When Manila Met Nusantara: A Historic Culinary Convergence
Filipino flavors met Indonesian heritage across a single, meticulously curated table in an intimate one-night-only dinner collaboration between Manila’s own “lechon diva,” Dedet de la Fuente, and Indonesian culinary icon William Wongso.
The evening kicked off with Rujak Buah, an Indonesian fruit salad tossed in a sweet peanut sauce, served alongside emping or melinjo nut crackers—endemic to Southeast Asia—and sinantolan. The opening wave quickly escalated in depth with a bowl of Cockle Sambel Goreng Kentang, featuring braised clams warmed by mild red chili spices and tender potatoes.
From Bamboo-Smoked Beef to Sumatran Spices
The menu leaned unapologetically into rich, aromatic meats that anchored the multi-course parade. One of the early high points arrived via Timbungan, a traditional Lombok specialty consisting of minced beef cooked with aromatic coconut and rich bone marrow, sealed and roasted inside a bamboo trunk. Following closely was Babi Goreng, hailing from the Batak ethnic group of Northern Sumatra, which paired crisp-fried pork belly with fiery andaliman—an Indonesian Szechuan pepper salsa—and creamy cassava leaves.
The momentum sustained itself through a formidable trio of sates. Guests sampled North Sulawesi’s Sate Babi featuring pork skewers paired with a mild rica-rica salsa of lemongrass and chili; East Java’s Sate Ayam featuring chicken skewers draped in peanut sauce and accompanied by rice cake; and Sate Wagyu Maranggi, utilizing premium Wagyu beef marinated via the Sundanese technique with a sweet coriander and tamarind glaze. The Sundanese, representing Indonesia’s second-largest ethnic group numbering roughly 42 million across western Java, lent a distinct sweetness to the beef.
Before transitioning away from red meats, the kitchen dispatched two powerhouse dishes: Ayam Goreng Lengkuas, featuring fried chicken smothered in galangal floss and spices, and Rendang Padang, West Sumatra’s iconic caramelized beef curry. A brief respite from heavy meats arrived with Pepes Ikan, a delicate steamed sea bass wrapped in banana leaves with fresh kamias and regional spices.
The Lechon Collaboration and Sweet Finales
The undeniable centerpiece of the evening, naturally, was the cross-cultural lechon collaboration uniting de la Fuente’s mastery of the Filipino spit-roasted pig with Wongso’s deep Indonesian flavor profiles. The resulting dish, Cochinillo (Babi Panggang), featured a suckling pig stuffed meticulously with Nasi Uduk—rice cooked in rich coconut milk infused with lemongrass, cloves, pandan leaves, and cinnamon. The roasted masterpiece was accompanied by a punchy Dabu dabu salsa built from bagoong (fermented shrimp), shallots, and fresh tomatoes, alongside de la Fuente’s signature “divalicious” sauce, a fiery bird’s-eye chili santil siling labuyo sambal.
Destileria Limtuaco provided the thoughtful cocktail pairings that navigated the evening’s robust spice notes, perfectly balancing the heat of the savory courses. Dessert brought a cooling conclusion with Es Nusantara, a refreshing composition of crushed ice, steamed banana rice pudding infused with pandan, coconut milk, fermented black sticky rice, and fragrant rose syrup.
