Chef Fhred Batalona’s homecoming through Palay+ brings Filipino chefs from home and abroad together in a culinary exchange.
For Filipino chef Fhred Batalona, coming home was never simply about bringing his Melbourne cooking back to the Philippines. It was about sitting down at the table again-and discovering what he could learn.
That spirit came to life at Palay+, an immersive 10-course dining experience held on September 26, 2026, at Eastwood Café + Bar, featuring Batalona and the culinary team of Megaworld Global Hotels and Resorts (MGHR).
The event marked the first collaboration under Salo-Salo, MGHR’s new culinary initiative that brings Filipino chefs from around the world together with chefs in the Philippines.
It’s about exchange
The concept goes beyond the traditional guest-chef format.
‘This is not just your guest chef program,’ MGHR Corporate Chef Franco ‘Panky’ Lopez said during the launch of Salo-Salo. ‘Salo-Salo is about exchange.’
A Filipino chef working abroad, he explained, brings experiences shaped by another market and another kitchen culture. Local chefs, meanwhile, bring direct knowledge of the country’s regions, ingredients, traditions, and the way Filipino hospitality is lived every day.
‘When those perspectives meet, both sides should leave with something new,’ Lopez said.
That exchange is at the heart of Palay+.
For Batalona, it also represents a particularly meaningful homecoming.
He moved to Melbourne 11 years ago, initially focused on becoming better at his profession. Living away from the Philippines eventually made him look at his own culture differently, particularly the food he had grown up with.
Simple experiences
He recalled simple experiences-from street food and fried bread to his mother’s cooking-that took on greater significance when viewed from a distance.
‘Your mom’s cooking,’ he said, became part of his understanding of food as something that nourishes, something eaten every day, and something shared with family.
That realization eventually found expression in his culinary work in Australia.
Beginning in 2021, Batalona developed events that showcased Filipino food and culture to Melbourne audiences. His work eventually led to Palay, his restaurant in Fitzroy, where he draws from his Filipino roots while incorporating techniques and influences acquired from cooking other cuisines.
Yet even after establishing himself in Melbourne, Batalona remained curious about Filipino food and the ways he could continue to reinterpret it.
That curiosity brought him home.
‘Coming home to the Philippines and having the opportunity to share Palay+ with Filipino diners is something I’m truly grateful for,’ Batalona said. ‘Palay was created from my love for Filipino food and culture, so bringing this experience back home feels especially meaningful.’
But Palay+ was not simply a homecoming performance.
It was a two-way exchange.
Collaboration and reconnection
Batalona worked alongside MGHR’s chefs, whose own culinary practice is rooted in Filipino ingredients, regional traditions, and the experience of cooking for local diners. The collaboration allowed him to reconnect with flavors he knew from home while encountering ideas and approaches from chefs working here.
‘I’m also thankful to Megaworld Global Hotels and Resorts for opening its doors to this collaboration and allowing us to create something together with their chefs,’ Batalona said. ‘I look forward to sharing our stories through food, learning from the team, and hopefully giving Filipino diners a fresh perspective on the flavors and traditions we all grew up with.’
For MGHR, that kind of exchange represents the next stage of its culinary platform.
LaMeza began in 2022 as a tasting-menu concept and evolved into a platform where MGHR chefs could reinterpret Filipino dishes while exploring the stories and traditions behind them. Salo-Salo expands that conversation by inviting Filipino culinary voices from overseas to the table.
‘The mesa became both a way to reawaken culinary artistry and to ask, how do we create a modern Filipino table that the world can discover while staying connected to where our food comes from?’ Lopez said.
With Salo-Salo, that question has become broader: Who else should be part of the table, and what can the Philippines contribute to the global conversation about Filipino cuisine?
For Batalona, the answer is not necessarily about making Filipino food conform to someone else’s definition of sophistication.
Elevating Filipino food?
During the launch of the collaboration, he challenged the familiar idea that Filipino food always needs to be ‘elevated.’
‘I don’t want to elevate Filipino food anymore,’ he said. ‘I think elevation is how open our mouth is.’
For him, the more important question is: ‘What can be Filipino food?’
It is a question that leaves room for evolution without losing one’s roots.
Filipino cuisine can travel from Manila to Melbourne and back again. It can absorb new techniques, respond to different audiences, and take on new forms, while remaining connected to the ingredients, memories, and traditions that shaped it.
That is what makes a culinary exchange like Palay+ more than a one-night dining experience.
Same culinary heritage
It creates a conversation between Filipino chefs who have taken different paths but remain connected by the same culinary heritage.
And perhaps that is the real meaning of Salo-Salo: not simply gathering around a table, but making the table big enough for different experiences, perspectives, and possibilities.
As Lopez put it, the measure of success is not only the dish that eventually reaches the table, but what the collaboration leaves behind-‘new thinking, stronger relationships, and new opportunities for Filipino culinary talent.’