Bewitched by Tortang Talong: Here's What (and How) Laufey Ate in Manila

(SPOT.ph) "Here's our halo-halo station," starts Chef JP Anglo.

Laufey gives one emphatic clap. "Thank God! I've been trying to get halo-halo for so long."

So began a showcase of a meal for the Icelandic singer-songwriter, for whom coming to Manila was only A Matter of Time. Three sold-out shows are bound to make anyone hungry, right?

Alongside its Bib Gourmand status, Sarsa is gaining a reputation for hosting pop princesses, and Anglo doesn't really know what to think. "Of course, it's an honor that twice we've been chosen to be the restaurant that gives a visiting artist that core memory of Filipino food and casual hospitality," he shares in a conversation with SPOT.

The menu for Laufey and her team was left to Sarsa, and the inevitable happened; they happily went a little overboard with this collaboration with Vogue Philippines.

"It's like when you go home to the province and they pull out all the stops because they don't know when they're going to see you again," he laughs. "It was a little like that. If we overwhelmed her or anyone on her team, they didn't show it."

True to her Icelandic roots, she was 'incredibly chill.' Barring an allergy or two, Laufey was down to try anything and 'really easygoing,' according to her own team. "She's a proper foodie, really extensive knowledge," adds Anglo. "She was trying everything."

And there's little exaggeration to 'everything,' with the meal ranging from chicharon, kinilaw, sisig, caldereta, even isaw... but a few things stood out for the cellist-turned-singer. "It was the tortang talong, the way we do it, with the salted egg," says Anglo, "and kansi, in particular. Plus, as you saw, she had been actively searching for halo-halo."

Laufey as a diner, it seems, is everything a cook worth his salt could ask for. According to those present, she was analyzing every dish, and applauded the kitchen: "Now I feel like I'm the audience," she's heard saying in Anglo's vlog, Laufey trying Filipino food for the very first time.

"I reached out to Miguel Benjamin [of Ben & Ben] for advice on how to better relate to a musician," Anglo tells SPOT, "and he gave me some pretty good advice, but I actually didn't need to prep much in that regard. While I was trying to meet her where she was, she effortlessly met me where I was. And that's really valuable in a person, I think."

"Is there a musician you hope visits Sarsa next?" I ask the chef.

"Alicia Keys," he laughs. "More my demographic! But again, I'm honored that anybody chooses Sarsa for the experience we can give them."

Sarsa Kitchen + Bar is at The Frabella 1, 109 Rada Street, Legazpi Village, Makati City.