SpotOn, a leading restaurant technology provider, is proud to partner with Chef Francis Ang on Masters of Filipino Flavors, a four-night series at Abacá that brings 16 Filipino American chefs and bartenders to San Francisco in celebration of Filipino American History Month. The series runs Oct. 10, 12, 14, and 16 at Abacá, the Michelin-recommended Filipino-Californian restaurant inside the Kimpton Alton Hotel near Fisherman’s Wharf. JB Balingit, the chef and owner of Tropa Modern Filipino in Lafayette, California, will cook for the Kamayan dinner on Wednesday, October 14th in his first public appearance as SpotOn’s new Chef in Residence.
Quick summary: Masters of Filipino Flavors is a four-part culinary series at Abacá in San Francisco, running Oct. 10 through Oct. 16, 2026, with 16 Filipino American chefs and bartenders from New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Portland, Charleston, and the Bay Area. SpotOn is partnering on the series to support the independent operators growing Filipino food in the U.S. Ticketed nights start at about $110 per person on OpenTable.
Masters of Filipino Flavors Lineup
Chef Francis Ang has spent the past decade helping define modern Filipino cooking in the U.S. Born in San Francisco and raised in the Philippines, he spent six months traveling the Philippine islands with his wife, Dian Ang, in 2016. That trip led to Pinoy Heritage, their pop-up restaurant telling the story of Filipino food through a modern lens. The couple opened Abacá in 2021. Since then it has been named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America, made The New York Times’ list of 50 top restaurants in 2022, and been a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant. It is also recommended by the Michelin Guide.
Masters of Filipino Flavors is Abacá’s annual Filipino American History Month series, which began with a fundraiser for victims of Typhoon Haiyan. The lineup brings industry leaders recognized by James Beard, Michelin, and Food & Wine into one room including Nikko Cagalanan, a James Beard Emerging Chef finalist and Chopped champion; Carlo Lamagna, a Food & Wine Best New Chef; and James Bailey, who rose from butcher to executive chef at Momofuku Las Vegas.
- Brunch, Saturday, Oct. 10: Monique Feybesse of Tartes de Feybesse, plus Paul Faraon and Angelica Nulud of La Kalidad, bring French technique and Filipino-Asian American pastry to Abacá’s weekend brunch.
- Pulutan Nights, Monday, Oct. 12.: A walk-around night of pulutan, the Filipino tradition of food made for drinking and gathering. JP Reyes (The Sarap Shop), Chase Valencia (Lasita), Andre Casper (Roline’s), and James Bailey (Istorya) host stations alongside Darwin Pornell, Ben Rojo, and Roxanne Bangalan (June Baby).
- Kamayan Dinner, Wednesday, Oct. 14: A communal feast served on banana leaves and eaten by hand, cooked by Nikko Cagalanan (Kultura), Anton Dayrit (Tradicionale NYC), Jade Cunningham (Carabao), and JB Balingit (Tropa Modern Filipino).
- Paubaya Tasting Dinner, Friday, Oct. 16: A four-course tasting menu from Carlo Lamagna (Magna Kusina) and Ellie Estrada-Londo (Nisei).
“Most of us on this lineup run our own places,” said Francis Ang, chef and co-owner of Abacá. “We know the grind: tight margins, long nights, and a cuisine people are only starting to discover. SpotOn backing a series like this tells me they’re invested in the people running these restaurants too.”
Tickets for Pulutan Nights, the Kamayan Dinner, and the Paubaya Tasting Dinner are available through Abacá on OpenTable. Full series details are on Abacá’s upcoming events page. Abacá is located at 2700 Jones Street in San Francisco, inside the Kimpton Alton Hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf.
Filipino food is growing fast, and independent owners are leading it
Filipino cuisine is the fastest-growing Asian cuisine segment in the country, according to Datassential. The community supporting this growth is about 4.2 million strong, according to Census data cited by The Food Institute, including the Filipino chefs and owners introducing their unique twist on Filipino cuisine in tasting menus, cocktail bars, bakeries, and neighborhood dining rooms across the country.
A growing number of Filipino restaurants are powered by SpotOn’s restaurant management system that provides access to capital loans and improves cash flow, notorious barriers for women and immigrant-owned restaurants. They include Tropa Modern Filipino in Lafayette, Patio Filipino in San Bruno, Estrellita in Atlanta, and Abstrakt Filipino Essence in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
“Filipino food is one of the fastest growing cuisines in the U.S.,” said Zach Hyman, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of SpotOn. “That momentum is coming from independent owners and chefs like JB and Francis. Families putting their recipes on the menu and building something that’s theirs. That’s who we show up for every day. So when 16 of them come together for four nights, we’re all in.”
JB Balingit joins SpotOn as Chef in Residence
JB Balingit is the chef and owner of Tropa Modern Filipino and The Hideout Kitchen in Lafayette. He runs his restaurants on SpotOn and sits on SpotOn’s Restaurant Advisory Council. As Chef in Residence, he brings 18 years as a chef, owner, and operator to SpotOn and will lead sales, business development, and partnerships in the San Francisco Bay Area. He’ll focus on restaurants cooking cuisines that are still finding a wider audience, including Filipino food.
“Tropa is my love letter to my upbringing in Manila,” said JB Balingit, Chef in Residence at SpotOn. “Joining SpotOn lets me take what I’ve learned running my own restaurants and share it on a bigger scale. Now I get to help other independent operators serve the food they love, keep costs in check, bring in more revenue, and run a restaurant that’s built to last.”
Restaurant owners and operators who want to see how SpotOn, a leading restaurant technology company, supports independent restaurants with its POS platform and restaurant management system can visit spoton.com/restaurant-pos.
About SpotOn
SpotOn is a leading restaurant technology company that builds practical AI into the tools operators rely on every day. Its restaurant management system brings together the point-of-sale, online ordering, reservations, and labor management, plus access to top integrations into one platform. AI is integrated throughout so operators get the benefits of artificial intelligence without having to think about it. SpotOn backs it all with 24/7 support and hospitality. For more information, visit www.spoton.com.
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