Look at These Achingly Beautiful Food Photos from The Soon-to-Open Magna

The high-end Filipino restaurant Magna, the baby of former Clyde Common executive chef Carlo Lamagna, is still months away from opening its doors in Cully, but until then, the chef is straight-up torturing his impatient Instagram followers with gorgeous photos of potential dishes, from chicharrones with fried tofu puree to piles of feel-good lumpia. In 2017, Lamagna announced plans to open his own restaurant, a pseudo-extension of his pop-up Twisted Filipino. The Feastly pop-up specializes in refined versions of quintessential Filipino dishes, from pork cheek adobo with fried kale to halo halo shaved ice served with leche flan and ube ice cream. Lamagna lived in the Philippines for much of his childhood and teenage years, where he fell in love with dishes like his dad’s adobo. His father passed away in 2009 and serves as much of the inspiration for Magna, he told Portland Monthly.

Now, Lamagna is playing around with potential Magna dishes, which he has been rolling out on his Instagram. Each post comes with a touch of Lamagna’s context — a story about Filipino food, the backstory behind the dish, and anecdotes about his family. Take a look below:

• Magna [Facebook]
• Magna [Instagram]
• Twisted Filipino [Feastly]
• Carlo Lamagna Announces Plans for Magna, His New Filipino Restaurant [EPDX]
• Magna Lands a Prime Spot Next to Pizza Jerk on NE 42nd Avenue [PoMo]

Correction: This story has been corrected to show Lamagna is opening Magna alone, not with Nate Tilden.