MANILA, Philippines – When one door closes, another one may just pop up sooner than you think.
More than a year after she departed from French fine dining restaurant Metronome, chef Miko Calo is making her playful return to the dining scene with pop-up restaurant Coquette — a fitting name for this era of her chef life, she told Rappler — uninhibited, fun, and free.
Located at Casa Buenas in Newport World Resorts, the restaurant’s homey, old-timey historical design and ambiance provide a fine, sophisticated backdrop to Calo’s creations.
CASA Buenas in Newport World Resorts. All images by Steph Arnaldo/Rappler
Coquette is a bit of a departure for Calo, who is known for her technical precision at Metronome. That is still present, but this new era is more casual and veers away from solely French fine dining; here, there’s a lighter and more personal energy, incorporating her roots from Butuan City in the Caraga region.
Miko Calo grew up in her grandmother’s home in Butuan, surrounded by the daily bustle of a big household. She remembers her aunts roasting cacao for tsokolate and afternoons spent snacking on sea salt with her nanny — small moments that shaped her early love for food.
At 13, she moved to Manila to study. And while taking up Hotel and Restaurant Management at St. Scholastica’s College, Miko realized she wanted to become a chef.
She started out in local hotel kitchens before pursuing formal training at FERRANDI Paris, where she graduated at the top of her class and interned at La Table de Joël Robuchon. Over the next seven years, she honed her craft in Robuchon’s restaurants in Paris, London, and Singapore, eventually becoming junior sous chef at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon.
In 2019, she returned to Manila to open the acclaimed Metronome.
That chapter has since been closed, and Calo is now inspired by the word “coquette” — to “flirt” or “catch the attention of” by definition, but Calo, in her own way, is flirting with fate: testing the waters, pushing her limits, and seeing what more she can do.
“I’m getting to express my more playful side,” Calo said. “It’s about taking a lighter, more heartfelt approach to my food.”
Coquette’s menu is streamlined and categorized methodically — from cold apps, to hot starters, to the mains and desserts.
Take the pot de foie gras, for example. With santol confiture on top, it’s a rich starter that gets the umami journey going. The foie gras is thick and decadent, sitting below a layer of tart-sweet santol preserved jam that provides just the right contrast to its richness. Eaten with the buttery, thick bread, it makes for an indulgent beginning.
POT DE FOIE GRAS.
This is best paired with the grilled eggplant, tomato, and goat cheese salad — a simple starter that’s slightly sweet, zingy, and fresh, providing a refreshing counterpoint to the foie gras.
GRILLED EGGPLANT SALAD.
Then there are the chilled steamed oysters with tamarind vinaigrette and toasted pecans, a different take on oysters. Big and silky, they aren’t briny at all, sliding down easily. The toasted pecans add a crunchy and interesting texture; I actually preferred eating the nuts and sauce after finishing the oyster, so as not to distract from the oyster’s natural creaminess.
CHILLED OYSTERS.
Calo may be known for her poultry, but the seafood is of equal stature here — the Hokkaido scallops with clams, celery oil, and moringa oil continue the line of high-quality catch of the day. Treated with delicate care by Calo, the scallops cut like butter and chew like butter, too. Fresh and tender, they come alive with a pop of celery and the savory depth of clam.
HOKKAIDO SCALLOPS.
For the mains, the halibut in coconut cream sauce with cilantro and allium condiment is her take on an Asian-inspired fish curry that’s not shy of fresh herbs. It’s a satisfying dish that balances the richness of the coconut cream sauce with the herby pop of cilantro. The halibut is moist and soft, perfectly cooked, and soaks beautifully in the curry cream.
FISH CURRY.
It’s not a Calo meal without the duck breast with foie gras sauce and pickled ampalaya; the duck is cooked well — gamey but not overly so — and paired with an umami-rich foie gras sauce. What makes it more interesting is the pickled ampalaya; and to the ampalaya haters, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! Crunchy, slightly bitter but more tangy and even subtly sweet, it cuts through the duck’s richness in a pleasant way.
DUCK BREAST.
Don’t skip the potato purée, one of Calo’s famed side dishes from Metronome that still deserves the spotlight here. It’s a refined version of mashed potatoes — fluffy, slightly sweet, clearly made with premium French butter — and whipped until silky and indulgent enough to be eaten on its own.
POMME PUREE.
Calo’s food memories from her province continue to shape her palate — her town’s humble paksiw of garlic, vinegar, and salt eaten over rice is reimagined into Coquette’s best-selling stewed tuna roe rice using bihod, Capiz’s specialty. It doesn’t need an introduction; it cant stand on its own. The umami of the roe is bold in its flavor, rich but balanced, and makes this rice dish a rustic, hearty must-try.
STEWED TUNA ROE RICE.
Her shrimp kinilaw — Calo’s personal favorite — is made with Northern Mindanao’s traditional tabon-tabon, often used in their kinilaw to tone down the vinegar’s acidity and remove the “fishy” smell and taste. Calo also uses kabayawa citrus from Butuan, while replacing the usual tuna or tanigue with juicy, soft shrimp. It’s a satisfying appetizer that’s not overly acidic, with a slightly sweet profile from the shrimp and a punch of spice from the chopped chilis.
“This concept is an outlet for me — not all chefs want to do fine dining all the time,” she said. Here, plates are more casual and shareable, with her French fine training made more approachable in concept, presentation, and accessible in price point.
Sweet endings
For dessert, Calo’s head pastry chef Renzo Hernandez delivers the durian espuma with blackberry compote and jasmine. The fruit’s notoriously strong fragrance is distinct right away, but the taste is mellow and subtle, allowing it to shine without overpowering — even as someone who isn’t too keen on the fruit, this dessert was easy to finish.
DURIAN ESPUMA.
The durian pairs beautifully with the blackberry compote: the meringue providing creamy sweetness, the blackberry a fruity tart profile.
There’s also the chocolate cloud nine — layers of native chocolate in playful textures, from a satisfying crunch to a smooth, creamy center, all coming together for a fittingly child-like and comforting end to the meal.
INDULGENT ENDING.
“Here I’m playing around and getting a feel of the crowd, before a more permanent space in Newport,” she said. Here she is presenting a new facet of her as a chef, she added.
Calo makes it easy for both longtime patrons and first-time diners to appreciate her years of work in the kitchen. But this time, everything is her — the menu, the dishes, and herself on these plates. Coquette is both a playground and a homecoming, available for the public to experience until November this year. – Rappler.com
Casa Buenas is located at G/F Grand Wing Newport World Resorts, Portwood Street, Newport City, Pasay.
Dining and Cooking