Where to eat in Manila, Philippines: Chef Margarita Fores

Voted Asia's Best Female Chef, 2016, Margarita Fores' food empire includes her Cibo restaurant chain, up-market Champagne bar Lusso, farm-to-table restaurant Grace Park and catering company Civo di M Signature Caterer. She also has floristry, homewares and pre-prepared home meals lines. She recently opened Casa Artusi Philippines, an offshoot of Italian cooking school, Pellegrino Artusi. See theworlds50best.com; casartusiphilippines.com; facebook.com/margarita.fores.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE TABLE IN MANILA?

Any table in a Filipino provincial-style market. (Mercato Centrale is Manila's most famous food market, held every Friday and Saturday, 6pm-3am, corner 7th Avenue and 25th Street.)

THE BIGGEST LOCAL FOOD DISCOVERY OF THE PAST YEAR?

Ivatan cuisine in Batanes. It is an archipelago and the northernmost province of the Philippines, a place that's very hard to get to. I was fortunate to have visited this place last year and it was such an eye-opener. It was here that I was introduced to ingredients like banana corm and the coconut crab, as well as interesting dishes such as lunis, which is pork cooked and preserved in salt and its own fat.

WHAT IS MANILA'S BEST-KEPT FOOD SECRET?

The kind of authentic Filipino food that used to only be served at home. There's a new resurgence of interesting restaurants proudly serving Filipino cuisine inspired by our home-style cooking, both traditional and with modern takes. Restaurants like Abe or Manam present this cuisine with an awareness of foreign palates, and make adjustments to help those who are new to authentic Filipino cuisine appreciate it better. Filipino cuisine has become much broader. See ljcrestaurants.com.ph/abe/; facebook.com/ManamPH/.

PLACE TO GO ON A DAY OFF?

Going back to Bahay na Puti, the house where I grew up, all the way north on the other side of Manila, is a good break for me. Apart from giving me a chance to touch base with my roots, I get to visit the best market in the Philippines, the Farmer's Market, that's just behind my home. Not only do I get to see my "suki" or resident vendors, who always share with me what's new and fresh, but I still get to discover new ingredients I haven't come across before.