Nustar Resort and Casino on Kawit Point in Cebu unveils the star of its world-class dining options
Mott 32 is in the Philippines!
Not in Manila, but in Cebu, though it has yet to open to the public as a jewel on the dining crown of Nustar Resort and Casino that the company behind the homegrown five-star integrated resort complex envisions as an island of the very best possibilities in dining, shopping, gaming, events, entertainment, and vacations.
Mott 32 is a Chinese restaurant, but it’s not like any Chinese restaurant, with its take on Cantonese as well as Szechuan, Shanghainese, and Beijing dishes. Let’s just say it’s Chinese, but with a New York attitude, perhaps even a flair for Broadway.
It’s an homage to 32 Mott Street, the very heart of Chinatown in Manhattan, where the first Chinese general goods store had arguably stood from 1891, serving for most of its lifespan as a pharmacy, a dry goods store, and a mail drop, later becoming an eatery and then a souvenir shop before shutting down in 2003 to give way to its new owners.
First opened in Hong Kong in 2014, Mott 32 has since amassed attention, accolades, and awards, including a Michelin star, among gastronomes, gourmands, and bons vivants, not only because of what it serves on the table but also where the table is at, an environment that is more like a bar with a sophisticated mix of traditional elements with modern touches and raw materials with delicate detailing.
The year the former storage facility, which housed family heirlooms and bric-a-brac owned by wealthy Chinese immigrants, transformed by sleight of London interior design firm Joyce Wang Studio’s hand into Mott 32 in Central, Hong Kong, it was named Best Interior Space of 2014 by the Inside World Festival of Interiors within the World Architecture Festival on account of its “rich texture, theatrical environment, and sophisticated detail.” As one of few dining concepts that have made its way to the West from the East, instead of the other way around, it has also since opened in Vancouver, Las Vegas, Bangkok, Seoul, and Singapore. Dubai is in the works.
Cebu has joined this list of very carefully chosen locations around the world. Over the weekend, timed right after the end of the ghost month in the lunar calendar on Aug. 26, Mott 32 threw a pre-opening lunch, a dress rehearsal for when it opens its doors to the public at the Nustar Resort and Casino in Cebu City, an upscale development of the Gokongwei Group, under the Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) and Robinsons Hotels and Resorts (RHR).
And yet, it was a grand affair, with no less than Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, accompanied by her son Duke Liam, Gokongwei Group head Lance Gokongwei, RLC president and CEO Frederick Go, RHR senior vice president and business unit general manager Arthur Gindap, Nustar general manager Paolo Campillo, and Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama sounding the ceremonial gongs to formally welcome Mott 32 in Cebu City.
Also in town were two-Michelin star executive chef Lee Man-sing and Xuan Mu, group managing director of Maximal Concepts, the company behind Mott 32, where he is joined at the helm by co-founders and leading influences in global F&B Malcolm Wood and Matt Reid.
Let’s just say it’s Chinese, but with a New York attitude, perhaps even a flair for Broadway.
Served at the preview lunch were some of the Mott 32 signatures, particularly the Barbecue Pluma Iberico Pork from top-grade Iberian pigs raised on a diet of acorns, grass, and herbs. It’s roasted true to traditional Chinese roasting methods with multiple temperature adjustments to keep the meat soft yet succulent within a smokey, charred exterior glazed lightly with yellow mountain honey.
Frederick Go shared that, while they were planning the dining options at Nustar, from a short list of only “the best of the best” Chinese restaurants in the world to bring into the property, Mott 32 was the choice hands down. I asked him, as he sounded 100 percent confident that Nustar is going to be a world landmark, rather than just a Cebu or Philippine or Southeast Asia landmark resort complex, what he would order if he were to walk into Mott 32 for the first time. Readily, he said, “Definitely the pork char siu. I’m sorry if it won’t pass your standards today, but this is just a sneak preview. I was assured it would get much better in a week or two.” The Iberico pork didn’t disappoint, but I look forward to having it again once the restaurant is in full swing.
Also served, accompanied by cucumber, scallions, raw cane sugar, fresh garlic sauce, house-made hoisin sauce, and fresh steamed pancakes, was the Mott Duck, the 42 Days Apple Wood Smoked Peking Duck, also the star of every evening at Mott 32 anywhere in the world. It was cooked in the restaurant’s custom duck oven and roasted for 48 hours. The Smoked Black Cod, featuring apple wood-smoked black cod filets covered in a light batter, fried to a golden crisp, and finished with a special sauce, was also memorable.
Among the dim sum collection, my favorite was the croquettes stuffed with chicken, prawn, and taro, made better by nostalgia, as it reminded me of the taro puffs at Tin Hau, the signature gourmet Chinese restaurant at the long-gone Mandarin Oriental Manila, but also interesting, without personal memories to enhance it, was the siu mai stuffed with Iberico pork, black truffle, and a soft quail egg at its center.
The preview lunch was capped off with sweetened mango soup with pomelo and sago as well as with coconut ice cream topped with pomelo, grapefruit, and honeycomb.
Mott 32 self-identifies as a casual restaurant, but it’s too chic for casual even at lunch, with its lush atmosphere, especially in Cebu, where it overlooks an untrammeled view of the Mactan Channel, cut only by the Spanish-designed 8.9-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Bridge, the longest sea-crossing bridge in the Philippines so far, supported by 145-meter-high twin tower pylons, which add to its design attributes.
Its gorgeous bar, with playful cocktails like Forbidden Rose astir with vanilla-infused macchu pisco, passion fruit, lychee, chili, lemon, and edible flowers or the Hanami made with Buffalo Trace Whiskey, Tanqueray gin, Umeshu, Yuzu, Shisho, ginger beer, and chrysanthemum or the Fujian negroni, demands that you dress for a party.
Dress up for Mott 32, like China dressed in its ancient civilization or like New York dressed in the cutting edge of fashion or like Cebu that’s just ready to take its place in the world. Or dress for fun, especially in the evening.
