You never know what to expect (except quality) at restaurant Hatch 22

“A catch 22 is a situation where you don’t really have an escape,” Monique Monasterio, Hatch 22’s Marketing Manager said. “Hatch 22 isn’t just a breakfast place. It’s an all-day dining concept. What we want is the community, if they want to have breakfast, they’ll choose us. If they want bread, coffee, dessert, lunch, dinner, cocktails, (they choose us). We wanted to create the situation where it doesn’t matter what you want or what time of day—you’d still come to Hatch 22.”

“It’s an ever-changing menu,” Executive Sous Chef Siggy Torrente adds. “We made it a point to be able to change it every three or six months, depending on what people like. We don’t put borders. Whatever’s available, whatever’s in the market, that’s how we play our menu.”

Hatch 22 opened in October last year. Though it is a collaboration of passionate partners, the two main faces attached to the restaurant are Executive Chef Pete Ayson and food enthusiast Erwan Heusaff, who is a Managing Partner. Chef Pete, together with Chef Siggy, is in charge of everything in the kitchen while Erwan handles the bar.

“The craft cocktails you can find here, you won’t find anywhere else. Erwan made them just for Hatch 22,” Monique said. “I actually asked if he was a mixologist. He said that it was something he learned along the way. He’s been working in hotels and kitchens and bars since high school, and he’s been around the world. It’s really his interest.”

About the food, Chef Siggy said. “People should be able to relate to the dishes—but with a bit of a twist, so we make it our own.”


An example of this is their pastry selection, which offers an assortment of Filipino bread, such as Spanish Bread. “People look for it, but then you only find it in neighborhood panaderos. So what we did is we brought it into the city so people can buy it anytime they want,” Chef Siggy said.

The Original Spanish Bread (P25) is firm, yet soft, with a not-too-sweet, creamy, dulce de leche filling. Other flavors include Bacon Onion, Nutella (“Everyone likes Nutella so we just put that in the Spanish bread.”), and Peanut Butter and Jelly (all P40). As with your panaderia-bought Spanish Bread, these go well with coffee.

If you’re looking for something more substantial, there is A Man’s Salad (Full P550/ Half P280). The salad is very macho, with everything shredded and tossed haphazardly, lest anyone think that there is anything dainty about eating vegetables. The steak is served medium rare unless requested otherwise—but then, what could be more manly than medium rare steak?

“I like steak salads. We just named it Man Salad because it’s quite a big portion for one person. There’s a spicy chipotle dressing. It’s not really for people who are into light salads…medyo may brusko na dating. And we have onions, olives, tomatoes, everything that you want in a salad with the steak,” Chef Siggy said.


The Moroccan Chicken (P480) is a spiced chicken stew with prune tea couscous and chickpea with cucumber and yoghurt dip. The dish is surprisingly light-flavored--almost neutral tasting--which can be quite refreshing. Onions and mangoes add sweetness, chickpeas add texture, and orange rind add subtle fragrance.

“It’s our take on stewed chicken, but we put Moroccan spices in it like cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg, so it’s more spicy, and we added yogurt and cucumber to it to complement the spices’ taste,” Chef Siggy said. “I don’t see much restaurants with couscous, so we added that to the menu with the chicken. I think that it’s a good, healthy option for diners. It’s our take on Mediterranean cuisine.”

The Dark Mousse Cake (P250) is one of the latest additions to the new menu. You get full chocolate flavor in the smooth mousse that sits over a suitably dense cake. It tastes lighter than it looks, and while it’ good on its own, it benefits from the contrast provided by the cream and cranberries that come with it.

“It’s basically dark chocolate mousse, (which we serve with) cranberries and whipped cream just to complement the strength of the dark chocolate,” said Chef Siggy.


Chef Siggy said that aside from the ever-changing menu, Hatch 22 plans to beef up its bakery. “(We’re going to have) different kinds of cinnamon rolls. Apart from the normal cinnamon roll, we’re going to have bacon cinnamon roll, pecan and coco jam, yema, and pinipig. It’s something that you don’t even think of eating but you’ll be surprised, it’s going to work and it’s going to be really, really nice,” she said.

“We’re also going to have different kinds of biscuits. At the moment, we have the cheese biscuit. We’re going to have rosemary and onions, orange and thyme. Maybe next time, we’re going to play with Pan de Mon. That’s the thing with Hatch 22. You never know what you’re going to see,” she added. “We never know, either.” ’

Which exactly how everyone likes it. — VC, GMA News


Hatch 22 can be found at the G/F Powerplant Mall, Amorsolo Drive, Poblacion, Makati. Call them at +63915-1097711 for reservations and inquiries.