It truly was a bacon-filled, Filipino homecoming when Baken brought Johanne Siy of Lolla Singapore and Jordy Navarra of Toyo Eatery together for a memorable kamayan dinner. Held at Toyo, the dinner was part of a three-day culinary roadshow heralding Baken’s growing local distribution, and it was the opportunity for the all-bacon snack brand, made with 100 percent real bacon and no artificial substitutes, to say thank you to its partners, stakeholders and the media. Baken is originally a Singapore-based brand.

On the night that I enjoyed the kamayan dinner, Rachel Carrasco, Baken founder and CEO, offered a short introduction to the event and was joined by Johanne and Jordy. Johanne is the recipient of the Asia’s Best Female Chef Award 2023 and is Filipino-born. Her Lolla, along Ann Siang Road in Singapore, is a Michelin-selected restaurant and stands as a testament to her persistence, gift for reinvention and outright kitchen wizardry.

Jordy is the chef and owner behind Toyo Eatery, ranked No. 24 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list. Toyo has been cited as winner of the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award 2025 and won Best Sustainable Restaurant in 2023. The restaurant highlights Filipino heritage and food culture as a personal hospitality experience, so it was only fitting to have the two Filipinas, who are based in Singapore, joining hands with Jordy—and making the dinner a Pinoy

Before entering the dining hall of Toyo, a lambanog-inspired slushie cocktail was served, with Filipino street food snacks that found ways to incorporate Baken products. There were fish balls with a bacon jam sawsawan, the smoked bacon and fermented pork empanada, and my favorite, the spicy, rolled-up piaya with bacon crisps and sambal. If this was the teaser for the feast to follow, I was genuinely excited to sample the dishes of this Johanne-Jordy collaboration—the Big J’s of the night.

What I appreciated about the dinner was that it wasn’t presented as a tasting menu, but came in distinct "waves"—each wave represented by two to three dishes. In true kamayan style, we were instructed to just indulge and not to think in terms of some preconceived order.

First up were the Kueh Pie Tie with kesong puti and bacon jam—this one I would guess was pure Johanne—then fried oysters with bacon crisps and a reinvented baconsilog. The trio worked as appetizers that offered a variety of flavors and a play on textures. And I’ll salute the two chefs on how imaginative they were in incorporating the Baken products.

When the pandan rice wrapped in banana leaf came out, and the homemade suka with smoked bacon fat was poured into individual bowls, we knew we were now entering the “serious eating” segment of the night. Assorted dried fish and bacon crisps were then placed on the rice, and the various main courses were marched out.

In the order of “my favorites,” these dishes were the tuna, inihaw na bacon crisps and calamansi, which was served refreshingly cold; and then the crab relleno, bacon jam, pansit-pansitan. This was a nice surprise, as the morsels of crab meat were swimming in the sauce, so it was literally lift the shell and discover your treasure trove.

The fried bisugo, garlic and bacon jam was excellent, deboned to perfection and grilled. The second cold dish was the hinalabos ng hipon with smoked bacon stock, and this one was worth the mention because of the uniform large size of the meaty Calatagan shrimps.

The grilled squid with bacon patis was served on BBQ sticks and, to be honest, was anticlimactic after all the other dishes had me reaching for superlatives. There was nothing wrong with the squid, just that it seemed like regular fare.

The lechon that was served as the last main course was the honorary salute to Filipino feasting, and I liked how little bits of Baken had been used while the lechon was being cooked on the spit.

What I loved about the dinner was the keen sense of collaboration between the two chefs. It was very Filipino and traditional, but served up in an inventive manner. It was Filipino seafood and mainstays elevated and refined, while asking us to eat with our hands. As a result, each table bonded, and there was a sense of small communities fostered. Thank Baken, Lolla and Toyo for making that happen.