After a month-long hiatus, Darlinghurst Filipino eatery Takam is back with a new look and direction. More exciting is that owners Aileen Aguirre, Francis Dela Cruz and Lesley Roque have teamed up with Ralph Libo-On and Michael Mabuti of Melbourne diner Askal, which raised the bar for that city’s Filipino dining scene when it opened earlier this year.

Aguirre says Takam 2.0 hopes to do the same for Sydney. “The intention is to showcase the richness of Filipino food and also educate the community.”

As ever, the team pays homage to traditional Filipino recipes and techniques, and incorporates native Australian produce sourced from local farms. Lumpia (spring rolls) come wrapped in betel leaf with saltbush tomato ketchup hidden between the pastry and the leaf. Another dish, “litson” beef brisket with pepperberry salsa, is a spin on the Philippines’ national dish, trading slow-roasted pork belly for beef.

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The crowd-pleaser – lemongrass chicken inasal, cooked over coals on the hibachi – is here to stay. “It’s something I can eat every day. It’s our hero dish,” says Dela Cruz.


Diners can also expect a more complex bar offering, courtesy of Libo-On. “I’ve applied modern bartending techniques and paired it with the richness of being Filipino.”

His Galleon de Manila cocktail was inspired by the maritime trade route between Manila and Acapulco, Mexico, and mixes tequila with lambanog, a distilled Filipino palm liquor also known as coconut wine. When Broadsheet visited, we also tried the Martini Nagyelo, the house take on the Martini with Archie Rose dry gin, house vermouth, achara brine and bayleaf oil. It’s served with a pickle at minus 14 degrees Celsius and poured tableside.

Mabuti, who spearheaded Askal’s fit-out, worked with long-time collaborator Stefan Bagnoli of Bagnoli Architects to create an inviting and functional space, extending the venue’s capacity from 26 to 51. There’s a smattering of al fresco seats, some bar seating and tables both on the restaurant’s main floor and on the mezzanine. The centrepiece is a multi-toned countertop pieced together from marble offcuts. Mabuti says it’s symbolic of the Filipino diaspora. “Creating spaces with a point of difference grounded in culture has always been the goal.”


For Dela Cruz, Takam represents a statement of intention from a generation of young Filipino Australians. “[The idea of] ‘Filipino food forward’ was born at Takam,” he says. “We are here because we are proud Filipino Australians ready to share our culture with the community.”

Takam
324 Victoria Street Darlinghurst NSW

0472 983 681

Hours:
Wed to Sat: 6pm–10pm
Sat & Sun: 11am–3pm

takam.com.au
@takam.syd