Putting down Roots in Siargao
The charm of Siargao goes beyond surfing, and the people behind Roots, the island’s foremost restaurant, can attest to this.
Founders Inés Castañeda, Filippo Turrini, Marina Castañeda, Daan Overgaag, Ricardo Miranda de Sousa, and Diogo Miranda, all of whom met one way or another through Central Restaurante in Peru—no. 1 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for 2023—have been living in the tear-shaped paradise for close to two years now. To this day, they still speak about it with much thrill and gusto, like a smitten lover would about their partner.
“We didn’t even know where Siargao was,” said Turrini. “We were in Bali doing a pop-up. And we had a meeting with Ricardo who did a PowerPoint presentation of Siargao. It was very nice. We googled it and looked for pictures. Then Marina said, ‘I have always wanted to live there.’”
They eventually packed their bags and booked one-way tickets to the Philippines, straight to the island where they finally got to realize their longtime dream of setting up a restaurant where they could showcase each of their skills.
Diverse team
A brainchild of Casa Kaos, Roots is an interdisciplinary initiative brought to life by a diverse group: two chefs (Turrini and Inés), an artist and designer (Marina), an anthropologist and social designer (Overgaag), and two business strategists (de Sousa and Miranda). Their space, tucked within a resort, merges gastronomy, art, design, and sustainability to create a dining experience that features Filipino ingredients, materials, craftwork, and in-house recycled plastics.
“Something that also captivated us is the community,” said de Sousa of Siargao’s appeal. “It’s something really unique that you don’t find in many places.”
That’s why for their first anniversary, they celebrated this strong sense of camaraderie by collaborating with other friends and entrepreneurs.
Among them were David del Rosario of CEV, a ceviche and kinilaw shack; chef Dom Marquez-Hammond, head of F&B at Barbosa in Siargao; Jessey Qi, renowned for his work in top global bars and who recently launched the bar Last Chance on the island; and Bobby Heugel from Houston’s Anvil Bar & Refuge, featured in the World’s 50 Best Bars list.
“We wanted to honor what we found on the island, which is the spirit of community…honor it through what we do best, which is cooking and doing that with other people who have different approaches, but have a similar understanding of the food that we do,” said de Sousa.
Cocktail pairing
The cocktail-paired meal kicked off with a Calamansi Sour, an economical take on the classic Pisco Sour, crafted using leftover calamansi peels that had been macerated in neutral alcohol. It paired well with the cuttlefish kinilaw bathed in sea urchin sinamak and accompanied by pomelo, salted black beans, CEV’s signature chili garlic oil, mint, crushed cornick, and roselle leaves.
It was followed by a tartare, composed of freshly caught fish, alongside some of the favorite foraged discoveries of the Roots chefs: pickled nipa, sialargaw, gotu kola, and pepinitos. It came with a coccoli or fried bread dough, which paid tribute to Turrini’s Italian heritage.
Del Rosario then plated a contemporary iteration of Bicol express that incorporated shrimps three ways: local shrimps that were grilled, hibi or dried micro shrimp, and bagoong, both of which seasoned the garlic rice cracker. A subtly spicy coconut emulsion and basil chimichurri completed the dish.
Next was Marquez-Hammond’s octopus glazed in tamarind fish sauce caramel, served on a bumbu merah purée and finished with dill oil; and corn tamale with Wagyu short rib and a cacao mole made with 14 ingredients, including unsweetened local chocolate. This dish used the traditional recipe of Ines and Marina’s Mexican grandmother.
The one-night-only dinner ended with a leche flan dressed in Tanduay rum caramel, edible gold leaf, a toasted peanut sesame brittle, and a dusting of asin tultul grated table side for a salty-sweet touch.
Last Chance kept guests in high spirits with three special concoctions: Ma’am Sir Martini made of strawberry-infused gin, local coconut vinegar and lemon oil; Ate Margarita, which was a shaken mix of tequila-infused cardamom, calamansi juice and kaffir leaf; and Kuya Cacao, a beverage made of homemade creme de cacao, vodka, and tapuey.
The lure of Siargao certainly got even stronger with Roots in it.
Roots is located in Kaimana Resort Siargao, Tourism Road, General Luna, Surigao del Norte; tel no. (+63 967) 133 3146. Follow the author @fooddudeph in Instagram.
