Few consumables age well, except cheese, wine, vinegar, and other things that are meant to ferment. And at Scratch, Makati’s hottest brunch spot as of late, the sourdough bread craze of the early 2020s has aged well out of the pandemic.
When we get there in the afternoon, the restaurant is already approaching its closing time of 4:00 p.m., which seems early but makes more sense when you remember they only serve breakfast and lunch fare. The dining area spills into the kitchen, and the kitchen into the dining area: no walls or doors separate the two spaces, and to get to a table, you have to walk by a refrigerator and shelves of ingredients. Atop another shelf is a stack of egg cartons next to a decorative flower bouquet. A few steps away, accessible still to the patrons, are containers of kombucha starter.
I make a mental note of the songs playing on the speakers, because they sound just like my personal brunch playlist: “This Life” by Vampire Weekend, “Mythological Beauty” by Big Thief, and “Heaven or Las Vegas” by the Cocteau Twins.
Scratch’s new space opened in May, two years after owners Ralph Sy and Charlene Ng opened the commissary in Comuna, and six years after Sy started selling his sourdough bread online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ng became a customer, and in December 2020, they became business partners.
In the commissary, the Scratch team sold baked goods on weekdays and carried out dine-in services on the weekends, for which people would line up. “We outgrew the space so much, just because we do catering, we do B2B [business-to-business], we do online orders,” Sy tells Rolling Stone Philippines. “We love Comuna so much. We love community, we love the space, and it has its charm. But also, we couldn’t really open for dine-in every day because it’s a small space. That’s why we moved to a bigger, more accessible [space] for our customers.”
“Of course, it’s still what we want, but now it’s also for the people who wake up early to line up. It’s for our staff who also help.”
Ng, who takes care of Scratch’s backend operations, adds that the move to Legazpi Village was “quite accidental.” She recounts that the two were out for coffee when they spotted a vacant sign across the street, did a quick ocular, and “knew immediately [that] we wanted this place right away.” Sy notes, “It was too good a location to pass on.”
A self-taught baker who handles Scratch’s kitchen operations, Sy was not always so sure about bread. “I used to hate baking,” he admits. “When I was working in the kitchen, I was like, ‘I’m never gonna be a baker.’ I hate how it’s technical. I hate how it’s super specific up to the last gram.”
Like many during the pandemic, he took a deep dive, baking and eventually selling sourdough from home. Ng was among those who sought him out. “I was looking for a good sourdough place to buy from,” she says, adding that she landed on Sy’s sourdough. “The texture was different even after a few days, and there was sourness. Even if I pair it with just olive oil and salt and balsamic, it’s pretty good.”
Of the baking process, Sy says, “I learned to love it. No two loaves are the same. And you won’t know the result until the next day.”
At this time on a weekday, there’s no need to line up for a table anymore, and you’re a lot less likely to run into the Gen-Z kids and millennials on their Salcedo or Legazpi food crawl. But when you come and try what Scratch has to offer, its popularity makes total sense. In a largely bread-based menu, standouts include the blueberry French toast served with burnt honey cream, the savory mortadella pesto sandwich, and the sausage and (phenomenally fluffy) egg muffin.
Each offering grew out of how Scratch’s founders actually eat, says Sy. “For the focaccia, I did it with meatballs. It has no specific cuisine, but it’s how we want to enjoy the bread, like how we would eat it at home.”
Moving from a commissary to a full restaurant has reoriented Sy’s sense of purpose. “I made Scratch because it’s what I want to do. It’s my vision,” he says. “Of course, it’s still what we want, but now it’s also for the people who wake up early to line up. It’s for our staff who also help.”
Still, neither Sy nor Ng wants Scratch to become anything other than enjoyable. According to Ng, collaborations with the likes of Ito, Big Fuzz, and Panaderya Toyo happen not through formal agreements and memoranda but through friendly conversation. “It’s more like just having fun with friends,” she explains. “If there’s alignment with our vision, we go for it. We really don’t force those collaborations.”
Before each service, Sy tells his team the same thing: standards matter, quality has to hold, “but I just want everyone to have fun while doing it.”
This story first appeared in the Rolling Stone Philippines’ Voices Issue, now available for pre-order on Sari-sari Shopping and in major newsstands soon.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Scratch is owned by Ralph Sy and Charlene Ng, who became business partners in 2020 after Ng became a customer of Sy’s home-based sourdough business during the pandemic. The brand later ran a commissary in Comuna before opening a full restaurant in Legazpi Village.
Scratch outgrew its Comuna commissary due to demand from catering, B2B orders, and online sales, and could not offer daily dine-in service in a small space. Owners Ralph Sy and Charlene Ng spotted a vacant storefront and relocated to the larger Legazpi Village location.
Scratch’s bread-based menu includes blueberry French toast with burnt honey cream, a mortadella pesto sandwich, and a sausage and egg muffin, among others. Each dish grew out of how founders Ralph Sy and Charlene Ng personally enjoy eating bread at home, rather than following a specific cuisine.
Ralph Sy is a self-taught baker who initially disliked baking for its technical demands. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he began baking and selling sourdough bread from home, eventually developing a passion for the craft.
Scratch has collaborated with brands including Ito, Big Fuzz, and Panaderya Toyo. According to co-owner Charlene Ng, these partnerships happen informally through friendly conversation rather than formal agreements, guided by shared vision rather than business obligation.
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