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COCONUTS CRITIC’S TABLE — As soon as you walk up to Blackbird, it’s clear that dining here is not just a matter of sustenance. The curved driveway leads up to the cream and black art deco facade of the Nielson Tower, a historic airport and the only pre-World War II building in Makati. In Manila, which lost many of it’s glorious old buildings first to bombs, then to bulldozers, the Nielson Tower feels like a gem, worthy of reverence.
 
The restoration and interior design of the building does the building justice. Through the arched glass doorway, is the low-lit bar with tasteful dark turquoise couches, beveled mirrors, Kilim rugs, and arm chairs in boudoir tones nestled in intimate pairs around marble tables. Black, wide-slatted wooden blinds and stacks of old books give the room the feel of General MacArthur’s den at his colonial hacienda, if he had one. Period music played at just the right volume.   
 
From the start, the waiters were attentive. A water glass on a coaster appeared shortly after I sat down. The menu was a mix of classics and inventive cocktails with period ingredients and nods to the building’s history (Blackbird Aviation, Gin Palace). I ordered a Rhubarb and Violet Fizz and my date got a martini (all PHP390).
 
The curried popcorn served with the cocktails tried too hard and was disgusting, clashing upsettingly with my subtle and delicious cocktail. Blackbird aims for Southeast Asian twists on Western classics, and I worried that this seasoning misstep might become a theme in the dining room.
 
This was my third time at Blackbird, and the popcorn reminded me of my initial disappointment. My first time there was shortly after it opened. I had the fish pie, which, back then, warranted a reaction not much more enthusiastic than a shrug: something about too thick of a mashed potato topping and it generally reminding me of stoner food from the frozen aisle of the grocery store.
 
But even for experienced chefs it takes time to hone the details and I wanted to give Blackbird another shot. After all, the man behind Blackbird is Colin Mackay, the Scottish chef who opened Sala in Malate in 1996, before moving it to Makati. He’s also responsible for People’s Palace, a popular Thai restaurant where he continues to prove he knows his way around Southeast Asian ingredients, and Sala Bistro, home to my favorite steak tartare in the city.
 
We walked into the main dining room, past a spray of white orchids and the stunning spiral staircase leading up to the airport’s control tower, which in the current incarnation is a private dining room surrounded by the old balete trees of Ayala Triangle. This is a white table cloth place, and the clientele is undoubtedly well-heeled and leans heavily expat. The hum of conversation from other diners kept the mood lively without being obtrusive.
 
A waiter pulled out my chair, unfurled a heavily starched napkin on my lap and poured us sparkling water. We ordered prawn scotch eggs (PHP280) and beef carpaccio (PHP580) to start, a Wagyu hanger steak (PHP980) and lamb rendang (PHP760) for our mains, and a bottle of French pinot noir.

Lamb Rendang (PHP760) was no better than what you’d get at some street corner in Yangon or at a Malaysian mall chain restaurant for a tiny fraction of the price.  

I’m a stickler for good service and it is hard to come by in Manila. At a fine dining restaurant, I don’t want to have to wave down a waiter, who is furiously texting in some inaccessible corner somewhere. At Blackbird, service is sophisticated and the people are trained well. They’ve hit an elusive balance between professional, knowledgeable and friendly (not awkward or, worse, servile). The waitstaff are neither over-bearing nor indifferent. Plates were cleared when they were meant to, exchanges were warm and polite, and at no point was I aware of my water glass emptying.
 
The waiter casually walked up to our table and explained how to eat our appetizer, a signature dish at Blackbird: warm, soft-boiled quail eggs, coated in ground shrimp and lightly fried were nestled in a bed of cilantro, sambal and a heart-shaped betel leaf.
 
You know that feeling when food is so good you don’t want to want to eat anything afterwards because you want the taste to last forever? That bite of shrimp scotch egg could have been my last, they were so delicious. I love scotch eggs. Back home in New York there was happiness in buying a scotch egg and eating it as I walked the streets of the West Village. I would have hated this scotch egg if it did me even a little bit wrong. This Asian take on the British snack was very well done. Sweet, spicy and herbal, with perfect textures.
 
The greens on the carpaccio were crisp and fresh, and the meat was red, marbled and seductive. But the grated horseradish (a flavor I normally love) overpowered a dish whose main appeal is its delicateness. This strayed far off from the classic, and was not an improvement. It would have been better kept simple, with a good olive oil, a bit of lemon and Parmesan.
 
The pinot noir was pretty good, not spectacular, but at PHP2,300, we were playing in the lower end of the menu. I was encouraged that the wine wasn’t some obvious, vulgar bottle with a fake lion crest and an over-the-top name shouting its Frenchness from the rooftops. It didn’t blow me away, but it made me confident that whoever was choosing the wine list knew what they were doing.
 
The hanger steak was tender, perfectly medium rare, topped with a thick pad of butter, cut across the grain, in a good red wine sauce. The fries were well-done — crispy and not oily — though I don’t know why anyone does a thick cut. Blackbird’s hanger steak was possibly the best I’ve had in Manila.
 
The lamb rendang was good, delicious even, and as a lover of eggs, I appreciated the soft boiled, deep-fried guy nestled against the pile of curry and rice. However, the dish itself was no better than what you’d get at some street corner in Yangon or at a Malaysian mall chain restaurant for a tiny fraction of the price.
 
The plain side salad (PHP160) was surprisingly memorable. Every leaf was crispy, and this is most amazing: the dressing didn’t overpower the flavor of the greens. It was more proof that no detail is too insignificant.
 
For dessert, the peppered strawberry sundae (PHP340) with florets of whipped cream looked a little cheesy, but that didn’t matter. The toasted rice ice cream was a revelation (is there anything delicious Filipinos haven’t made with rice? Yes, this one thing). The strange flavors worked together beautifully. Even better than that was the stunning baked Alaska (PHP380), with cozily toasted meringue, soft sponge cake, strawberries and crunchy passionfruit seeds.

The baked Alaska (PHP380) was stunning, with cozily toasted meringue, soft sponge cake, strawberries and crunchy passionfruit seeds. 

 
Not every bite I put in my mouth was amazing — the flavors on the carpaccio undermined each other and the wine was forgettable. But a lot of it was great, nothing was upsetting and everything was competently executed. The whole experience was stitched together by great service and impeccable attention to detail — from the elegant interiors to the sultry Penhaligon’s soap in the bathroom to the heavy brass bowl the check came in. The Blackbird experience is about much more than the food. 
 
We ended our meal three hours later with an espresso in the backyard, among draping vines and lazily spinning ceiling fans. My date, who was visiting Manila from another country, said, “How can you not love this city with a little airport like this and a restaurant like this right in the middle of it?” I had to agree. And what’s the point of a good meal, if not to remind you that life is beautiful and worth living? We left Blackbird charmed and laughing.

Coconuts Manila dined anonymously and paid for this meal. 

Blackbird, Nielson Tower, Makati Avenue (near corner of Ayala Avenue), Makati; +63 2 8284888, Daily 11am-12am.

Photos: Anson Yu

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