MANILA, Philippines – With restaurants mushrooming everywhere in the Metro—from the hills of Tagaytay to the mountains of Baguio—even the most creative of chefs would have to think long and hard for an idea that would lure customers in. Some have gone the way of serving haute French cuisine, giving fancy foie gras and seductive souffles. Others capitalize on quantity, serving huge slabs of steak. The patriots attempt to compete for the finest Filipino fare.

In an obscure restaurant on N. Garcia Street (formerly Reposo), a brave,young chef decided against deciding. A rebel against the menu as we know it, Chef Marco Legasto of Purple Feet has taken on the challenge of giving you what you want, how you want it. He calls it “freestyling.” A menu board, literally a blackboard with a menu written on it in chalk, shows what the waiters call “‘raw ingredients.” Kind of like a grocery list for a lavish party with colorful guests. At first glance, it looks like your ordinary menu, divided into Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Pork, Poultry, Meat, Seafoods, Pasta and Dessert. Upon closer inspection, though, you realize it does not tell you how each would be cooked. The Soup section simply says “Soup of the Day.” The Poultry section says “ostrich, duck breast, chicken breast,” without expounding on how this will be cooked.

And that is basic the idea. The chef brilliantly—or lazily or wickedly—throws the question back at you. You decide. Would you like your chicken curried, adobo’d, fried or Hainanese style? Would you like your scallops served with French or Chinese flair? Would you like your fish buttered or grilled or in bouillabaisse?

It’s tricky the first time you dine. My tall designer friend, Goliath, who has bad eyes, tried to ask for a printed menu that he could bring close to his nose. Alas, there was none, so poor Goliath had to get up and walk close to the board like the nerd from the back row of a high school class trying to complete his notes to get the lowdown on the menu. Others are just stumped. “I want fish but I’m not really sure how I want it...”

And there lies the trick. What I observed is that the waiters have set suggestions: For chicken, they have the Stuffed Chicken with Spinach, Cheese and Pesto Pasta. For scallops, it’s “European style.” For fish, it is baked in Parmesan cheese. Most acquiesce. What I realized is that for the most part, people want to be guided by a real menu. You don’t want to have to think about how you want your food cooked or how you will be served. You just want your food cooked and served. You just want to plop in your seat and say, “That’s what I fancy.” So, stripped of a guide, you will just tend to go with whatever the waiter says.

Others, of course, are more particular. And this is where the chef gets his own dose of the trick. Chef Marco, in a phone interview, shared that his biggest challenge was when a kid asked for “sinampalukan" and he was out of tamarind. During our visit, Goliath gave the waiter the challenge of a chicken burger “like a McChicken.” The waiter’s face shifted from surprised— “chicken burger?”—to shocked to "saklolo", running to Chef Marco for help. Cool, calm, collected chef approached the table unfazed, “You asked for a chicken burger?” Read: “You dare challenge the chef?” Goliath did not cower, “Only if you can make one, otherwise it’s ok.” The chef: “Of course. Would you like the chicken minced or grilled?” Goliath, who in truth couldn’t care less, chose minced. P300 (what we estimated would be the price of the burger) was on the table, the bet on that the burger would not arrive. Five minutes later, Chef Marco walks back to the group—still confident, but with bad news. “We’ve run out of chicken...” he explained with a smile.

“How can you run out of chicken?!” Goliath asked aloud when the chef was out of earshot, collecting his P300. “It is a full night,” I answered in defense of the restaurant. “Yes, but... a restaurant doesn’t usually run out of chicken,” Goliath reasoned. There lies the challenge of freestyling, which Chef Marco explained in a phone interview later was something they conceived “to please each guest,” unlike other restaurants where only a fraction of those in attendance are actually in the mood for the cuisine of choice. Lesson: in trying to please everyone, sometimes you end up pleasing no one.

As was the case for our table on my second visit. Ours was a party of four (let’s call us A, B, C and me) with each of us placing a different order. After the Salad Special, which I thoroughly enjoyed, service was downhill. A’s order of fish came. Alone. So we all dipped into his dish. When this was consumed, B’s order of seafood pasta was served. Again, alone. And only when the pasta dish was almost finished did my osso bucco and C’s chicken arrive. “Ano ba ’to, bakit tinge-tinge?” C complained (Why are they serving our orders one at a time?) “Ma’am it’s because the items on our menu are raw,” the waiter explained. But that’s the case at any restaurant—the ingredients in the kitchen are supposed to be raw.

Nevertheless, if you don’t mind waiting, some dishes are highly recommendable. An appetizer of stuffed mushrooms that I had on my first visit was gloriously cheesy. B’s seafood pasta, on my second visit, had fish that would melt in you mouth and a wine reduction sauce that made the pasta dance with flavor. The Parmesan crusted fish has the softness of the fish lying just under the crunchiness of the crust and the mild saltiness of the fish pegged against the sharp saltiness of Parmesan. Beautiful. The steak, which I had on yet another visit, is also juicy-licious.

Other items are so-so. The croquettas lacked crunch and its accompanying cream lacked kick. The stuffed chicken was a bit on the bland side, with the accompanying pesto too dry and lackluster. The “European style scallops” did offer a unique flavor but one that would take yet some getting used to.

And then, some items are just out of stock. The hakaw was not available. (I thought it would be a good opportunity to discover a good wine pairing for hakaw) And then, there’s the case of the out-of-stock chicken.

Yet there’s a bravado about Chef Marco and team that must be applauded. He had an idea and executed it. He dares. Anyway, they didn’t set up the restaurant to be the best out there. They simply wanted to open a restaurant to complement The Wine Depot on Reposo and show that wine can complement any cuisine. And that, they achieve. Guests may browse through the wine selection in the shop—which may sell for as low as just over P150 a bottle—and have this with whatever they want on the blackboard. And that is something to truly enjoy.

PURPLE FEET at Wine Depot #217 Nicanor Garcia (formerly Reposo) St., Bel Air, Makati. 897-3220 or 897-8167. Ground level wheelchair access. Casual. Major credit cards accepted.