In a Julia Vargas joint, Pinoy barbecue and authentic British fish and chips are served

British chef Matthew Bates moved to the Philippines roughly eight years ago, and met Filipino-Chinese chef Matthew Lim at the restaurant they were both working in back in the day. Their friendship, much like the food they offer, is made by taking the best out of Asian and European culinary influences.

The two opened CargoFish at the al fresco area of Uptown Mall in Bonifacio Global City in 2017, and a year later, Bates and Lim opened its second branch at City Golf Plaza in Ortigas. The authentic fish and chips shop was made even better with a new restaurant concept: Burnt Bamboo.

“We were looking to expand and we found this location, and Matthew (Lim) has had an idea for a grill for some time, so as [Cargofish] focused on fish, we wanted to do something with meat,” Bates shared. “We came up with Burnt Bamboo, which is a grill where you have options.”

Burnt Bamboo offers both street food classics (like isaw, betamax, adidas, pork bbq) and adventurous skewers (like garlic longganisa, chicken wing, beef kofta, sausage and onion, pork belly, beef tenderloin, prawn), which all go so well with the traditional sweet and smoky glaze — sort of a slightly elevated version of your favorite streetside barbecue sauce.

The two Matthews couldn’t decide on the “right” barbecue  flavor combination, so the duo came up with 12 different kinds of glaze instead: original BBQ glaze, white BBQ, hot sauce, satay, Korean BBQ, chimichurri, dirty mayo, nuoc cham (a Vietnamese classic), gravy, teriyaki, yogurt, and sweet and sour.

Lim, a self-confessed vinegar lover, came up with their own bottled vinegar with onions, garlic, and cucumber for a touch of freshness to balance the acidity.

“I love vinegar, I put it on almost everything,” Lim shared. “For me, since our flavors are quite strong, the vinegar is a good way to cut through the richness and take away [that cloying feeling].”

You can pair your meaty skewers with rice or salad, depending on how hungry you are. The price range is accessible at only P35 to P55 per stick. If you want more glaze, just add P25.

In the same space is Cargofish, which allows diners to fully customize their fish and chips experience: choose your beer-battered meat (from Tilapia to Cod to Salmon, they even have chicken breast and sausage), choose your sides (they have proper chips, sweet potato fries, onion rings, slaw, and cargo rice, and finally, choose your sauce. There are seven house-made selections: seafood barbecue, tartar, mushy peas, honey jalapeno, lime-chili cilantro, roasted garlic, and chip shop curry.

For an authentic British beer-battered fish & chips experience, go for the Cod fish with a side of proper chips with mushy peas and chip shop curry for the sauce.

We highly recommend their sweet potato chips dipped in their roasted garlic sauce. It’s the chip experience you deserve.

Cargofish’s chips are fried three times to achieve maximum crispiness on the outside and a gloriously fluffy interior. Apparently, bathing three times in hot oil pays off. Cargofish also offers more light bites to go with your beer-battered fish and skewers, like Dirty Nachos, Chicken Skin, and Coughin’ Sisig (a must-try).

— LA, GMA News

Unit 106-107 City Golf Plaza, Doña Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City. Facebook. Instagram. Sunday: 11am - 1am, Mon - Thu: 11am - 4am, Fri & Sat: 11am - 6am