Hayop! Filipino flavors unleashed in SG
With Singapore having a wide array of food options, why would I spend time and money eating Filipino food when I can easily do so in Manila?
While having my meal, I got my answer: Because it’s a different experience altogether.
In 2019, Cheryl Tiu-Snyder, creator of Cross Cultures, hosted a two-night Manam pop-up at the Horse’s Mouth Gastrobar, the Japanese omakase of her good friend Russell Yu of IKI Concepts, located at Millennia Walk in Singapore. Seats sold out within 24 hours, like they did during their limited run in Hong Kong months earlier.
“People came and they were very happy so we said, maybe we should do something there,” said Abba Napa, one of the founders of The Moment Group. Then the pandemic happened, and the concept had to be shelved.
A year after, they revisited the idea and scouted for international spaces. Napa, with partners Jon Syjuco and Eliza Antonino, already had multiple offers.
“We actually had a space in Vancouver. But Singapore was the one that materialized first,” she said. “Jon used to live here. It’s my second home, my family lives here. It’s the market that we know the best outside of Manila. And it’s also easy to travel to.”
They intentionally didn’t want it to be in a mall like many of their Manam branches in the Philippines. They aimed for a different market as the restaurant, Hayop, has a pricier range, considering the ingredients they use and fly in. With the help of Singapore business partners Yu and pastry chef and food supplier Gwen Lim, they took over a shophouse previously occupied by a French restaurant, situated in a busy street in Chinatown—exactly where they wanted to be in. In July 2024, Hayop, Singapore’s first fine-casual Filipino restaurant, opened.
Localized menu
“We created Manam for the Filipino living in the Philippines as a place where we can be a part of his everyday dining life—office lunch, get-together with friends, Sunday dinner with the family. Casual,” explains Napa.
Meanwhile, Hayop is for the Filipino living abroad hankering for the nostalgic flavors of home, but also a dining room where he is proud to bring non-Filipinos and introduce them to our cuisine.
There, people can reserve seats and enjoy celebratory dishes inspired by the flavor spectrum of Manam. Crowd favorites such as the House Crispy Sisig and Caramelized Patis Manok are present, but so are Singapore-exclusive items like Ginataang Langka, Wild Mushroom and Tofu Kare-Kare, and Adobong Dilaw.
The Crispy Palabok comes with baby cuttlefish and tiger prawns; heritage French chicken is used for Pyanggang Manok; Wagyu bone-in short ribs go into the Watermelon Sinigang; and a whole spatchcock is basted and grilled for the Chicken Inasal. These are some of the iterations the owners did to make the dishes more fitting for the Singapore market.
The food can be enjoyed not just with wines but also with the signature cocktails that each highlight a flavor: asim (sour) made with Sloe gin and guyabano; alat (salty) with salted watermelon and tequila; tamis (sweet) with sake and creme de cacao; pait (bitter) with bourbon and gula melaka; anghang (spicy) with vodka and chili padi; and malinamnam (umami) with pandan and clarified milk punch.
Local talent on display
The Singaporean spinoff celebrates local talent and art in many ways—from the leather accessories by designer Rita Nazareno and plate ware by ceramicist Mia Casal to the curated OPM playlist by Erwin Romulo and the wall collages that use archival 19th-century images done by The Moment Group’s creative team.
Dining in Hayop (@hayop.sg on Instagram) gave me more than just gustatory satisfaction. Seeing how the restaurant was populated mostly by locals and expats on the night I visited, many of whom came on their own, without the presence of a fellow Filipino, I couldn’t help but feel Filipino pride. I peeked at the neighboring tables and witnessed a good number of them enjoying an order of gising-gising. The big group next to the bar each indulged in halo-halo, and a Singaporean couple shared crunchy sisig.
It’s satisfying to witness how other people are finding out and enjoying our cuisine. Thanks to Hayop for making that possible.
Follow the author at @fooddudeph in Instagram.
