Chef Jay Jay Sycip Unveils A New Season Of Fresh And Vibrant Flavors With A New Menu At The Fatted Calf
Dante Ulanday - Senior News Editor 
There's always a compelling reason to visit The Fatted Calf down south in Tagaytay. A solid repertoire of masterfully executed dishes with the finest farm-to-table ingredients. And a new menu. Chef Jay Jay Sycip gets creative with a lavish new menu at the Tagaytay dining destination. Fifteen exquisite new expressions. That's fifteen more reasons to visit The Fatted Calf...
The consistent roll-out of new menus is integral to The Fatted Calf's continuous creative cycle helmed by Chef Jay Jay Sycip resulting in flavorful new stories. Sourcing produce and ingredients from local farms, Chef Jay Jay Sycip's culinary philosophy is driven by an advocacy for the freshest farm-to-table harvest lavishly prepared in modern and classic techniques. With new menus, Chef Jay Jay Sycip adds even more pages and chapters to a continuing story in the deep exploration of flavors. The new menu takes diners on a memorable journey around Asia and Southeast Asia as inspirational pegs for The Fatted Calf's impressive new repertoire of culinary creations. Step inside The Fatted Calf for a tasty peek...
Chef Jay Jay Sycip is one of the country's prolific culinary storytellers, trained in classic techniques and a passionate advocate for the freshest and finest local farm-to-table produce. Through the years, since it opened back in 2021 in its former location to its recent transfer to its current new home along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Road in 2023, The Fatted Calf has been sharing countless stories expressed in exquisitely plated and meticulously executed dishes reflecting Chef Jay Jay Sycip's philosophy. From transforming familiar flavors to creative new expressions, Chef Jay Jay Sycip's unrestrained creativity always makes dining at The Fatted Calf excitingly new, refreshing and different (for more on The Fatted Calf, see my earlier posts tracing the Tagaytay dining destination's evolution at Serendipitous Journeys: Feast And Celebrate At The Fatted Calf Farmhouse Kitchen from five years ago at their original location, Sumptuous Feasts, Wine Down Fridays And Farmhouse Sessions At The Fatte, d Calf from 2022, Feast And Celebrate Once More, The Fatted Calf Farmhouse Kitchen Reopens At Its New Location In Tagaytay on their transfer to its current location, Tagaytay Food Festival Day 2: Unveiling The Food That Binds At The Fatted Calf x Restaurant Fiz Singapore Dinner Collaboration from last year and Plating Fresh Stories With A New Menu By Chef Jay Jay Sycip At The Fatted Calf In Tagaytay from December last year).
Your dining experience at The Fatted Calf begins with soft and warm fresh-baked rolls served with organic locally sourced butter...
...paired with a refreshing housemade soda, the Lemon-Lime with lemon and lime citrus, sparkling water and vanilla. Each course, from starters to mains and dessert is given the same attention to detail by Chef Jay Jay Sycip's culinary team at The Fatted Calf.
What makes dining at The Fatted Calf so exciting is Chef Jay Jay Sycip's playfully inventive style of transforming familiar flavors expressed in new and even unexpected renditions like the Patatim Terrine made with pork hocks, sweet molasses, and earthy mushrooms served with house-made baguette and raisin relish. A generous dab of the novel terrine brings the comfortingly familiar hints of patatim from the very first bite, perfectly complemented by the sweet tartness of the raising relish. Off the bat, Chef Jay Jay Sycip kicks off his new menu with an impressive start.
The Stuffed Chicken Wings takes inspiration from the traditional Chinese savory and sticky glutinous rice staple "machang" expressed in yet another exciting rendition using farm-fresh chicken wings, glutinous rice, Chinese chorizo, mushrooms and housemade naturally grown bacon. Perfectly crisp and juicy, the chicken wings are well executed, but it's the vessel for the real flavor surprise of glutinous rice filling with Chinese chorizo, mushrooms and all-natural housemade bacon. The familiar becomes refreshingly new, exciting and different, a recurring theme by Chef Jay Jay Sycip at The Fatted Calf.
Back in the semi-open kitchen, the team prepares the next course from the new menu at The Fatted Calf...
The Grilled Bone Marrow with locally sourced beef bones, XO Sauce, pickled red onions, daikon radish, and kaffir served with housemade Ciabatta. The bold, sharp notes of the XO Sauce made with bacalao instead of the usual shrimps or scallops adds a subtle richness, cutting through the buttery notes and mild smoky hints of the marrow for that perfectly balanced finish. The marrow is in itself flavorful but the addition of XO Sauce, pickled red onions and fresh radish adds to the medley of contrasting flavors and textures.
The Beef Rolls with Kerala Beef Fry, Roti Jala or soft Southeast Asian crepe with its distinctive net-like appearance, coconut, curry, curry leaf, a rich blend of spices and silky smooth garlic cream takes another page from traditional Asian notes. The curry is reduced then fried resulting in intense and concentrated flavors stuffed in the soft roti jala. The elegant plating feeds first the eyes before the palate for another creative culinary expression by Chef Jay Jay Sycip at The Fatted Calf.
Chef Jay Jay Sycip then served a trio of pasta dishes with Southeast Asian inspired duck and Thai sausage variations plus a savory steak pasta. Again, Chef Jay Jay reimagines pasta with his creative play on flavors for more colorful stories at The Fatted Calf.
Chef Jay Jay plays with fire with a spicy palate-numbing number with the Chiang Mai Sausage Pasta featuring savory housemade Chiang Mai sausages, chilies, Thai aromatics, kaffir and lime. Each tasty bite builds on the heat with an intense yet soothing layer of flavorful richness. The fiery notes of the chilies are somewhat tempered by the cinnamon-like sweetness of the kaffir leaves. It's a comforting pasta rendition with some serious heat.
The Duck Rendang Pasta is another inspired pasta creation with the deep lingering hints of Indonesian spices, turmeric and a blend of aromatics enriched with coconut featuring premium EDL Farms duck. The richness of the rendang is the flavorful base of the pasta, made even richer with tender and savory duck for indulgent flavors.
The Steak Fettucine with the acclaimed Australian Wagyu Oyster Blade, rich beef au jus and housemade fettucine adds an indulgent creamy finish to a savory pasta expression. The bold, beefy notes of the premium Australian Wagyu Oyster Blade are enhanced by the beef au jus enriched creamy sauce for a double dose of savory richness.
Chef Jay Jay brings a Southeast Asian spin to the classic chicken sandwich for his creative take with the Grilled Chicken Satay Sandwich using farm fresh chicken slathered in satay sauce with roasted sesame on a pillow-soft potato bun.
From the soft potato bun to the crisp garden fresh vegetables and juicy slab of grilled chicken satay, every bite releases a vibrant burst of rich notes with the satay sauce tying everything together for a fresh take on the usual chicken sandwich with that distinctive The Fatted Calf flair.
The Grilled Chicken Sambal with naturally grown chicken, coconut and aromatics is another top pick high up on my list from the new menu at The Fatted Calf. Grilled, braised and grilled again, the tender and juicy chicken is slowly infused with the indulgent hints of coconut and aromatics for that layer of pure savory indulgence.
The Dry-Aged Sea Bream in Corn and Salted Egg Emulsion is another masterful play in delicate flavors. The subtle briny sweetness of the wild-caught sea bream is perfectly complemented by the sweetness of corn and mildly salty hints of the salted egg with curry leaves and fresh cilantro completing the flavors. It's been said many times before, freshness is flavor and this dish celebrates it right from the very first bite. The dry-aging process also adds to the flavor experience with deeper, concentrated and more rounded flavors matched by a firm and delectable texture. A fresh squeeze of lime brings out even more flavors.
The Braised Brisket in Miso-Aligue is yet another masterful execution of pure savory goodness with local Wagyu beef brisket made even richer with Japanese miso and Guagua aligue or crab fat paired with intricately stacked potato pave, sous-vide rainbow carrots and pickled peppers. The decadent duo of Japanese miso and crab fat from Guagua combine for a sinfully rich finish enhancing the bold flavors of the local Wagyu beef brisket for one more tempting option from the new menu at The Fatted Calf.
The Dry-Aged Tanigue in Coconut and Lime Sauce is another dish reflecting Chef Jay Jay's dry-aging culinary technique resulting in concentrated and intense flavors matched with a firm yet soft texture for that proper bite followed by an elegant melt-in-your-mouth finish. The highly complex and technical nature of the dish brings out exactly what Chef Jay Jay intended to achieve, elevating the flavors and textures of fresh seafood with the traditional dry-aging technique. And it clearly works for another memorable dish from the new menu at The Fatted Calf.
The Crispy Omelette with Grilled Prawns is the impressive finale for Chef Jay Jay's new menu at The Fatted Calf. The crisp on the edges with a soft and fluffy center omelette made with farm-fresh eggs topped with large and succulent wild-caught prawns, sweet chili aioli, aromatics and sweet soy is an elegant expression of textural contrast and fresh, clean and vibrant notes in one dish. The briny sweetness of the plump wild-caught prawns comes through complemented by the sweet soy and sweet chili aioli, all rounded out and perfectly finished by the crisp and fluffy omelette for another pick on my list at The Fatted Calf.
Chef Jay Jay Sycip's better half, Chef Rhea Castro-Sycip provides the perfect sweet ending to another lavish feast at The Fatted Calf with her decadent duo of indulgent cakes like the Mahu Cheesecake. The exquisite creation features a lusciously creamy cheesecake on a pork floss and polvoron crust for a unique sweet and savory finish...
...and the Thai Milk Tea Cake, a velvety creation recreating familiar flavors in cake form. At The Fatted Calf, Chef Jay Jay's mastery of savory flavors is matched by Chef Rhea's creative execution of cakes and pastries for a winning tandem in Tagaytay's evolving culinary scene. Through the years, The Fatted Calf has been a top dining destination down south with its inspired take on farm-to-table cuisine. As The Fatted Calf celebrates its milestone third anniversary in its current location, guests and loyal diners can expect even more flavorful stories from Chefs Jay Jay Sycip and Rhea Castro-Sycip. And there's more stories yet to come, that's for sure...
The Fatted Calf is located along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Road, Tagaytay City (past Tagaytay Radar, the city's oldest landmark). You can also visit their FB Page at https://www.facebook.com/fattedcalfph/ for updates or call 0977 643 7477 for inquiries.
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