Linamnam will serve a 30-course meal in 4 hours
Chef Don Baldosano has so many mouthwatering ideas that he gathers those that don’t make it to his Linamnam menu into an occasion in itself.
“We started doing our annual carte blanche in 2023,” the 26-year-old says. “It was a creative outlet to be able to express myself even better through food and to cook without boundaries. It was also a way to cook up the ideas that I can’t use just because they are not necessarily Filipino techniques and ingredients.”
His private dining space in Parañaque is turning 8 this year, and has amassed quite an impressive repertoire of dishes, from seared aged maya-maya with sinaing na ginataang kamatis and a sisig chip with singkamas, to okoy in the form of crisp dried fish with kamias flowers, and for dessert, a lumpia-wrapped maja blanca. There’s plenty more where those creative and playful dishes came from, hence a tasting menu to include them all.
Chef’s choice
“Most of the carte blanche dishes don’t have a set story or inspiration. The entire menu is a set of ideas that I like to play around with, what I’m working on, or even what I would like to eat,” he says. “This year, we were thinking of localized versions of dishes I’ve tried on my travels. The research on this one was purely based on dishes that I’ve been idealizing and testing for the past year.”
The over two-dozen plates will be served across four hours, so he advises that guests come not only with an empty stomach, but also with an open mind as it won’t be the kind of degustation they might be used to.
In the menu are a beef-collagen custard with patani and whipped bell peppers, deep-fried foie gras cacio e pepe, crispy nori and rice with talakitok belly, sukiyaki of aged and smoked pompano, lechon kawali with textures of papaya, and a flying potato soufflé with crickets.
The dining experience will keep diners curious from the get-go. The first course, an odd pairing of squid and strawberry broth, takes inspiration from the color combination of pink and purple.
“I wanted to create a dish that is based on pairing flavor through color, so it was a broth of squid legs and strawberry cooked under pressure then served with olive oil from Turin,” says Baldosano.
‘Puto,’ lamb doughnut
One of the dishes Baldosano holds close to heart is the puto, just one of the few Filipino-inspired items in the menu. “We made a traditional fermented puto but filled with chorizo and Fourme d’Ambert cheese. It is a kakanin that showcases my mother’s roots, which is a good mix of Filipino, Spanish, and French.”
Another is his lamb doughnut, which is inspired by his love for curry and all its nuances. It is presented as lamb ribs braised in curry broth then cooked inside a bone-in doughnut served with Thai pig’s brain curry.
To go with this inspired feast is an array of beverages such as a savory aperitif composed of unfiltered vermouth and garlic oil, gin sweetened with the mucilage of watermelon, and a mezcal cocktail with lemongrass and fermented banana.
He may be recognized for his passion for Filipino food, but Baldosano’s culinary talent goes beyond the confines of a cuisine. It is borderless.
To book a seat in Don Baldosano’s annual carte blanche, send a direct message to Linamnam’s Instagram page (@linamnam_mnl). Bookings will be available for May 6 to May 11 and May 15 to May 18, with a single time slot of 6 p.m. The special tasting menu is priced at P14,000+ per person.
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