A room with a view
SITTING ATOP the 16th floor of Discovery Primea, it is to be expected that good views are a part of the charm of the newly opened Flame Restaurant. Its floor-to-ceiling windows overlook Urdaneta Village, the Ayala Malls, and the tennis court of nearby Makati Shangri-La.
Upon entering, one is greeted with a “Living Chandelier,” another floorto-ceiling affair adorned with plants giving the restaurant a clean, airy feel further emphasized the aforementioned glass windows.
“It will be Modern European but will have an Asian comfort twist because that’s the evolution of cuisine right now... it has become globalized,” David Pardo de Ayala, general manager of Discovery Primea, told Business
World in an interview preceding the restaurant’s launch on June 22.
He added, they decided that that will be the core of the cuisine, “to have a sense of place where we are in Asia and for people to recognize and enjoy our cuisine as well.”
One of the restaurant’s signature dishes is a modern take on a Filipino Christmas staple: Quezo de Bola and
Hamon (Edam cheese and ham). The dish itself was inspired by one of Italian restaurateur and three-Michelin star chef, Massimo Bottura’s dishes called Five Ages of Parmesan Cheese.
“We always liked that dish but [we thought] ‘ how can we put an Asian twist to it?’ We may not have Parmesan but we have Queso de Bola and they behave quite the same, we started experimenting and we were happy with FLAME, at the 16th floor of Discovery Primea, has a spectacular view of the surrounding area (above); one of the restaurant’s specialty dishes is Quezo de Bola and Hamon, a gelatin infused with the flavor of ham on a bed of Quezo de Bola foam (below). the results... and then we thought to make it our own and to further appeal to the palate of our Filipino diners... [we put] Christmas ham,” Mr. Pardo de Ayala said.
The dish, while making use of local Filipino flavors, was made using modern techniques: it is a gelatin infused with the flavor of ham and Quezo de
Bola foam. “It’s a very good example of our approach to the cuisine,” he said.
The restaurant, which was being planned as they were developing the year-old hotel, includes live stations where patrons can sit by the bar and watch the cooks do their thing — the restaurant has an open kitchen — and, because they have a Josper Grill imported from Spain, grilled items are definitely on the menu.
“We are aiming for world standards,” Mr. Pardo de Ayala said of the restaurant, but he dispelled the notion that Flame Restaurant will be fine dining.
“I think people want all the elements of an elevated dining experience without the fussiness. So you still have great cuisine, beautiful china, worldclass silverware, a wonderful wine list, wonderful surroundings but you don’t have the starched table cloths, the intimidating Maitre D’ or the menu with entrees you can’t even pronounce, let alone afford,” he said, before adding that they were very careful with the price points of their dishes “as fine dining [can be] terribly expensive.”
The menu prices will follow the lead of the hotel’s Mediterranean all- day dining restaurant with “very competitive prices.”
“[Flame will have the] same approach but with different market segment as this is a specialty restaurant and a little bit more sophisticated, but no need to wait for a special occasion to come or come back,” Mr. Pardo de Ayala said.
Currently, Flame Restaurant is only open for dinner but will soon also open for lunch. —