At Liyab, Chef Charles Montañez leans into fire, time, and untouched ingredients, building the dining experience around connection and intensity.
Through its platform CRAVE, Lifestyle Asia continues to explore what we gather around when we eat, looking beyond the plate to the stories, rituals, and experiences that give food meaning. In this April CRAVE feature, we turn our focus to Chef Charles Montañez and his new dining concept Liyab, where fire, flavor, and philosophy converge. In an intimate, in-kitchen conversation, the chef reflects on his journey, the ethos behind the space, and the creation of a dish that encapsulates Liyab’s identity.
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Can you introduce Liyab? How did it begin and what was your vision for it?
Charles: Liyab is a Filipino ingredient-forward restaurant, and we utilize time and fire as an ally, rather than just masking them. And apart from that, we do a lot of table-side play things, because we want to be able to connect to our guests effectively. We don’t want them coming here and feeling like they’re not part of the bigger picture. So I think that’s the difference between Liyab and your usual concept of dining, our format has always been built around being able to connect effectively with people.
What dish are you preparing for us today? What does it say about Liyab, its story, its identity, or its philosophy?
Charles: For the dish that we’re doing today, we intentionally chose the second course: local wagyu sirloin, because not everyone knows that we have that kind of cattle here in the country, along with sea urchin that has been harvested from Negros. It represents Liyab because it doesn’t skimp on flavors and it definitely presents how beautiful our produce can be in our landscape and seawaters.
Can you tell us about the Slow Food Movement and what it means to you? How is this philosophy reflected in Liyab’s menu and experience?
Charles: The Slow Food movement is a grassroots organization that promotes food that’s good, clean, and fair. We utilize products from farmers who use ingredients that are on the brink of extinction, as we want to keep them going. Furthermore, the process is very organic and goes straight from the farm to the table.
