With the rise of speakeasies in Manila, I've come to love a finely crafted cocktail. I don't know why, but there's something very rewarding about sitting by the bar on a Friday night after a long work week and watching a bartender work his magic on your drink.
Finders Keepers is one of my favorite places for a cocktail and a night of unwinding. The Love Juice is a simple but stellar concoction (gotta love Tanqueray!) and I honestly cannot have just one glass of it. Definitely one of my favorite cocktails in Manila!
There's plenty of other things to love about Finders Keepers - the place is unpretentious, the atmosphere laidback, the music a good mix of indie and mainstream, and you're bound to bump into someone you know.
Right next to it is Black Market which has a bit more of a club vibe, and right outside is Joe's Meatshack which sells some pretty good burgers, perfect to cap off a night of drinking and dancing (and for helping with that hangover).
Finders Keepers
La Fuerza Plaza, Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati
My idea of the perfect lazy day is to spend it in a cute cafe. The coffee and the food don't have to be particularly spectacular - for a lazy day at a cafe, I find the ambiance to be of utmost importance instead: somewhere relaxing, with pretty interiors and good music (a cute barista wouldn't hurt either).
In spite of our hectic Seoul-all-you-can itinerary the last time we went to South Korea, we managed to find time to visit Jukjeon Cafe Street and Hongdae and explore a few quaint cafes, which I loved. I love Korean cafes. They're like Kpop idols - cute, sometimes quirky, and usually pretty. If it weren't impractical I would be happy to fly to Seoul for a long weekend and do nothing else but go cafe-hopping.
Seems I'm not the only one who's grown fond of Korean cafes, because currently there are four cafes in Manila that all have the cool Korean cafe vibe. Two are conveniently near my place which is perfect, and the other two are a bit of a drive but definitely worth it! Check them out under the cut, and maybe with some background music care of f(x) and EXO's D.O.? Enjoy!
It's magical, that moment when you're watching your favorite band perform and they start to play your favorite song. In a split second, right after that first note, everyone in the crowd seems to be thinking the same thing, which is in fact nothing, because you all just want to get lost in the music.
Add to that a lot of great friends and good vibes on a summery Saturday night in Manila and you have the first ever Wanderland Music Fest. Because really, when was the last time you laid out a mat on a field of grass?
I love coming to Gustare Kitchen for lunch, especially if it's been a particularly stressful day / week at work and I need some comfort food. Hidden behind The Goose Station in the relative outskirts of Bonifacio Global City, There are no signs outside W Tower (the building where it is located) to let people know it exists. Which is why I like to think of Gustare Kitchen as our little secret in the city.
I once said that my 2011 felt like one long, extended beach trip, but that I hoped 2012 would be a little bit crazier, more adventurous. After all, the world was supposedly going to end in 2012. Now that we've survived December 21, 2012 (and celebrated it with an End of the World Party and Mayan-inspired accessories), it seems mankind has been given a new lease on life.
But the fact still remains - You Only Live Once. And 2012 was the year of the YOLO state of mind - all the surf trips, the road trips, the concerts and parties, even the staycations and my chillax Laos trip, and of course, our epic Seoul adventure were all witness to that. We only have one life to live, and I want to spend mine on the move, exploring strange places, meeting strange people, eating the strangest food, then coming home, only to do it all over again. So here are my favorite photos of 2012 - have a happy new year everyone! And as always, to my epic travel buddies of the year - the Samsung YOLOs, Carms, Eds, Jen and the Korea Girl Group members, what a year it's been! Here's to more legendary trips in 2013!
I was inspired by the photos the couple behind Everywhere We Shoot! took for their project with the Samsung Galaxy Camera, so I decided to take a walk around my neighborhood in Ortigas Center one night to take a few photos, and do the same thing before I went shopping at Power Plant one Sunday morning.
The Christmas season is a splendid time to visit the Philippines - the weather isn't too hot (though the past few days have been scorching while the nights aren't as bad, thankfully) and you are reminded of the holidays everywhere you go. It's impossible not to get into the Christmas spirit in the Philippines.
Travel Tip:Fly to the Philippines at affordable prices! Find the cheapest airfare flights online with sites like FlightHub.
If spending Christmas by the beach is more your thing - well, with our 7,000+ islands, we have that in the Philippines too! I haven't got any pictures of "Christmas in the Sand" though (my parents require me to be home during the holidays and the only traveling I do around Christmas is from Manila to my hometown in Batangas), but here's a song to get you in a sun, surf, sand, and Santa mood. Merry Christmas everyone!
Had a long day at the office today, so I thought I'd have a good dinner. So I dropped by the Banchetto Night Market near Robinson's Pioneer and bought some of my favorite Pinoy street food. Best way to wind up some long hours at the office.
It's been rainy all day, so this photo seems appropriate. I'm so tempted to put emo song lyrics in it and post it on Tumblr. It's that kind of picture.
The lovely view from Rissee's place. This is why I don't mind crashing at her couch even if she so generously offers the guest bedroom every time we have one of our Kinect nights - the view from the living room in the morning is just breathtaking.
I'm Manila-bound again! Back to the real world. Le sigh.
Spent labor day in the company of amazing girlfriends! First thing on our agenda was a visit at the Ace Water Spa in Kapitolyo, which was loads of fun. I'll write more about our holiday in the city another time.
My brother stayed with me for a week over the summer, and I took him around all the popular burger places in the city. His favorite was the one at Charlie's. While he tried out the burger, I ordered this amazingly insane cheese steak sandwich. I didn't eat lunch that day but I still wasn't able to finish it! To think, it also comes in an even bigger size - I ordered "Hungry", but there's also a "Starving" version. Wonder what that would look like!
The scorching heat that characterizes Philippine summers is best enjoyed at the beach or poolside, armed with an ice-cold drink, alcoholic or otherwise. On the other hand, there's something about being stuck inside a stuffy albeit air-conditioned office building, with its endless cubicle dividers and fluorescent lighting, that makes the summer weather rather unbearable. Basking in the rays of the sun while swimming in the cool waters of the sea or walking along pristine white sand under the blazing heat? No problem, in fact, I welcome it with open arms! But existing - the mere existing - as in literally just being there, in a place of drab and gray and concrete that is the urban jungle on a ridiculously hot and humid day? It's so unbearable that you're just compelled to take a break.
Luckily there are places of respite near our office building where we can quickly run off to for a quick summer break in the city. So one Wednesday afternoon, suffering through the midweek blues and hating the heat a little bit, my officemates and I decided to head on over to Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City to seek refuge. And in seeking refuge, what did we find? Macarons, gelato, and milk tea, thankfully.
Our first stop was at Bar Dolci:
The three little words everybody likes to hear on a hot summer day:
What welcomed us inside Bar Dolci:
My favorite macaron flavors, so far - Salted Caramel and Choco Chip:
I had dinner with a bunch of college friends Friday and they gave me the low-down on a bunch of upcoming summer activities in the city and (just a little bit) beyond. And seeing as it's Monday and all, I thought it'd be nice to post this to get us through the work week - just some things to look forward to in the coming weekends. Time to start planning your summer folks!
March 24-25: Surfista Travels, La Union
Learn to surf and meet a bunch of new people in La Union with Surfista Travels! I took my first surfing lesson late last year and we've been back in La Union twice since then. The sun, the sand, the surfing - formula to an epic weekend. And the team at Surfista Travels will arrange everything for your weekend surf trip so you don't have to worry about anything. If you need more convincing, check out the video below:
March 31: Bactidol 12-Hour Sing-A-Thon, Redbox Eastwood
Gather a team of ten and put your throats to the test for Bactidol's 12-hour sing-a-thon! We already have a team in the office, and we are registered and ready to go sing up a storm on the 31st. See you there! You can check out the registration instructions and full mechanics here.
April 13-15: Billabong All-Girls Surf Camp, La Union
One more trip for all the lady surfistas out there by Billabong and Surfista Travels. Official Site
April 14: Outbreak Manila 5k Run, Nuvali
The phrase "run for your life" has never been as appropriate for a 5k marathon as it is for this one. In Outbreak Manila, not only must you race against time and exhaustion, you must also outrun hungry zombies! I'm not a runner at all, but this is very very tempting. The site is all sorts of witty fun too!
I learned how to surf thanks to FLOW! We went to their November leg in La Union last year which was amazing fun - we did yoga and samba, and also learned about eating healthy with their raw food workshop. Plus, I met some lovely people on the trip. It was a great weekend to relax, get refreshed and rejuvenated. I'll probably write a whole other post just about my FLOW experience soon, but for now, sign up for their April leg in Baler before slots run out!
This site uses cookies to help deliver services. By using this site, you agree to the use of cookies. Learn more.
This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
