We just capped off 2 back-to-back nights for our latest Cross Cultures collaboration featuring Andrew Walsh of Cure in Singapore and Nicco Santos of Hey Handsome in the Philippines. That’s #CureXHeyHandsome and #CrossCulturesByCherylTiu if you wanna have a scroll on Instagram.

I recently wrote about Nicco and Andy here, if you want to know a little bit more about their their culinary backgrounds. In the process of this collaboration dinner, I was asked a few times,  “What made you decide to  pair Cure and Hey Handsome?” Cure is one of my fave restaurants in Singapore that’s slightly underrated. I’ve been three since it opened mid-2015 (read my first review about it here),  and each time, it just keeps outdoing itself. Andy’s skill, professionalism and maturity are top.

Hey Handsome is one of the hottest restaurants in Manila today, and Nicco’s flavor palate is wonderful. (Read my review about it here.) Both share the common denominator of having lived in the Lion City. What I didn’t know was when Nicco first dined at Jason Atherton’s Esquina (when Andy was still head chef- he opened the restaurant in Singapore!) and later on at Cure, it was his dream to cook with him!!! So wow, we are thrilled this all became reality 3 years later. After all, while Cross Cultures is about exchange of cultures through food, it is also the sharing of culinary experiences and talents between chefs and cooks, in order to build a more global community, and all grow personally and professionally.

Here’s a photogenic recap of our two-night event. We served 8 courses to 50 pax per evening (so that’s 100 pax total, whew!) with 4 kinds of wines courtesy of Sommelier Selections, and Teeling Irish Whiskey (where we introduced to the Philippine market for the first time, as Andy is also Irish– and Teeling happens to be his favorite whiskey! You can order it on Gurkka and they can ship to anywhere in the PH!). Thanks also to Makati Diamond Residences, which was the official residence of the Cure team- Andy and chef de partie Kevin Wong- in Manila. A part of the proceeds of the dinner will benefit Action Against Hunger Philippines.

We hope to see you at future events! xx