A popular Filipino supper club is getting a permanent home

Back in 2020—the year of side hustles and bold career pivots—chef Keanu Francisco drew on his experience working in some of the city’s busiest kitchens (Sara, Sunnys Chinese) to launch Kusinera. Inspired by his mother (kusinera is the feminine form of “chef” in Tagalog), the pop-up supper club showcased regional Filipino dishes for industry friends and those interested in learning more about the nuances of the country’s cuisine.

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The small pandemic-times project quickly drew buzz through word of mouth and social media, with dinners selling out well in advance. In 2023, Francisco’s partner, Rosa Wan, joined as co-owner, front-of-house manager and creative director, and together they rebranded to Kusi. Their popular monthly Monday-night dinners, held at kitchens across the city, feature one-off menus and the occasional collaboration with other Filipino culinary creators, like Kwento and Castle and Coal.

“We want to explore what Filipino food can be by spotlighting the multitude of regional flavours and historic origins,” says Francisco. “As a Chinese Filipino partnership, we’re also inspired by the overlap between our cultures, which gets expressed both through the food and through the feeling of how we like to host. Kusi is a meeting of food and feeling.”

The viral supper club is getting its first brick-and-mortar location at 77 Grange Avenue, inside a former auto body shop that is being converted into the multidisciplinary Squig Space, also home to a ceramics studio and a community centre. “We hope Kusi’s new home will feel like a family dinner or going to a friend’s house,” says Francisco.

The opening tasting menu will feature staples from some of the prior pop-ups, including dishes like hipon alavar (fried shell-on prawns with a rich crab fat curry) and piaparan na manok (coconut-braised chicken layered with aromatic spices). New dishes will make appearances too, with a spotlight on lesser-known hits from the Philippines’ nuanced regional repertoire.

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“The tasting-menu format allows us to guide guests through a more intentional journey across flavours, techniques and stories that shift from island to island, shaped by geography, history and culture, across the different regions of the Philippines,” says Francisco.

Drinks will include cocktails that play with Filipino ingredients and flavours alongside a tight list of wine and local craft beers, all designed to complement the food without overshadowing it.

“The Kensington-Chinatown neighbourhood is full of energy, intergenerational community and creativity,” says Wan. “We’re excited to contribute to that while learning from the people around us.”