First Look: Askal’s New Rooftop Bar Inuman Is All About Filipino Flavours and Pinoy Drinking Culture

If you’ve ever partied in the Philippines, you may have partaken in the common drinking practice known as tagay, where all participants drink in rounds from the same cup. It’s a convivial custom from a communal culture, a way to ensure all partygoers are on the same page. And it’s this shared sense of togetherness that beverage director Ralph Libo-on invites guests to enjoy at Askal ’s new rooftop bar, Inuman – albeit from individual glasses.

A colourful cocktail line-up spotlights little-known Filipino stories, while respectfully riffing on classic bartending techniques. The Tito Ray, for example, is named for historical maverick Ray Buhen, who employed fellow Filipino migrants at his tropical-themed bar in 1930s Los Angeles – an influential institution now run by his descendants. The Mai Tai-esque cocktail features the distinctly Filipino flavours of calamansi and durian, mixed with rum curacao, Estancia Raicilla, rosewater, almond and bitters.

“There’s a lot of thought and craft that goes into each drink, playing with unexpected flavours and classic recipes to find something new,” says Libo-on, who co-owns Inuman and Askal below it with Kariton Sorbetes’s Michael Mabuti and John Rivera, and wine director Carlos Consunji. “For me it’s a creative way to honour the ones who paved the way.”

Another playful highlight at Inuman (“a Filipino word that revolves around drinking,” says Libo-on) is the citrussy Sari-Sari Sparkle served in an artfully crinkled glass vessel – a wink to the Southeast Asian norm of supplying takeaway drinks in plastic bags.

Fans of Askal’s bold cuisine can expect the party to continue upstairs with a concise menu of refined pulutan – finger food designed for casual, beverage-fuelled grazing. Think delicate crispy-chicken-skin sangas, taro and cassava chips swiped through smoky seafood dip, and Gildas with pickled ginger, evoking the vinegary notes of paksiw na isda (fish stew).

“I didn’t intentionally set out to make food to match the drinks – we’re just doing Filipino-inspired food the way we feel it should taste,” says Rivera, who’s also head chef. “Ralph and I have similar philosophies in how we create, in that we embrace flavours that are punchy and intense, but always strive for balance. So there’s a natural synergy between the menus.”

Reflecting a nuanced mix of influences, Libo-on and Rivera’s shared Filipino Kiwi upbringings (Inu is also Māori for “to drink”) come through in their house-made feijoa preserve (a New Zealand favourite) with duck liver parfait atop a Chinese doughnut – a snack vessel that nods to Binondo in Manila, the world’s oldest Chinatown.

The team is particularly proud to stock lambanog, a native palm liquor rarely sold outside of the Philippines. Inuman pairs it with young coconut sorbet to make a boozy dessert perfect for balmy summer nights. Natural wines by the bottle will soon be added to the tightly curated list by Consunji.

Plans for the marble-laden space, fitted out by co-owner Mabuti and designed by architect Stefan Bagnoli, will see the addition of a retractable roof to ensure good times can roll on through the city’s famously unpredictable weather.

Inuman
167 Exhibition Street, Melbourne

Hours:
Wed & Thu 4.30pm–12.30am
Fri to Sun 12.30pm–12.30am

@inuman.melb