MANILA -- "Pinoy Big Brother" alumnus Kian Kazemi channels his Philippine roots in his new venture, Lobo.

After his stint in the Big Brother House, Kazemi opened Persia Grill which continues to enjoy success with various branches around the metro. Last year, he branched out by opening a kebab bar concept in Makati's hip Poblacion district called Kite.

This year, in his latest venture, Lobo, Kazemi steps away from Middle Eastern cuisine and pays tribute to his Filipino roots.

“Since we have another concept here in Poblacion, I said, why not pay tribute to the other side of my roots -- my mom! She’s Ilongga,’ shared Kazemi.

Dubbed as a "Filipino tavern," Lobo aims to be what a gastropub is to Londoners, a drinking place that takes its food seriously. In this case, what you’ll have is what Kazemi dubs as “progressive Filipino cuisine.”

“With my mom’s foundation of basic recipes, I tried to add my own elements,” Kazemi explained.

Not veering away from Filipino flavors, but substituting ingredients and methods is what Kazemi does in his dishes.

In his Lamb Adobo, shoulder and tenderloin of lamb is stewed in adobo condiments (including coconut milk) until you get melt-in-your-mouth meat, and topped with baked garlic bulbs that make for a sweet garlicky paste that provides another layer of flavor in the adobo.

This is a dish that begs to be eaten with rice and with a sliver or two of the accompanying burong mangga.

His Signature Kare-kare, meanwhile, substitutes lengua (beef tongue) with oxtail, while still adding unctuous elements like ox tripe and beef short ribs.

Cooked in peanut sauce and served with homemade bagoong, this dish still had that fatty goodness that one gets from the oxtail with the added bonus of smooth and delicious lengua. Same sentiments as the previously discussed dish — eat with copious amount of rice.

Getting that swapped-ingredient treatment is the Inasal Kesong Puti—a cheese dish that hits into the "something you never knew you wanted" territory. Breaded and fried kesong puti is put on a stick, then brushed with inasal marinade, and finally, grilled.

With grilled bits, crispy fried portions, and that steamy slightly salty kesong puti, dipped into a soy-vinegar concoction -- it’s the perfect beer match/appetizer/ulam.

Kazemi also tweaked his dishes by adding another step into some dishes like in the Big Boys Boneless Bangus, where a large Dagupan bangus is fried, topped with garlic, and then grilled in a banana leaf, adding a smoky and herbaceous flavor.

There’s also the Chicken Barbecue that’s boiled first in spices, then grilled. This is one of Lobo’s bestselling dishes -- it’s juicy, and to appeal to the Filipino palate, has a sweetish tinge.

Yet another dish done with an extra step is Lobo’s Stuffed Squid. Instead of the typical stuffing of garlic, onions and tomatoes, a grilled squid is stuffed to the brim with squid-ink flavored rice.

“It’s squid-ception,” someone jokingly says, and indeed, squid rice that’s black as night, saucy with the barest hint of coconut milk, eaten with pieces of soft and sometimes crisped up squid -- it’s a novel way to eat grilled cephalopod.

Then there’s the Pasta Negra. While squid ink pasta has been done before, here, Kazemi sauces the pasta with the same coconut-squid ink sauce that he does with the squid rice, resulting in a plate with oodles and oodles of creamy briny flavor.

While there’s an orange segment to add some sweet acidity, I found squeezing a bit of calamansi gave a more balanced bite to definitely one of the richest seafood dishes in Poblacion.

While most dishes have swaps and tweaks, there are also straightforward and more familiar bar/drinking dishes in Lobo’s menu.

There’s the Bulaklak Chicharones, cracklings made from the innards of the pig — crispy, thin, and greasy, to be dunked in a vat of sinamak.

Another drinking classic in the menu is the kinilaw -- where your seafood of choice is doused with a mixture of coconut vinegar, lime, and green mangoes. Tart and fruity, diners can turn their kinilaw into a sinuglaw with just a few pesos, by getting the addition of grilled liempo.

Lobo checks in almost all the right ways. Ambiance-wise, its two-floor location had Filipino touches like banig (woven mats), artwork, dark wooden furniture, and even a beautiful mural emblazoned with Kazemi’s mother’s likeness. Inviting, not too highbrow, but with enough touches to make it feel authentic.

Food-wise, drinkers and diners can take a bite of Filipino dishes with pleasing swaps like the Kare-kare and Lamb Adobo, or drink some beer with Lobo’s versions of beer match classics like chicharon or the kinilaw.

And while it does have an extensive drink list that covers juices, mocktails, wines, beers, liquor (whisky, vodka, gin, rum, tequila, etc.), and some shooters, what Lobo needs to complete the Pinoy gastropub experience is to have a signature drink—a potent alcoholic libation that uses Filipino alcohol and local flavors.

In the meantime though, just swig a bottle or two of Pale Pilsen with Kazemi’s Filipino tavern fare.