Labyrinth’s Han Li Guang to collaborate with Manila’s rising culinary star, chef Jordy Navarra

It’s easy to forget, in Singapore’s well-documented and post-Michelin foodscape, that high-profile barometers of restaurant performance were once few and far between. That’s the case in Philippines’ Manila now – and so it’s a noteworthy event when an international platform like Asia’s 50 Best hands out recognition to a fledgling eatery in Makati.

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Just two years into operation, Toyo Eatery, owned and operated by chef Jordy Navarra, was named the Miele One to Watch in the San Pellegrino-backed guide. Navarra cut his teeth at top-notch operations like Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, and Alvin Leung’s three-starred Bo Innovation in Hong Kong. He’s on track to flying the flag for Filipino cuisine on the international stage.

It’s only fitting, then, that Navarra’s first outing to Singapore (in the form of a four-hands dinner) is hosted by a local poster child advancing the mod-Sin (modern Singaporean) agenda. Labyrinth‘s Han Li Guang will take on the Pinoy chef to present a two-nights-only dinner, and boy do the offerings intrigue. Both chefs also took the time to have a little fun with menu which draws similarities between their cuisines. Expect items like the 'Jor-Li-Bee' Chicken and Chiacharon (a fried chicken lollipop, pork crackling and curry sauce) and a local take on sisig (read: pig's head) with char siew sauce.

Take a gander at the tongue-in-cheek wording, nestled in the greater narrative of two food cultures expressing themselves on the same plates:

The collaboration takes place May 30 and 31 evening, reservations@labyrinth.com.sg, T: 6223-4098.

The article was first published on The Peak.