In late 2024, Ang Hang founder Gari Escobar Gabrinao found himself at a crossroads.
After going through a difficult chapter in his professional life, he decided it was time for a change of environment—a place where he could clear his mind, rediscover what mattered, and begin again.
What began as a fresh start would unexpectedly rekindle a dream more than two decades old.
BACK TO THE KITCHEN.
BACK TO THE ROOTS.
With more time at home, Gari began experimenting in the kitchen—cooking different Filipino dishes and, almost inevitably, adding sili.
His love for spicy food was nothing new.
It brought back memories of his mother, who would let him cook sinigang with plenty of sili, and his grandfather, from whom he learned to enjoy sili with practically every meal.
THEN CAME THE SILI. 🌶️
Gari noticed that fresh chilies could sometimes be difficult to find or unexpectedly expensive.
So he did something simple: He started growing his own.
A few plants in his backyard became more. Planting became a passion. He began personally tending and handpicking his siling labuyo and experimenting with how heat could transform familiar Filipino dishes.
And somewhere between the garden and the kitchen, an old dream returned.
A DREAM THAT BEGAN
IN 2000.
The name Ang Hang wasn't created in 2026.
Gari had already dreamed of building a restaurant called Ang Hang as early as 2000, and revisited the idea again in 2004.
But the timing wasn't right. The dream remained a dream.
MORE THAN TWO DECADES LATER, THINGS WERE DIFFERENT.
- There was greater experience.
- More knowledge.
- Better technology.
- And most importantly, the time and determination to finally build it.
ON JUNE 9, 2026,
ANG HANG BECAME REAL.
From a simple home in Orchard Villas, a long-held idea officially took its first corporate step with the establishment of Ang Hang Group Corporation.
What started with childhood memories, home-cooked Filipino food, a backyard full of sili, and a dream carried for more than 25 years is now being built into something much bigger.
