MANILA, Philippines – It began with an ice machine, hand-carried by chef Jordy Navarra on a flight from Tokyo to Manila.
Navarra, the founding father of the multi-awarded positive eating restaurant Toyo Eatery, was in Japan for a collaboration dinner again in 2019 when he met chef Hiroyasu Kawate of Tokyo’s Florilège.
Someplace between programs and dialog, the subject turned to halo-halo and its conventional preparation — shaving ice by hand utilizing a guide machine. On the time, Florilège was experimenting with kakigori, Japan’s conventional shaved ice dessert, by means of pop-ups.
In that second, each cooks realized: our nations’ beloved icy desserts weren’t so completely different in spite of everything.
A couple of months after that serendipitous assembly, Kawate provided a free skilled kakigori machine to the Toyo workforce as a considerate gesture, which led to deeper conversations between the 2 eating places.
By January 2022, Florilège’s kakigori pop-up was successful — it had developed into an idea known as Azuki to Kouri. And from there, each cooks thought: what if Toyo’s revolutionary method to Filipino delicacies met the traditions and craft of Japan’s Azuki to Kouri?
Ice, ice, child
On the nook of The Alley at Karrivin Plaza in Makati, proper beside Toyo Eatery, is AzukiToyo, which is open from 1:30 to eight:30 pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays.
It’s a small area that’s simply sufficient for under a handful of company at a time, with entrance bar seating and seats by the window. The design evokes Japanese minimalism with wood accents, warmed by Filipino hospitality.
For instance, cozy shawls are positioned in wicker baskets, handed out to company who would possibly get chilly after the primary spoonfuls of ice.
On the entrance of the open kitchen is the ice machine that began all of it, in all its excessive tech glory. And proper beside it’s a big block of ice so crystal clear and pristine, you’d assume it was glass.
In keeping with the AzukiToyo workforce, this particular ice used particularly for kakigori is cured for 48 hours, continuously shaken in a machine to let all sediments settle. It’s filtered to forestall freezer burn and cloudiness and keep purity. What comes out of the kakigori shaver is in contrast to common crushed ice — this one is feathery, cottony, and delicately melts within the mouth inside seconds.
As a result of it’s so positive, the sauces of the icy dessert seamlessly penetrate all layers, making every spoonful constant from high to backside.
To grasp the method, AzukiToyo’s cooks Sam Constantino and Chaela Dee skilled for every week in Tokyo below the steerage of the Florilège workforce. Most flavors had been a collaboration between the 2 kitchens. Two classics from Tokyo made it to the Manila menu: Azuki at Matcha and Azuki at Merengue.
The Azuki at Matcha has purple bean, meringue, shiratama, and Inokura matcha, whereas the Azuki at Merengue is a good entry level to a first-timer’s kakigori journey, made with purple bean, meringue, and chewy shiratama — nothing too overloaded.
It’s creamy, milky, refined, however easy, like a restrained and refined Japanese tackle candy leche flan. The textures play nicely collectively: the crunch of meringue, the chew of shiratama (which is constituted of glutinous rice flour), and the smoothness of cream.
The azuki beans utilized by AzukiToyo are from a provider in Myanmar, cooked for 2 days in water and sugar to maintain them barely al dente and never mushy. The shiratama, Japan-sourced, is a mochi made from glutinous rice flour with a chew much like bilo-bilo or palitaw, however thinner and extra gelatin-like in texture — virtually like a gloopy syrup.
When the workforce develops new flavors, it’s all the time a back-and-forth with Florilège. “Each time they fly in, we work out the menu collectively. It’s been loopy help,” the Toyo workforce advised Rappler.
Whereas the kakigori course of and method are rooted in Japan, the soul of the flavors is proudly native — Filipino elements like ube, pandan, and corn are sourced from Quezon and handled with care the Toyo method.
You had me at halo-halo
One among AzukiToyo’s most artistic choices is its tackle the basic halo-halo. “It has all the same old parts we grew up with — ube, langka, saba,” the workforce mentioned. “However like all our kakigoris, it’s meant to be eaten from high to backside. No mixing.”
There are 13 considerate parts to the Azuki at Halo-Halo: ube milk, ube chips, and a shock ube paste within the middle. Every one performs its proud half — candy and smoky grilled saba, langka jelly, candied pinipig, leche flan ice cream, and extra — and so they all shine individually and work cohesively as an alternative of being muddled collectively. Even the langka jelly — a fruit I’m not very keen on — was straightforward to get pleasure from.
The creamy milk is a continuing companion all through, whereas the feathery ice makes each spoonful really feel like a mushy cloud.
You gained’t know what’s within the middle till you’re there, and the shock reveal is intentional, the Toyo workforce shared. “It’s a self-discovery type of dessert,” they mentioned.
The Lychee Pomelo turned out to be a refreshing break and an sudden favourite. On high is good lychee syrup (distinctly aromatic however not synthetic tasting), and beneath it, a vibrantly pink rosella syrup for tartness.
The kakang gata pudding paired with the coconut meringue cream offers it a tropical profile, making this variant wealthy however clear, with that coconut contact that feels acquainted and new without delay.
Simply once you assume you’ve tried all of it, there’s the wildcard Mais at Keso, probably the very best when saved for final.
No, it’s not your typical mais con yelo, even whether it is made with Quezon corn and candied pinipig — this one is topped with a daring, savory layer of keso de bola cream, stunning the style buds in the easiest way. It’s not tremendous sugary-sweet however offers a pointy hit of salty cheese, mellowed by simply sufficient candy and creamy milk to steadiness issues out.
For followers of savory desserts, it’s just like the grown-up model of mais con yelo — daring, textural (the crispy corn kernels add crunch), and addictive. Kampot pepper is freshly cracked by the employees on high for additional umami.
Contemplating the towering heap of ice, not one of the kakigoris had been nakakaumay or nakakasawa — it strikes that steadiness of providing plenty of flavors and parts however remaining mild and refined.
“We don’t wish to overcomplicate issues. We wish to preserve it elegant however not too complicated,” the Toyo workforce mentioned.
That sentiment reveals in each bowl — there’s a transparent Japanese contact whereas catering to the Filipino palate. As a result of what’s the purpose of innovation if it doesn’t join with the folks you’re serving?
At AzukiToyo, creativity coexists with custom, exhibiting that when two esteemed cooks come collectively, that’s a reasonably cool factor. – Rappler.com
