Savory, juicy, especially delicious when eaten with freshly-cooked rice — these indeed make longganisa truly beloved by Filipinos. But alas, their favorite breakfast staple comes with an evil twin — lots of salt, pig fat and even monosodium glutamate (MSG) and heavily reused cooking oil that while responsible for longganisa’s rich flavor, also churn out bad cholesterol that blocks or slows down blood flow and eventually lead to cardiovascular diseases.

Like many Filipinos, brothers Iking and Badong Uy and Chef Nikki Macaraig love longganisa. But also, like many Filipinos, they cannot eat the typical longganisa every day because it is usually stuffed with unhealthy ingredients and/or deep-fried in overly-used cooking oil.

Determined to give a better alternative to usual longganisas, the Uy brothers and Chef Nikki founded Smashed Longga Bowls & Buns on the second floor of Madison Galeries in Don Jesus Boulevard in Alabang.

Smashed, according to the brothers, is arguably the first all-longganisa dining concept in the country.

“It started with us thinking of what we could do with the longganisa since all of us love longganisa and at this point, it seems there’s no restaurant yet that’s only focused on it,” Iking shared.

After years of research and development, the three friends came up with their signature “smashed” or longganisa patties, as opposed to the usual sausage-like or skinned ones. Based on their studies, local longganisas are either sweet or garlicky, so their smashed patties also started with these two basic flavors.

“Our longganisas here in the Philippines are either sweet, smoked or garlic. But I like sweet longganisas, the one you could buy from the palengke (wet market) that’s kind of sticky. These guys (the brothers) like garlic longganisa,” Chef Nikki shared.

Since all of them love their longganisas crunchy and stir-fried in chili garlic like chili con carne, the chef turned the longganisa into a patty to achieve the same flavor profile.

The trio’s play with longganisa took them further. After smashing it, they have also turned it into rice bowls, burgers and now, as topping to another Pinoy favorite: pancit canton.

“What makes our longganisa different is the experience,” noted Chef Nikki. “We want to show that our longganisa is not just eaten with vinegar and garlic rice like in longsilog. We try to play around the flavors as well.”

Their sauces, for instance, also encompass Middle East, Mediterranean and Mexican influences other than the usual Filipino vinegars. It started when Chef Nikki experimented eating the longganisa patty like a shawarma rice bowl, with the same sauces as those in the shawarma. Having worked for years with international dining concepts, Chef Nikki has been inspired by international cuisine, which he is also applying into their own Smashed casual dining venture.

Although the three could not claim that their longganisa is healthier than other longganisas in the market, Chef Nikki assured that theirs are “processed well,” unlike other wet market longganisas that are processed in unhygienic places and using water from questionable sources.

Morever, instead of just focused on the longganisa, the bowls, burgers and noodle dishes at Smashed come with fresh vegetable toppings, making them a complete meal, Iking noted.

“We made the atchara (pickled papaya) a hardworking atchara by making it part of the experience because we encourage mixing the bowl first before enjoying it, because the veggies go well with the longganisa and the sauces,” he explained. “So in a way, you’d really have to eat your veggies here. Unlike in your usual longsilog. So I think, it’s a healthier bowl.”

Complementing their original recipes are pop culture-inspired visuals rendered by design collective Sgt. Pepper Labs.

“Our visuals, of course, we have to make it accommodating, make it standout. But not too sleek and stylized. Our designer incorporated the classic (Philippine flag) colors — red, yellow and blue,” narrated Iking, whose drum set is also displayed at the restaurant for his and guest diners’ occasional “smashing.”

The diner’s central mural incorporates drawings depicting slices of street life, while the tables are covered with linoleum — carinderia (canteen)-style — upcycled from their past Hainanese Chicken franchise.

“As you can see in Thailand, the tables are also covered with plastic like this,” Iking noted.

“So far, it’s better to have your own concept because you’re free and you’re not dictated by anyone. Also, with a franchise, you have to pay upfront,” Badong shared. “The only challenge (with an original concept) is marketing it further.”

Should Smashed become successful, included in the three’s roadmap is to have it available for food delivery and new branches. So far, among their immediate goals is to come up with a truly healthy longganisa — the “vegan” longganisa — their take on the famous Vigan longganisa of Ilocos.