Classic Techniques + Playful Flavors Bring Out the Best of Seafood at This Makati Fine-Dining Gem

One World Kitchen
8491 Kalayaan Avenue, Makati City
Contact: 0917-838-1525
Instagram: www.instagram.com/oneworldkitchen.ph
Open from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. (Tuesday to Friday); 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. (Saturday); 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Sunday)

(SPOT.ph) The kitchen is to a chef what a playground is to a toddler. Chef Kaye Torres would likely agree. The young chef holds a wealth of experiences under her belt, from cooking in their home kitchen as early as when she was in grade school, to taking up a culinary degree from Enderun Colleges, to traveling the world and working with the likes of Alain Ducasse and Jean Georges Vongerichten—all achievements that would deepen for love and understanding of food and cooking as a creative outlet. The culmination of this journey can be found at One World Kitchen—a “chef’s table” and fine-dining spot along Kalayaan Avenue where Torres (and the occasional guest chefs!) showcase their best work.

Also read: 10 Best Tasting Menus in Manila Right Now

One World Kitchen is a sublime addition to Makati’s fine dining scene:

One World Kitchen manages to strike the balance between being sophisticated enough for a date but also cozy enough that you wouldn’t feel suffocated or intimidated. Its dim lighting, velveteen-lined seats, marble surfaces, and rich wooden floors set the mood for the elegant meal ahead—but the warmth of the staff and the team—Chef Torres included, of course—keeps the overall vibe down-to-earth. Much of the restaurant’s space is taken up by a long open kitchen where you can watch Torres and the the team prep, cook, and plate distinguished dishes that are arguably edible works of art.

The restaurant focuses on different meal genres on different days of the week; from Tuesdays to Thursdays they serve ala carte dishes, and on Saturdays and Sundays they whip up brunch. But your best bet is to go for their tasting menu (P3,650), available on Fridays and Saturdays, to better understand—and taste the applications of—Torres’ philosophy on cooking. This philosophy is one that puts the spotlight on the dish’s ingredients, perhaps as a nod to Torres’ leanings toward French-Mediterranean cooking where less is more and the use of proper technique reigns supreme. But there’s also a distinct Filipino sensibility in the way she does her thing as you’ll find Torres having sweet, savory, umami, and sour elements mingling together, while still keeping overall balance and harmony in mind.

An amuse bouche of gazpacho—one that's earthy from local tomatoes and pimiento, and bright from a good spritz of sherry vinegar—had us sailing into the meal on a bright note, especially in tandem with the crusty herbed roll accompanying it. We find our first official treasure in the journey in the form of the Salmon, where the fish is cured and smoked similar to gravlax. Piquillo salsa and pickled shallots on the side balance out the fish’s salinity, while making for one heck of a picturesque plate.

You’ll notice Torres pairing contrasting textures in her work—a characteristic that’s beautifully illustrated in the Crab. For this second course, a succulent and sweet crab salad sits on a squid-ink shell that makes the perfect crackly cronch as you bite down; you also get juicy bursts of briny and tangy-sweet from ikura and a pineapple compote. The Baby Octopus follows, with two pieces of the said seafood—one tempura-fried just until perfectly light and crisp, then given a honey-butter glaze; another pan-seared for a subtly caramelized exterior. To emphasize the octopus’ natural taste, sauces of romesco sauce, ajo blanco, and an herb oil (for tanginess, creaminess, and zest respectively) dot the dish while pickled red radishes and rice crispies deliver crispness and crunch.

Torres also makes it a point to go local in applications where fresh is best—as with the Gindara. Yup, that’s locally sourced fish in there alright, as she finds it to be “very, very good.” Pan-seared until glossy on the outside with a mid-caramel hue yet silky and succulent on the inside, it hardly needs embellishment. But the chef lets out her playful side in this dish with sidekicks seemingly from cuisines all over the world: grilled chimichurri-marinated leeks, a dollop of tapenade, pickled shallots, and a curry sauce. Cultural borders may be crossed, but the resulting flavors are nevertheless sublime, the warmth of the curry being illuminated by the brightness of the pickled shallots while the briny tapenade underlines and bridges the gap.

The tasting menu’s superstar soon gets its well-deserved airtime. The Fruits de Mer essentially brings the best of the sea—plump Chilean mussels, clams, sweet Hokkaido scallops, and juicy prawns—to one plate. Forming the base (and bringing carbs to the mix) is a tomato risotto that connects us back to Torres’ Mediterranean roots. Add to that the squid-ink tuille—lace-like crisps tinted black with squid ink—which amplifies the seafood-y essence of the other proteins and serves as the proverbial cherry atop the cake.

Finally, Torres has us in for a bit of an interactive affair in her version of Tiramisu, which comes as two parts: a glass with layers of a cheese mousse, espresso-soaked ladyfingers, hazelnut crumble, and a chocolate dome top; and a sultry coffee-chocolate sauce you’re meant to pour over the plate. Do so and the warmth of the chocolate sauce melts the dome top, letting it drip down and impart its bittersweetness onto the tiramisu mix underneath. Pro tip: should you drop by between Tuesdays and Thursdays, it’s also well worth ending your meal with the Chocolate & Peanut Butter, where Torres takes the always-nostalgic flavor combo and turns it into an suave entremet that brings together a peanut-butter mousse, strawberry gelee, almond dacquoise, choc cremeaux, chocolate brownie, and a glaze of 60% dark chocolate.

Occasionally One World Kitchen also invites guest chefs over to hold pop-ups; they can also be called to host private-dining events if you’re looking for an intimate space to celebrate. Stripped down to its core, the restaurant celebrates the many ways food can be an artistic medium in its own right. To which we hungry folks say:  bring it.

Photos by Hans Fausto

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