Latest posts from our Manila expert:
Down South Part 1: CWC, Pili City
Summer is the time to get away from Manila. The city is great, but more and more I am seeing that it is merely an entryway to the real beauty of the Philippines, the provinces.
Camarines Sur is located south of Manila, approximately a 10-hour drive. You can choose to take a plane, but when you have a long holiday and some friends hungry for adventure, then a road trip is the way to go. There is nothing like an all night drive ending as the sun’s rays alight upon a highway overlooking the ocean.
Out of the city’s comfort zone, winding paths lead to roads unlit by lamp posts, dangerously marked, “demilitarized zone”. But there were bright spots too like when we came upon a curving uphill climb that was manned by volunteers, armed only with flashlights to light the way ahead. Being city slickers, we had anticipated a more difficult time but our trusty map got us there safe.
The first thing we did when we arrived at Camsur Watersports Complex was to take a much-needed nap. Mansion Suites with its clean modern design and superb service, was the right choice. After resting, we tried out the facilities. They had a mini golf course, a skateboard park, and a game room amongst other things. However, we headed straight for the water. Afterall, we were in a world-class wakeboarding venue.
For the first time, I was able to try out kneeboarding or the masochistic act of kneeling down on a miniature surfboard, holding on to a cable that yanks you around a lake, only to fall over and get fully submerged in water at some point. It was a lot of fun and if it hadn’t been for the intimidating pro wakeboarders flying off in flips and helicopter tricks, I would’ve tried wakeboarding too.
http://www.camsurwatersportscomplex.com/
National Museum Part 3: John Silva
The thing that made this tour extraordinary was no doubt our tour guide and the senior consultant to the museum, John Silva, who provided the insights that coherently brought the museum pieces together.
Imagine a male version of Edna Mode of the cartoon, “the Incredibles”, and you’d get a pretty accurate picture of our tour guide for the day. If Edna is passionate, snappy, sometimes fanatical about fashion, John is the same about Philippine history and arts.
Despite his dimunative stature, he spoke with the force that only someone who went out to accomplish something could. He was proud of his work for the museum and you felt it with his every step and gesture. He said, “Three years ago, the museum only averaged 250,000 visitors a year. That’s how many visitors Glorietta shopping center gets in one day. Now, with the help and backing of Tony Boy Cojuangco, we average a million a year.” I looked around me and the tour group was indeed an impressive one made up of more than 30 eager faces. 80% of whom were Caucasian. (It boggles me how foreigners are more interested in Filipino culture than Filipinos. )
What struck me the most was how John would talk about doing reconstruction in the museum like he was talking about doing house repairs. That’s the difference between someone who has helped build the museum and a tourist guide for hire.
Proceeds from the tour fees (700 pesos for adults, and 500 pesos for children up to 18 years) will go to John’s I LOVE MUSEUM PROGRAM, which brings public school teachers to the National Museum and to their local museums. The tours are three hours in duration, and begins at 10:00 am sharp (ending at 1:00 pm) at the rear entrance of the Museum of the Filipino People, (former Finance Building) Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park.
Text or call John Silva at 0926 729 9029.
National Museum Part 2: The Spoliarium
After the Museum of the Filipino people, our tour group went of to the National
Gallery of Art. Our first stop was the Philippines’s most prized painting the Spoliarium. It is a massive piece measuring almost four meters in height. Overwhelming in stature and stateliness, it owned the room.
The painting depicted the Roman chamber where they would drag off the dying gladiators during that infamous bloodthirsty era. In it, you could see two men almost life-sized being dragged in totally bloodied with several limbs mangled. On the right side sits the only woman, so pained by the sight she cannot even look. This painting done by Juan Luna won the top award in the Madrid Exposition of 1884. A victory for all Filipinos, it proved that an Indio, or native islander, can win a prestigious worldwide art competition against even the Spanish.
On the night Juan Luna was honored, Jose Rizal gave a toast where he proceeded to talk lengthily in what can be summed up in this thought, “If a Filipino can be equal to the Spaniards in the arts, then why can’t they be equal politically. Patriarchy is dead.” This caused an immediate uproar. Newspapers all over the Philippines soon reported it and Rizal was branded a subversive. Soon after, he became more radical in his approach to gain independence from Spain.
Such is the power and influence of the Spoliarium. It elevated a Filipino artist into greatness, but more importantly, it strengthened the resolve of Rizal to go down the path that would eventually make him the national hero. Rizal’s interpretation of Spoliarium was that the Romans were the Spaniards and they made Filipinos ruthlessly fight each other. The woman was the Philippines, so helpless, all she could do was turn away.
Nothing in the museum comes close to the Spoliarium. The galleries and the collections they hold feel disjointed. However, its eventual improvement gives us all something to look forward to in the coming months.
National Museum Part 1: A Great Jumping Off Point
One lazy Saturday, I decided to join a tour group for the Museum of the Filipino People. To my delight and horror, this 3 hour experience taught me more than all my years studying Filipino history. (Granted, a good part of my education was not in the Philippines.) Regardless, I still believe that the museum is a great place to build a trip from. This crash course will definitely whet the appetite of Pinoys and foreigners alike.
The museum’s fifteen galleries detail the archaeological past and the anthropological present of the Philippines. Travelling through them, I kept getting goose bumps. I guess when your whole being senses something life changing, your body reacts accordingly. Something told me that I was connecting with an important side of me.
Instead of describing what I saw, I’ll just share some tidbits I picked up. Facts like- the Philippine Islands are actually a composite of lands from mainland Asia and as far away as Australia. Evidence of which are fossil remains of mammoths. It’s interesting how these unrelated pieces of lands, clumped together, and formed what would be our nation.
I also never knew that our national hero, Jose Rizal was an avid museum lover. A prolific letter writer, his shortest letter supposedly said something like, “Hi Mom and Dad, I’ve arrived safely. Now, I’m off to the museums!” He believed that a beautiful experience becomes more meaningful when shared.
The museum had a room that housed pieces from the 1904 World Fair at Saint Louis. The U.S. built a 47 acre mini-Philippines were they had an Intramuros and even representations of the different provinces. This human zoo had actual inhabitants living and working in the area. The most popular attraction was a tribe’s noontime dog eating show. That’s how Pinoys came to be known as dogeaters, even though most Pinoys are abhorred by the practice.
There is so much more I can write about, but I’ll leave the rest for you guys to discover on your own. Visit the Museum of the Filipino People. It’s the most worthwhile way to part with P700.
What's Up with Rockeoke?
What do you get when you bring a group of people in a room with TV that plays songs with lyrics at the bottom? Boring old videoke. But what if you make those people disgruntled yuppies, rebels and emos, in a bar with a live band and a ready mic? You get rockeoke!
So, if you’ve been aching to act out your rockstar fantasies… it’s time to throw out the tie, smear on the black eyeliner and get smashed at Mag:net. Just be warned that you’ll be in bar full of like-minded, equally untalented singers. It will get loud! So it’s best you just sing along and join in the communal desire to live as gloriously and as drunkenly as you mumble the lyrics,
“Twenty - five years and my life is still
Trying to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination
And I realized quickly when I knew I should
That the world was made up of this brotherhood of man
For whatever that means
And so I cry sometimes
When I'm lying in bed
Just to get it all out
What's in my head
And I am feeling a little peculiar
And so I wake in the morning
And I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream at the top of my lungs
What's going on?
And I say, hey hey hey hey
I said hey, what's going on?”
That’s exactly what I did onstage and it’s been one of the best gimmicks I’ve had this year. I’ll have to thank the 4 Non Blondes, San Mig Light, Quark Henares and the other Mag:net part owners for thinking up Rockeoke. It certainly lives up to the hype.
Rockeoke happens in Mag:net Café on scheduled Mondays. They have different activities lined up for each night. Aside from Disneyoke, Broadwayoke, they often have arts galleries and even comedy acts. Mag:net provides an awesome alternative for non-clubbers who are more culturally inclined. The place has a great vibe that manages to bring out the un-shy in people.
Check out their site for more info.
WWW.MAGNET.COM.PH
Call 856-3400 or 0920-9793400
For WHAT'S ON TONIGHT text
magnetcafe and send to 2948 for Globe/Sun users
and 3940 for Smart users.
2/F B3, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig Metro Manila. It's in the building across Krispy Kreme, right beside the Nike Store.
Conti’s Pastry Shop/Restaurant. Default Delight.
When you’re with a big group of Filipinos just before a meal, you’ll undoubtedly come across that inane, annoying situation of deciding where to eat. When asked, “where do you want to eat?,” a typical Pinoy’s response would be to shake his head, lift his shoulders, and then say, “Ikaw?”. Essentially it means, “you?” or you decide. It’s not that we’re all indecisive, we just want to be able to please everybody. That’s much easier done if we just don’t choose.
Thus knowing a place like Conti’s is handy. It’s a perpetual crowd pleaser. Reasonably priced and located where the well-to-do like to hang out, it’s become everyone’s default dining place.
Conti’s offers a whole slew of comfort foods that will appeal to a range of different personalities. I’ve tried the chicken roulade and
But what I personally appreciate about Conti’s is their ability to make seafood almost as easy and comfortable as chicken. Their parmesan fish fillet and baked prawns are delightful. Their baked salmon is so in demand, they’ve created one that’s for sharing with the entire family.
Conti’s started out with pastries so try their chicken empanada. They have an impressive dessert line up as well. If you are forced to choose just one, make it the Mango Bravo. It’s got extra heavenly textures that make it a cut above your usual cake. The soft sponge cake, the silky not too sweet icing, crunchy merengue, and gooey mango hits the spot every time.
Some naysayers have said that Conti’s sometimes suffers from too much hype, poor service, and inconsistent food quality. But a lot more people will passionately contradict that. Since restaurant choice is as democratic a decision as any, majority wins.
Expect to spend around P250- P400 a person
61 Presidedent Ave., BF Homes Commercial Center, Paranaque
Phone Number: 850-5852, 850-5853, 842-5265
Call them for their branch in Greenhills and the Fort.
Café Juanita. One Big Beautiful Mess.
My dinner friend commented. “How can a place that’s one big mess look so nice?” I couldn’t have said it better myself. Topsy-turvy and overflowing with what seems like junk, Café Juanita has an ambiance unlike by any other resto. It’s almost as if a junkyard piece procreated with an antique fixture and populated the entire place with little junkyard treasures that proceeded to hyperactively breed their own baby trinkets. The effect of having all these mismatched pieces together is strangely comforting.
The menu is just as confusing and just as enchanting. They serve an
odd mix of Filipino, Mediterranean, Asian, and Japanese favorites.
I’ve been there three times and I’m still looking forward to testing out the abundant food choices. So far, I’ve loved the impeccably presented catfish mango salad. The chicken mozzarella, adobo spareribs, and salmon sashimi were also superb.
The thing that sets Café Juanita apart is their willingness to experiment with dishes. Take the classic Pinoy sticky pudding. They made it toffee flavored and added ice cream. They paired the infamous Sisig, a Filipino dish made of pig brains and face, with tofu. They also have a pasta with taba ng talangka or crab fat. Innovations like that are what keeps things interesting and it’s totally in line with their seemingly, “there’s beauty in chaos” philosophy.
Independent restaurants are wonderful because you feel the love and passion of the people behind it. This place is definitely for those close to your heart. So if the occasion calls for shabby chic aesthetic and inventive food is on the agenda, it just might be time for Café Juanita.
Expect to spend P350-P500 a person.
Café Juanita
21 United Street corner West Capitol Drive
Barrio Kapitolyo
Open daily: 11am to 2pm; 5.30pm to 10pm.
Fridays open until 12 midnight.
+63 2 6320357.