Khoa also gave us a few pointers on what to eat and how much to order, so we didn't over-order or get too befuddled by the menu.
"Our cuisine swings between sweet and sour tastes," he says. "Sour is especially important. In the Philippines, we love the soup that's so sour one spoonful makes your face screw up."
Luckily, they tone things down a little for Royal Oak, but still, the tastes we encountered later made this one of the most interesting and unusual meals we've eaten in a while. Filipino sour is much more interesting and flavour-enhancing than you'd expect. We started with three small plates to share: the beef caldereta, which is pulled beef brisket with that faintly sour taste we learned to love in a couple of hours, served with lettuce and pepper salsa, which we rolled into four deliciously tender tortillas, no trouble.
Then came the adobo croquettas, crisp-fried and stuffed with slow-cooked lamb shoulder and potatoes, scented with bay leaf and a Vietnamese mint filling, which again came together for a tangy, delectable taste.
This was followed by the taco siopau, which turned out to be four bright pink buns (coloured with beetroot juice, no food colouring here, says Khoa) and filled with sticky pulled pork and vegetables. This, we discovered was the sweet side of the Philippine experience and it was gorgeous - like nothing I'd ever eaten before.
So on to the main courses, pinaputok na iada, or fried snapper, was served on a (dare we say) sourish yet creamy curry. The fish was beautifully "just" cooked and the prawn curry it was resting on took it to a whole new high.
The relyenong squid, stuffed with "longganisa" sausage meat, was also surprising. Fine grained and highly seasoned, the sausage meat went brilliantly with the thick, juicy squid casing, while the whole thing was kicked along by a medley of tomatoes, baby onions and cashews laced with horseradish leaf pesto.
The beef bistek - wagyu skirt steak cooked rare with nanam salsa verde charred shallots and wild sorrel butter. Only Brian felt the meat was tough. The rest of us loved it, as we did the crisp-cooked broccoli with yet another tangy sauce and cashew.
Although Nanam is famous for its roast chicken sinigang, the rest of the menu looked so interesting we only really had it out of duty. But how wrong can you be? We ordered a half chicken, in which the breast, normally too dry, was succulent and seasoned right through.
Apparently, the chicken is covered in a tamarind spice rub and then immersed in chicken soup in a type of sous vide. Served with eggplant salsa and watercress puree with those now-familiar sour notes, it was truly excellent.
As for dessert, well, that famous sour/sweet Filipino magic lit up all three we tasted: the mais con dulce, a concoction of sweetcorn inside a caramel eclair topped with finely grated aged cheddar (salty sour), was amazing. The halo halo, a "mix mix" of pudding, icecream, fruit and vegetables and turon, were also excellent.
What we'll do next time: either eat at the bar or hang out there for a beer or two expertly served by Khoa.
Our meal: $231.50 for four beers, three glasses of wine, three small and four large plates, a broccoli side, three desserts, tea and coffee for two.
Wine list: Our Filipino expert suggested that beer suits their food best. Nanam stocks Red Horse and Singha. However, there is a well-priced, wide-ranging wine list.
Verdict: Nanam brings us a whole new set of taste sensations. Go early, or late, to get a table on weekends but try to spend some time at the bar with Khoa, too, and try their famed chicken, new fish dish and desserts.
- Canvas
