Founded in 2012 by the Moment Group, Manam is Manila’s adored Filipino restaurant for making its diners feel at home with comforting meals.  After years of perfecting their craft and shaping the culinary landscape in the Philippines, The Moment Group has joined hands with two local brands for its first overseas venture in nowhere other than the vibrant Amoy Street neighbourhood. 

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At hayop, the chefs and owners promise to deliver a unique dining experience to Singapore’s food scene through the offering of Filipino cuisine.  I have had Filipino-inspired food before at Kubo (when it used to be at Robertson Quay), but must admit I have not had proper Filipino food before.  Therefore, I was looking forward to this meal once I heard that they were opening their doors in Singapore.
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The service was extremely prompt and shortly after we sat down, they took our orders for drinks / water.  I looked through their cocktail list and was quite taken in by how they named their cocktails.  Six different flavours, inspired by the dominant Philippine flavours – asim (sour), alat (salty), tamis (sweet), pait (bitter), anghang (spicy) and malinamnam (umami).  I got the malinammam and it is a very tropical cocktail, a clarified pina colada.  I love it because of the addition of pandan and coconut water.  Easy to drink and it ended up pairing well with the savouries after.
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Once everyone arrived, our first starter was served – Manam’s Crispy Palabok ($26).  A classic Filipino noodle dish in a savoury shrimp-based sauce.  Manam elevates it with crispy glass noodles, charred baby cuttlefish, tiger prawns, chicharron, smoked fish, crispy garlic and spring onion.
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The shrimp and annatto sauce is also poured over the noodles upon serving, which softens and coats each strand with deliciousness.  Reminds you a little of our “sang mien” at the tze char places?  Same concept but yummier. 
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Next, we had the Ensaladang Hayop ($14), a winged bean salad tossed in a salted egg yolk vinaigrette.  Don’t underestimate this signature salad. The salted egg white crumble and house-pickled watermelon rind gives it the saltiness and sourness, making it more unique than your usual greens. 
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The next appetiser is my favourite, tied with the Palabok.  The Lumpia ($14 for 2 pieces) is also known as spring rolls featuring delicate mung bean crepes topped with brown-butter roasted heirloom baby carrots, soy-braised young jackfruit and picked jicama. 
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Drizzle a generous amount of sweet soy garlic lumpier sauce that was made with a savoury mushroom stock before picking it up and eating it like a taco.  Use your hands for this so you can bite into this without anything falling apart. 
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You cannot make a trip to hayop without ordering their signature Manam’s House Crispy Sisig ($22).  A popular dish made from pork jowl and cheek, the meat is precisely chopped and served sizzling.  It goes so well with a bowl of fragrant jasmine rice, or better still order their Sinangag ($6) – rice that is sautéed in garlic confit oil and spring onions.  Thank us later, because the Sisig + Sinangag combination is *chef’s kiss*. 
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For my meat loving friends, the Midnight Adobo ($52) was a hit with them.  Adobo is considered by many to be the national dish of the Philippines, and hayop gives its twist by bracing bone-in beef short ribs in coconut vinegar, soy sauce and red wine.  The blended garlic in the sauce also adds flavour topping off with some confit garlic cloves.  Don’t waste the sauce, and instead drizzle it on the rice! 
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Another beef option is Manam’s Wagyu & Watermelon Sinigang ($56).  I prefer this dish because of how unique the sauce is.  Similar to the Adobo, beef short ribs are used, together with French beans, okra, kingkong, red radish, eggplant and charred watermelon and simmered in a tamarind and watermelon broth.  What results is a sweet, zesty savoury soup.  The meat is also fork tender, which makes it easy to eat. 
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The last meat dish we had was the Piyanggang Manok ($32).  The chicken is charcoal-grilled then braised in a burnt coconut paste, served alongside a piece of crispy chicken skin.  The staff will light a small flame at the table and quickly put it out with the sauce, so you get the smokey flavour without burning the entire dish. 
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For the vegetables, the Wild mushroom & Tofu Kare-Kare ($32) was a treat for mushroom-loving me.  Kare-are is a Philippine stew that features a thick savoury peanut sauce.  The addition of maitake mushrooms makes the dish a little more luxe. 
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Onto the desserts, I was most excited for the Halo-halo ($18).  It is a shaved ice dessert of ube, nana de coco, red bean, palm seeds, candied beans and jellies topped with house-made ube sorbets and leche flan.  Evaporated milk is served on the side to pour over.  This reminds me of ice kachang! 
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What stole my heart was the Buko Pie ($14). This coconut pie with sweet coconut filling, topped with a buttery crumble, whipped coconut cream and shaved parmesan.  The combination of a hot coconut pie and a cold sweet coconut filling with some savoury parmesan shavings – sooo dreamy. 
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I was in two minds whether to get another cocktail that night as it was a weekday night when I visited hayop.  But the staff highly recommended the Tamis (Sweet) to go with the desserts.  It is reminiscent of champorado, a Filipino chocolate-base porridge and comprises sake, crème de cacao, chocolate cream and toasted rice espuma.  

Can’t wait to be back at hayop – it’s a great place to hang out with friends and I would recommend going in a group for their sharing dishes.  

Budget: $35 – $50 per person

  • Hayop

  • Phone
    +65 8028 9012
  • Address
    104 Amoy St, Singapore 069924
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