Thanks for the memories
And so it begins, despite being three years in the industry, what can be called Tandem’s greatest hits. In that span of time, so much has happened to Alex Tan and Mikee Lopez-Tan—think numerous collaborations with industry friends such as Cara Davis of Halong, Luis Locsin, and Half Saints, rollouts of new menus, Sunday brunches, a la carte specials, marriage, and consecutive Michelin Selected recognitions in 2025 and 2026.
It’s hard to ascertain whether the two chefs who threw caution to the wind are the same people reinterpreting the shiniest moments of the last three years in a new eight-course menu.
Reintroducing their Tandem to a new audience
The idea is memory. To take a trip down the last three years and distill their adventure—that is, in essence, to recreate the emotions, the notes, and the metaphorical transgression of a moment in time. Though, according to Alex, it’s also one way of reintroducing Tandem to a new audience.
“Menus change over time, but there are really those dishes that stick with guests,” he says. “And it’s nice to be able to let first-time guests try the popular dishes they missed from other menus.”
So, this is the perfect opportunity to immerse in what they have cultivated over the years. Because while Tandem has had success, I feel that the Tans have always flown under the radar, much to a diner’s detriment.
History repeats itself
In an intimate gathering, the Tans promised memories and delivered eight dishes, each with a story to tell. “Our memory is fallible and prone to errors, so what we really wanted to capture were the flavor profiles and sentiment behind the dishes, even if it may take a different form,” they say.
Opening the affairs with a non-alcoholic tepache (using panutsa in lieu of piloncillo) and a trio of snacks (from the Music, Top Crops of the Philippines, and Emotions menus) that shows an exciting progression of flavors—from a sunny egg yolk gel with truffle mushroom purée and a zero-waste eggplant to an exhilarating bite of croqueta with kimchi and sweet potato—Alex and Mikee dive deep into their growth as chefs and the kind of headspace they inhabit now.
Their beverage pairing also plays off sommelier Day Vergel’s memories, weaving oolong tea, genmaicha with sesame oil, and tomato water to create more savory mocktails, while various white and red wines (such as the Jurtschitsch Mon Rouge from Austria) and sake add an alcoholic versatility to the mix.
There is also a relatively stronger sense of identity, control, and focus now compared to their beginnings when “we were excited to put ourselves on a plate,” they say. “Now, we can say we understand ourselves more, and that we’ve built a stronger identity.”
No bad memories
The production on their opening dishes from their Top Crops of the Philippines menu is excellent. Potato is pulsing in its delicious dashi espuma that hides a mussel salad just below the surface with preserved limes, ikura, and dill oil. It’s served with potato chicharron made from the water where the potatoes were boiled.
In Tomato, they take the sweet and tangy flavors of the fruit and present it as a tartare smoked in olive oil, basil, and kesong puti, throw in pesto balsamic reduction, and top it off with tomato jelly and watermelon granita.
From there, the pair gets more hedonistic and adventurous, tackling a couple of Seven Deadly Sins favorites in completely different directions. Sloth now features gruyere instead of Parmesan but traces of its primary vision—sourdough pasta with caramelized onions, an espuma that “burns,” and braised beef—remain.
Meanwhile, Fear is fearless in its makeover from its original squid ink garganelli iteration into a buckwheat sourdough bread course with anchovy butter and smoked brown butter.
The weight of evolution
The flow makes sense, especially midway through the menu. They explain that the natural selection process came down to what dish was well-received by guests.
As they mull over the time spent building a solid foundation, so does the heart of their Memories menu. Alex and Mikee could have gone over the top on Steeped (from Rice is Life) but instead let the ritual of pouring the brown rice, kombu, and mushroom broth over the delicate lapu-lapu roulade project the position they find themselves in—at peace with where they are but also laying the groundwork for what’s next.
In this case, getting more emotional. Across Homesick and Comfort, both from the Emotions menu, Alex and Mikee let their guard down with courses leaning heavily on memories. One evokes Alex’s feelings of homesickness while studying and working overseas (seen in his pan-seared duck breast with adobo pineapple sauce), and the other elicits Mikee’s moments of vulnerability with lugaw or arroz caldo made by her mother.
Completing the circle
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s another kind of comfort being served in Tandem’s new menu: Alex’s growing ease with “incomplete-ness.”
“Most of my training before Tandem was a la carte, so every dish was generally fully composed,” he says. “But I can now sort of appreciate that ‘incomplete-ness’ and double-check my own brain when it is trying to convince me that something I created is missing a component, even if it may not be.”
Even in moments of uncertainty, Alex and Mikee have never sounded so sure of themselves. It goes to show that sometimes holding on to memories can be a good thing.
