Chef Frances Tariga is back, creating her own language of food with Taglish. It’s brash, it’s proud, it’s talented, it’s both homage and whimsy, it’s multicultural, and it’s unapologetic. Located on the fourth floor of the Levanto Building on Jupiter Street, it’s the next-door neighbor of her Tadhana.

With Taglish, we’re in a la carte country; but here again, it’s a la carte as defined, with specific intention and design, by Chef Frances. She’s even called it a Seafood Steakhouse, knowing that would lead some to be puzzled by the food concept’s seemingly ‘schiz’ identity. But Chef Frances is just smiling and laughing her way back to the kitchen on the evening my sons and I dine at Taglish, confident that by the end of the night, her food will have done all the talking that needs to be said... and she’s right!

For those still unfamiliar with the Chef Frances story, she was born and raised in Manila, started her culinary career in Dubai, at a seven-star hotel, then worked for the royal family. As private chef to the Royal Ambassador of Dubai to the United Nations, she traveled to New York City, and competed five times on television shows, the most memorable being her stint on Top Chef Season 13. Tadhana, her first restaurant, is a tasting menu experience inspired by her Filipino heritage.

With Taglish, the Seafood Steakhouse moniker translates to casual, yet ‘sosyal na dampa’ - a blending of Filipino flavors with global techniques and ingredients. If you enter Taglish with an open mind, your heart will soon follow, as there are so many dishes to fall in love with.

Our first hint of what was to come that night was the Guimaras Crab Cocktail, placed on a closed globe, that’s sitting on a bed of ice. It’s a wonderful introduction to the playful intent of Chef Frances with seafood. The morsels of crab are wonderfully complemented by the sauce, and act like a cocktail in solid form.

The Seafood Tower that follows is a medley of the choicest raw and cooked seafood that’s served chilled on ice, and is reminiscent of the ‘plateau de fruits de mer’ that we get in our favorite Paris brasserie. Lobster, crab, oysters, ‘suave’ shrimp. It’s in the freshness, the sauces, and the preparation - and one will just adore the presentation of this refined tower. My three sons loved this shareable dish.

The Crack Salad had me wondering if I had misheard the waiter, thinking he had said Crab. But no, it was Crack, and with the tocino bacon, and the blue cheese; this was an immediate favorite of mine. It’s a salad that aspires to be unique and very singular to the Tariga vision.

Goldfish Cheddar Biscutti is the savory fish-shaped pastry that actually had me moaning. As this was like that bread dish in the middle of a degustation - nothing wrong about it, and it is good, but it’ll make you feel full when there are still so many dishes to come.

And I was right, because up next were the skewers. The Langoustine is scampi, with a citrus crumble - and this was truly excellent. It’s my pick for most favorite dish of the evening. And my boys were nodding in agreement.

Pugita was the second skewer dish we indulged in - octopus with potatoes, and while I was just cool with this one, my eldest, Quintin, pegged this as among his favorites. And I liked that this was happening, how we were reacting to Chef Frances’ dishes differently.

The Pasta Crab Papardelle was the sole pasta dish that we had, and while it was good, I was regretting how I was getting stuffed at this point when there were so many dishes I had eyed and wanted to still try.

Chori Baked Mussels is exactly how it’s named, bits of chorizo lining the shells of the mussels. The combination works, producing a very distinct flavor profile. Could very well be one of the future bestsellers at Taglish.

What follows is the Tocino Bacon; and later in the night, I tease Chef Frances about this dish. I don’t normally go for Tocino because of its texture; but this was slab bacon flavored to taste like Tocino, and I loved it! It’s accompanied by local tomatoes.

And then came the masterpiece of Taglish, their Gensan Tuna steak. And when I say steak, I mean that the tuna is so expertly cut that it’s like Chef Frances was offering a porterhouse from, say, Peter Luger in Brooklyn; but serving it up in tuna, and not beef.

There were great vegetable-forward sides that accompanied the Tuna; and if you’re asking for my recommendations, I’d say get the Grilled Asparagus, which is served with lemon, pili, and gremolata. The must-try vegetable dish would be the Grilled Curried Carrots, with toasted cashews, ponkan, and labneh. Honestly, plonk me in front of a TV, and hand me these carrots to snack on - they’re that delicious.

The Alay Grilled Chicken is basted with lemongrass, Sprite, and bagsik vin. It’s the chicken dish that explores possibilities, via the sauces. Interesting, but I’d be curious to see if it will be a go-to for regulars, as the Tuna is the obvious signature dish at Taglish.

Premium Japanese Wagyu is also a Taglish offering; and as one can imagine, the challenge was how to make its presence different and distinctly Taglish. The slice we had was lying on a leaf, with onions and radish. One would pop the whole thing in one’s mouth, and it was good! My boys, with much bigger appetites than me, loved this course.

There were two desserts I have some vague recollection of. One was Nangka-based, while the other was tableside Baked Halo-Halo, made to resemble a Baked Alaska. At this point, it was my boys who were still up for the count, slugging away. I had raised my white flag, just waiting for some hot jasmine tea.

If Taglish is Chef Frances’ language of food, it’s not just bilingual, but multilingual in the best of ways. It’s an extensive menu, and that’s great; as it’ll have us coming back to sample the other dishes.