Davao dispatch: Elevating familiar vegan dishes with style
In Davao City’s robust dining scene, where cafés and Japanese and Filipino restaurants thrive, restaurateur Michelle “Mimi” Vergara Tupas has been the face of plant-based and vegetable-centric cuisine. Among her family’s four restaurant concepts, Clean Café at The Compound has likely developed the most comprehensive vegan menu in the country. Most of its patrons, including repeat guests, are not vegetarians or vegans but individuals who appreciate exceptional food at affordable prices.
Clean Café’s repertoire surprises guests with unexpected touches in familiar dishes. Its success hinges on elevating standard fare with creative flavor combinations and tantalizing toppings.
The lasagna, for instance, transcends the typical cheese and eggplant between layers of homemade flat pasta sheets. It is glazed with a shiny bechamel sauce made with plant-based milk and nutritional yeast, and inflected with fresh herbs. Pair it with a slightly sweet but earthy and creamy tomato-celery soup, a refreshing departure from the clichéd tomato and squash soups.
The tempeh grain bowl is a mosaic of tempeh and shiitake mushroom cubes, brown rice, nuts, sunflower seeds, and layers of arugula, sprouts, avocado, and roasted tomato, spiked with a lemon-garlic tahini dip. The tempeh burger is smoky and crisp, while the cauliflower burger offers subtle creaminess with textured edges and a nutty flavor, enhanced with guacamole and microgreens. The tempeh burger presents a unique combination of cashew cream and edamame, nestled between a soft bun.
Generous portions
Tupas cites the hummus wrap—its tanginess balanced by quinoa, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, mixed greens, alfalfa, and avocado—as her favorite. Where else in the country can you find a burrito with black rice and charred corn? Clean Café’s generous portions are more affordable than the wraps and salads from an international chain.
The mark of a good restaurant lies in its bread. Her son, Virgilio Lorenzo or Uno, the general manager with a culinary arts management degree, created a selection of artisanal breads served with cashew cheese and plant-based butter. English-style buttermilk biscuits are not found in Manila but here, served with sea salt vanilla syrup.
During our visit, we enjoyed a shot of turmeric elixir, a recipe from Tupas’ cooking training in Bali. Black pepper added heat and depth to the turmeric. We shared a protein-rich salad bowl of quinoa, chickpeas, grilled tomato, fried tofu, and sweet potato wedges, and a sushi salad with lettuces and sprouts springing up from the rolls. The dressing, made with flaxseed oil and homemade spirulina gomashio, is unique to this restaurant. The garden pizza has a thin, crunchy crust with crispy edges.
Our meal concluded with German apple cake and brownies using beet pulp for moistness and homegrown chocolate from Malagos Farms. Clean Café also offers French macarons made with aquafaba (the water from garbanzos) as a substitute for egg whites and binder.
The rosemary olive oil cake is a popular dessert, known for its luscious and savory edge, fragrant with the herb. The crust is a deep golden brown, while the crumb is ultra-rich with the right amount of sweetness. Tupas is equally proud of the sweet and salty pairing of her cinnamon rolls, which combine an enriched, pillowy dough with the warming spice of black lava salt.
Breakfast
She notes that the banana pecan pancake is a favorite breakfast item, a fluffy vegan pancake smothered with bananas, berries, homemade peanut butter, and vegan butter. Gluten-free pancakes are served with coconut whipped cream. For protein, she recommends the chickpeas and scrambled tofu, which resembles tender, mushy eggs.
“There’s a lot of work involved, as everything is made from scratch,” she explains. Children need no convincing to eat vegetables when they enjoy munchies such as deep-fried cauliflower, tofu, and mushrooms.
The menu also features an innovative list of cold-pressed juices, coffees, smoothies, and other beverages not found elsewhere in NCR. It’s surprising that Tupas had no culinary background. To shield her children from junk food, she replaced canned and processed foods with freshly made, vegetable-forward meals.
“I don’t have proper skills and techniques,” she admits. “I excel at flavors. I make the dish at home, write a recipe, and demonstrate its preparation or have the chef observe me. I traveled to Bali to learn pastry and desserts. I have difficulty following recipes and prefer to create new ones,” she says. New kitchen staff must unlearn certain techniques acquired in culinary school, such as butchery and baking with butter, cream, and eggs.
The family established The Neighborhood Lifestyle Group Inc., the umbrella company for the restaurants, led by her husband, Virgilio Tupas, Jr., as chair and CEO. Two restaurants are plant-based: Clean Café and Fast Fresh & Clean. The vegetable-forward Made Simple and the health-oriented Soul Kitchen Co. also cater to omnivores.
Asked why she ventured into a specialized cuisine despite her flexible diet, Tupas replies, “I enjoy creating and branding.” Clean Café is not merely about serving plate after plate of vegetables. The dishes incorporate legumes, nuts, microgreens, and layers of flavor with original dressings. Ultimately, she understands what makes a complete vegetarian dish.
