White-hot light flared around me, followed by an ominous rumbling in the distance, reverberating like Godzilla’s belly after munching on Tokyo. I was thankful to make cover from a storm chasing me head over heels inside Flame Restaurant at the 16th floor of Discovery Primea Hotel, Makati. The glare of natural electricity danced wickedly off the huge panes of glass that surrounded the dining floor and the walls, tracing outlines of reflections on empty green wine bottles, encased within narrow shelves.

Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening... well, not really. As high up as we were, the atmosphere of Flame was safe, smart and snazzy. In spite of the sinister weather beyond, the world through Flame’s windows was wondrous. The Makati skyline rose up like the silver fingers of a chrome titan clutching a huge swath of greenery in the palms of its hands – greenery belonging to Urdaneta and various other exclusive villages of equally rarefied air. In the evening, EDSA shimmered around the tower, the lights from thousands of cars sparkling like diamonds on the throat of a royal debutante.

WITHIN A CHEF’S AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY
Chef Luis Chikiamco, executive chef of Discovery Primea, welcomed me into his domain. Although possessed of a charming yet humble and self-effacing demeanor, Chef Luis expresses himself eloquently and with great aplomb through his cooking – and that is where his soul sings like Mercury at Wembley Stadium.

“It’s all about the changing times,” he says of Flame’s offerings, and of his constant efforts to push the culinary envelope. “There are a lot of things going on in the culinary world, not only in the Philippines but abroad as well. It’s all about keeping up. It’s also about challenging myself – new things, new flavors, new plating, new techniques. All different from what I’ve been doing. In some of the other restaurants I worked in, food presentation was more vertical. Now I’m doing more landscaping.”

The past is Chef Luis’ baseline for where his cuisine should go, directed by a thirst for adventure. “Back when I was working with other restaurants and hotels, I did a lot of classic dishes,” he recalls. “Now the stuff I do is more out of my comfort zone. But it’s what I like to cook. It’s also what I feel passionate about. Although I’m classically French- trained, I love doing Asian dishes. It’s coming out in me already. It’s a marriage of European techniques and Asian flavor.”

That combination becomes a reference point, where memory and sensory experiences meet. “People eat with their eyes first before they actually get to trying a dish,” explains Chef Luis with earnest. “That’s the first thing about preparing dishes – it has to look good. You can’t really say that it’s your mother’s cooking. But sense of taste and sense of smell is very strong in terms of recalling. When you smell something, it’s like, ‘I’ve smelled that before.’ You can say, ‘Oh, I’ve had that in the house. It’s a favorite dish of mine.’ Those are the two senses that I really like, but smell is pretty important to me as well.”

To achieve the magic he does, Chef Luis resorts to the tools of his trade. “We’re not really hardcore molecular (gastronomy chefs). We have the essential toys in terms of staying up to date. We have a sous vide machine, a vacuum machine, a dehydrator and a smoke gun. Like, (for the smoke gun), we put apple wood and chips in it, and light it up so the food will smell like it. But also the smoke isn’t too strong. When we take off the lid (from the smoked dish), it billows out so it’s another experience for the diner.”

It’s not all smoke and mirrors though – a lot of hard work, creativity and ingenuity goes into every dish. “I draw inspiration from familiar and comforting flavors and packaging it in a whole different way. There’s a sense of elevation. We really want to elevate our cuisine. We want to strive to be better than the last year, the last batch of things that we did.”

COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, YOU’RE NOTE MISSING THIS DINNER
If this is what he can do now, I can’t wait to see what he’ll be capable of in the next decade. We begin our repast with Tuna Carpaccio, spiced seared tuna, cold sesame noodles, bean sprouts and satay dressing. The heady flavors seem to do cartwheels in my mouth and brain. Flame’s Hamachi followed closely behind, delicate sheets of Japanese amberjack with a chill citrus sorbet, mango globules and baby greens.

I have an irrepressible fondness for foie gras and Chef Luis’ Miso Bruleed Foie Gras does justice to that most delightful of dishes. A generous portion almost the size of an Indian mango, the miso bruleed goose liver is accompanied by a soapbar-sized slab of silken tofu, covered in spring onions, crunchy tempura flakes, black truffle, octo-vinaigrette, pear balls and cherry tomatoes. As if that wasn’t enough edible goodness, the River Prawn came out next. Aside from a happy circus of egg noodles, house made XO sauce, bell pepper, wood ear mushrooms and snow peas, the River Prawn has this enchanting scent that you’d swear was lobster. Damn, that smoke gun can really do wonders.

The main courses, of course, have their unique charms. The Soy Braised U.S. Short Ribs comes with baby carrots, dashi, mustard seeds, grilled leeks, potatoes and fondant. Deceptively small, it nonetheless satisfies quite ably. The Grilled Colorado Rack of Lamb also comes in a dainty package – its ginger butternut squash, onion soubise, braised leeks, Asian pears and soy-honey crispy shallots are so artfully presented, you’d be forgiven for wanting to frame it instead of eat it. But eat it you must, for it is smashing.

As for dessert, each item was a joy to behold, as well as consume. We started with the Frosted Chocolate Sphere – a white chocolate streusel with lemon gelée, fresh berries, and a mascarpone sponge. Everyone at the table, including Chef Luis, loved to call this little guy the Death Star, as it did look like Star Wars’ most ominous intergalactic weapon in miniature.

It even had a hole resembling the port where the giant laser would fire. Peeking out from the hole like a holiday piñata were the berries, gelée and mascarpone that got a bath of hot chocolate, to complete the whole ensemble.

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate! is quite a standout – it’s a carnival cavalcade of flexi- ganache, chocolate sablé cookie, hazelnut snow, fresh berry coulis, eggnog ice cream and Pop Rocks. The milk chocolate glaze sauce on the plate was artfully smeared as a perfect circle, making the whole thing reminiscent of a phonograph with a record on top, sculpted by Salvador Dali.

For an unassumingly named dish, the Roasted Pineapple was visually and gastronomically striking – rum raisin ice cream on a roasted pineapple bed, surrounded by coconut globules, beside some Red Velvet cake. This dish oddly reminded me of a surreal hubcap from a car designed by Vanellope von Schweetz, with coconut globs where the screws are supposed to be. The Red Velvet was placed on the side under a bed of chocolate sauce, garnished with mint.

And for that, I’d brave storm signal number four, anytime.