I’ll never forget first eating balut, the popular Filipino delicacy of a boiled, fertilized egg embryo eaten from the shell, which also shows up around Asia. At a table full of self-proclaimed “foodies,” mostly men, myself and one other woman were the only ones willing to even try it.
My egg was swimming in blood, the crunch of the bird embryo’s wings mixing with the bloody egg. Texture — and that little bird — was a struggle, yet the flavor evoked chicken and eggs, absolutely inoffensive. But enough to send vegans and animal rights activists screaming. A huge bird lover myself, it wasn’t an easy taste, but out of respect for culture and history, I’ll try any dish presented to me by chefs who have prepared it with care and context.
I remember just as clearly when I first tasted chef Francis Ang’s “deconstructed” balut, served from his Pinoy Heritage stand years ago at events like Undiscovered SF Filipino Night Market when it launched back in 2017 (it’s back this October). Chicharron-like bird skin held an almost whipped mound of egg, tobiko, and pickled red onion in a bite-sized serving that was much easier to handle than its root dish. It was also delicious.
Tasting Ang’s cooking over the years at Gary Danko and the long-defunct (but still fondly living in my memory) Fifth Floor, since 2014, Ang hit his stride crafting elevated Filipino cuisine. His Pinoy Heritage take-home, multi-course dinners, and collaboration with bartending great and fellow Filipino Kevin Diedrich of PCH (Pacific Cocktail Haven) and Kona’s Street Market was a bright spot in those initial dark months of the pandemic. So it was with more than a little anticipation I dined at Abacá in the new Kimpton Alton Hotel, which debuted August 16th from that same dynamic duo, serving Ang’s modern “Filipino-California” food alongside Diedrich’s cocktails.
My husband Dan and I decided a little staycation overnight on a quiet Monday at the Kimpton Alton was the right way to initially experience the restaurant. The hotel is a refreshing new oasis of the hip in the midst of blessedly old school, tourist-driven Fisherman’s Wharf. Artists were painting the colorful front patio mural during my stay. In-room, mini-Victrola record players, and three records in our nightstand drawer felt like an attempt at hipster hotel relevance akin to ever-overrated Ace Hotels, which I’ve stayed at in three cities but always feel are industrial, cold, sterile. Though Kimpton Alton rooms are somewhat plain with white walls and bed coverings, warmth exudes from dark blue carpet and headboards, plus chic accents of rose velvet or green-white floral chairs.
Views of the Wharf and Alcatraz further enhanced our room, with my Wharf “cheap eats” fave, The Codmother Fish & Chips food truck, in full view below. I was happy to see the Alton houses the only third wave coffee shop in the ‘hood for my morning espresso needs, though, to my dismay, their lobby cafe is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, leaving us with a basic pour of batched coffee.
But cruising down to dinner on Monday night — post-lobby wine happy hour — was no bummer. In fact, the place was hopping, packed, lively with tunes from the likes of hip-hop classic Paula Perry (Extra, Extra!!) or classic Filipino favorite, APO Hiking Society.
Under a heat lamp on the patio, we quickly got toasty, cooling down with cocktails. Filipino and overall Southeast Asian flavors hold sway, from calamansi to Diedrich’s pioneering, deft hand with pandan leaves. Initially tasting five of them, two stood out. The Ube-Colada was the most fun, melding the coconut, pineapple, tropical vibe of a Pina Colada with Appleton Estate Rum and ube (Filipino purple yam) in the form of ube-coconut cream. The result is a vibrant purple, lush, creamy, and crushable. My personal favorite is Local Word, a twist on the 1920’s classic Last Word cocktail, a showcase for herbaceous Green Chartreuse. Here, Chartreuse plays with Hendricks Gin, absinthe, pineapple, calamansi and bitters, delicately balanced but with a tart, tropical, herby kick.
As for the food… oh, my. This is chef Ang realized, even as he already was with those artful Pinoy Heritage tasting menus. But being take-home, one loses the plating and atmosphere experienced dining in. Where Pinoy dishes run a touch more refined, Abacá is no less refined yet feels playful, at times hearty, walking a fine line between upscale and contemporary with rustic, familial soulfulness.
Though Ang is a San Francisco native (lucky us), he spent formative years in the Philippines, where he and his wife, Dian, have frequently traveled and visited family. The 2013 typhoon left them stuck on the islands awhile where they worked feeding the community. Returning home to SF, they hosted a Filipino fundraising dinner, Francis’ first time cooking his heritage cuisine. This sparked their 2014 launch of the Pinoy Heritage pop-up after further months of food and ingredient research around the Philippines, which is a vast archipelago of roughly 7,640 islands.
Ang’s international cooking techniques and influences add layers to his dishes. Whispers of Italy hover over panzanella-esque heirloom tomato and K&J Orchards peach salad dotted with toasted croutons, over mung bean hummus, subtly tossed in tinapa, a smoked Filipino fish condiment.
From a section of “BBQ Sticks,” longganisa pork sausage called to me, served in Japanese tsukune-esque style (yakitori chicken meatball). Recalling tsukune presentation, it was not only on a skewer, but was dipped in a little bowl of egg yolk, soy, and rice cane vinegar. Similarly, the sausage is juicy, plump, in a diamond-like shape, garnished with puffed rice. I immediately wanted another. Ditto the pork steamed bun, which is not “just another bao.” It’s packed with sweet-savory, Filipino tocino-style bacon, black garlic and pineapple kimchi.
On the lighter side, salmon kinilaw is a silky, crudo-esque plate of raw salmon, pluots, preserved calamansi and avocado, scooped up with paper-thin taro chips. Entrees are shareable and generous, squid relleno (at $52) being among the most interesting. Picture a whole squid stuffed with chorizo, sliced up and accented with melon and calamansi aioli. While coconut milk-doused butternut squash dumplings and fermented XO bagoóng sauce scallop pancit noodles oozed comfort, it was umami-rich sisig fried rice, marked by chicharon, poached egg, and pickled onions that imparted the deepest comfort.
Silky corn cremeux, partnered with blueberries and Parmesan ice cream, is an appropriately light-yet-lush finish to a meal this creative but attached to its roots. Heading upstairs to bed was a welcome proposition after such a feast, the dining room glowing with tunes, buzz, conversation, memorable drinks and forward-thinking Filipino food the likes of which are tough to find in any American city.
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We dug into a greatest hits album from the aforementioned Filipino band, APO Hiking Society, quickly lulled to sleep by their easy listening 1980 hit, Ewan, while the fog gently rolled into the Bay outside our window.
