automat’s also got a short but sweet selection of cocktails and natural wines that are decidedly brighter and zippier to pair with the spunky flavors of their food; and well-thought out desserts consistent with their philosophy in the rest of their lineup.

Diving Into Automat's Menu

As of writing only one starter is available, and it’s one not to miss: Ensaladang Pinoy—a more-than-a-sum-of-its-parts whole of boiled veg (okra, cherry tomatoes, and alugbati), fresh singkamas, and a trio of dressings (salted egg, burnt eggplant, and peanut), plus fermented veggie ukoy as a lightly crisp and savory sawsawan. Alternate earthy-rich-tender-crisp forkfuls with sips of one or more of the cocktails on their lineup; the gin-based Automanila (P350) highlights the natural sweetness of (fermented) carrots and bell peppers, while the tequila-spiked Disco Bitter Bliss (P350) marries bitterness and brightness with smoked fermented Japanese cucumber, ampalaya, basil, lime, dalandan, and natural wine “air”.

For their second act, Automat brings in more substantial plates centering on carbs. There’s the Tikoy Palabok—think gnocchi gone Filipino with pan-fried rice cakes in palabok sauce plus appenzeller cheese grated over, and a sawsawan of burong lentils illuminated by a shrimp kilaw topper and ampalaya oil. Alternatively there’s the Pandesal & Kesong Puti—a duo of duck fat pan de sal with a dense yet tender crumb, and whipped kesong puti with sobrassada-style longganisa and a salsa verde of mustasa for zingy, peppery balance.

In true Filipino fashion, mains are a party on a table complete with sabaw (fish soup from Metiz's leftover stock, during our visit), ferments and pickles,  burong kanin, and, yep, steamed rice. Choose your fighter for the viand: there’s the Thrice Cooked Tadjang, a stick-to-your-ribs viand of beef ribs cooked Chinese-style over kasuy-anchovy sauce and calamansi kosho; and the Kalderetang Sweetbreads, featuring the offal popular in French cuisine, pan-fried and cooked in a rich, sticky kaldereta sauce, then finished with a gremolata-like olive-parsley condiment and keso de bola. (There’s an Adobong Pusit viand option, too, that the writer’s bookmarking to come back for soon.)

A sweet finale to your meal can be had by way of the Fermented Carrot Cake (P350) that’s fried in butter and crowned with spiced ice cream; or the Oat Pie (P350) with a nutty filling of oatmeal, miso, and caramel syrup in a sugar crust, plus a lush cloud of coconut cream and shavings of Malagos dark chocolate.

The traditional and the contemporary can absolutely coexist—but the latter sometimes get buried as others focus solely on the former (which definitely has its place!). Yet Automat makes a case for also spotlighting the seemingly mundane ways city folk eat on the regular, and then making it their own. With that, they're at once deepening our understanding of our local cuisine, and pushing the boundaries of what Filipino food can be.

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