Cooked oysters not your thing? Serai’s wood-grilled Tassie Pacifics – a heavenly match with luscious smoked coconut fat and the spiced vinegar kick of pinakurat – will challenge the deepest-held prejudice. The take-no-prisoners Pinoy flavour onslaught is a shapeshifting beast at this coolly industrial laneway haunt. Wagyu dumplings arrive in a chill-banishing broth with scrape-it-yourself bone marrow and the sweet citrus cut-through of kalamansi, while a play on sinuglaw finds sticky smoked pork jam adding a worthy new dimension to the kingfish crudo metaverse. The confident next-gen take on Filipino traditions means you’ll likely spend time debating whether sweet, puffy “Spanish” bread with coconut fat and salmon roe is best embraced as savoury or dessert, and you really ought to seize the chance for a Mango Margarita funked up with salty shrimp paste. Anything goes at this charming rule-breaker, where the four-seat counter overlooking the kitchen’s fire show is the best chef’s table in town.
