crumb trails

Everyone keeps a secret. But some secrets need to be shared. Like this great place I was tasked to photograph for the newspaper we publish.

I’m sure you all know Fanny Serrano. He’s a well-known celebrity makeup artists in the country. He enhances the beautiful faces of movie celebrities such as Sharon Cuneta, Lorna Tolentino, Amy Austria and many others. But did you know TF (as Fanny Serrano is fondly called) has a secret?

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I love it when December comes. The air is cooler, especially during the night. From my window, I’m greeted every morning with a picturesque view of the mountains, with fogs hanging low. It makes me want to go back to bed, snuggle under the sheets, and steal a few more minutes of sleep.

Ah, the glory of provincial living…

But that’s not the point of this post. The city, where I spend most of my time during weekdays, is all glittery and bright this time of the year; truly a sight to behold during the night. Tiangge or bazaar can be found all over the metro. And the yearly Christmas decors in Policarpio Street in Mandaluyong, the COD Christmas display in Greenhills Shopping Center and the giant tree at the Araneta Center are already in place. One can marvel at their beauty. It may be a little extravagant at a time of economic crisis, but who can prevent the Filipino from celebrating Christmas?

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A familiar sight? When was the last time you were here?

Located at the heart of Manila, Rizal Park is one of the main attractions of the city. In the Spanish colonial era, it used to be a cleared area aimed to buffer any rebellious acts of the locals against the walled city of Intramuros, which, at that time, was the center of business and social activities. The area was then named Bagumbayan or New Town, but was better known as Luneta because its shape was like a small moon or lunette (Spanish). In 1912, Act No. 243 of the Philippine Assembly, declared the place as the site where a monument of Dr. Jose Rizal and a mausoleum which will house his remains will be erected. This location is almost the same spot where Dr. Jose Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896. Up to this day, two ceremonial guards known as Kabalyeros de Rizal or Knights of Rizal guard the National Hero’s monument twenty-four hours a day and all throughout the week.

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Filipinos have grown fond of coffee shops. It has become the young generation’s hangout and EB place. Professionals likewise patronize these places; making coffee shops a convenient venue for short business meetings. Some people go for the ambiance and the coffee, of course. That is why, it’s not surprising anymore to see more and more coffee shops opening everywhere. Like Biska Coffee, a new cafe that has been in business for almost half a year already.

I’ve had the privilege to visit Biksa Coffee a few weeks ago and tried some of their food and beverages. The cafe offers for beverages hot coffee (espresso, cappuccino, Americano, etc.); ice blended coffee (caffee mocha, latte); frappe (brain freeze); smoothies; milkshake; Italian soda; and tea. They also serve food like sandwiches, pizza and pasta.

My friends and I had a long that day and we decided to drop by Biksa Coffee. We had mozzarella pesto sandwich, pasta with tuna carratierre sauce, a margharita pizza, Italian sodas (passion kiwi and passion strawberry), cookies & cream milkshake and cappuccino.

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One of crumb trails earliest entries was about a place in Marikina. Among the cities in Metro Manila, Marikina has become one of the most progressive. But what sets it aside from other cities is its cleanliness. The discipline of its citizens is also exceptional. But apart from these, there’s a lot more to discover in Marikina. And one of them is Pan de Amerika (PDA).

Pan de Amerikana embodies quality dining experience. The concept of the restaurant is meant to make every diner feel at ease. The ambiance is a fusion of European, Asian and Filipiniana that blended well together, creating a homey environment and a perfect garden set up. Unlike other concept dining places, Pan de Amerikana is not restrictive. Guests are free to wander around while waiting for their food to be served and linger some more after they have finished eating. And speaking of food, the restaurant serves authentic Marikina dishes and other Filipino foods. Marikina boasts of its Everlasting and Waknatoy. Everlasting is similar to embotido but it is placed and cooked in a “llanera.” It is named as such because it in the olden days, this dish is ever present in festivities and gatherings. Waknatoy on the other hand is like menudo. And like everlasting, it is also always on the table of almost every family gathering. The Chinese settlers in Marikina during that time would always complain and say, “Ito na naman? Wak na `toy!” (This dish again? No, not this dish again!). Other notable dishes in Pan de Amerikana are the Ilocano sarabasab, Bicolano express-laing, Cebuano sinugba and sisig rice. But the taste of these foods is not the only reason to dine at Pan de Amerikana. With a very nice ambiance, you’ll be surprised at how affordable their meals are.

Some of the things to look forward to at Pan de Amerikana

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Let’s face it. In our country, visiting museums is not part of our culture. We don’t bother to go, unless you’re a student and your teacher or professor required you to visit a certain museum in a certain place.

I may be wrong, but most people think that museums are meant solely for the well-off members of the society, an activity only the rich people can afford and enjoy. That is a HUGE misconception. If you can afford buying tokens for a videoke machine (don’t shoot me, I have nothing against karaoke singing. I’m Pinoy, so I like it, too), you definitely can afford museum entrance fees. Some of them do not even charge a dime!

You see, museums are there for you — for you to learn more about your community, your country, a religion, a new technology, history, etc. Spending time in a museum somehow changes, in a positive way, your view of yourself as part the society. Sometimes you can find the missing aspects of your life. It can be fun, only when you start appreciating what you see there. You can even say, museums rock!

It had been a little while since I’ve been to one. This year I plan to visit as many as I can (that’s the GRAND plan!). And since I’m based in Metro Manila, I’ll start here. I’ve made a list of the museums here and grouped them by locality.  You might want to visit them also. Or join me!

Here goes my list with a few basic details:

City of Manila
Museo Pambata (Ermita)
Museum Hours:
Sunday 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Tuesday-Saturday 8:00 am-5:00 pm (Aug – March), 9:00 am-5:00 pm (April-July)
Admission: Php 100 (children & adults), Free/discounted for Manila residents (bring ID); Free for museum workers and teachers (bring ID); Free for street children, infants

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Mysterious. That is my view of the world underwater; something we do not see regularly or visit often. One needs enough understanding of the sea before embarking on an underwater journey.

The Philippines is part of the so-called Coral Triangle (it is in the center of the center of the Coral Triangle), thus, the country is blessed with a very diverse, very beautiful marine life. But only a few are learned in this field. And ordinary people like us knows only the general facts. There aren’t enough facilities to see and study the creatures of the water for us to grasp a better understanding of them.

When Manila Ocean Park opened in December 2007, the sea and the life that thrives in it became accessible to the ordinary people. Now, everyone has the chance to experience and be an explorer of the ocean. The Manila Ocean Park has three main goals. Its first objective is to let people see how beautiful the Philippines is in terms of marine life. Second, to remind the people that it is time that we preserve and conserve the ocean. Lastly, that people should love the environment. They want every individual visiting the ocean park to understand these things.

The first to adopt a fusion concept, the Manila Ocean Park brings together an Ocenarium, a mall, hotel and restaurants, open water marine habitats and function halls. Visitors may find the Oceanarium entertaining, but it is, first and foremost, an educational facility (so do not expect dolphin shows or sea lion exhibitions).

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Our office barkada was able to go on a mid-week night out last Tuesday, since the next day, July 2, was a special holiday for us people working in Ortigas Center, Pasig. Our stop this time was Pilita’s Restaurant in Greenhills, San Juan. It was also a birthday celebration for one of our officemates.

Pilita’s Restaurant is located at Greenhills Shopping Center, near the movie theaters. This cozy little place is owned by Asia’s Queen of Songs, Pilita Corales and her husband Don Carlos. Pilita’s has a very relaxed ambiance, a perfect place to hang-out after a long day at the office. Its walls are filled with numerous memorabilia of the hip-bending singer from her career. One wall serves as a gallery of her photos in black and white. Meanwhile the upper wall behind the stage displays covers of her vinyl records in the past.

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Compared to the place I remembered visiting as a child, Marikina is almost unrecognizable to me now, in a positive kind of way. The streets are clean, its people are disciplined. More than that, Marikina has a lot more to offer-places to explore, a culture to experience.

My work has given me the chance to visit one of the city’s tourist destinations: World of Butterflies, run by the local government of Marikina. WOB’s main goal is to conserve the habitat of the butterflies. Aside from its butterfly garden, it is also a sanctuary for breeding them. Here, one can see the different stages of a butterfly’s life cycle.

Among the insects, butterflies have one of the most complicated life cycles. And unlike the other creatures under Class Insecta, they do not undergo a nymph period before becoming an adult; instead, a butterfly changes appearance when it becomes an imago. So, there’s no such thing as baby butterfly.

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Barkadas have another choice for an eat-out gimik: Halo Café. It is named so because of the kind of food they serve – light and healthy. This cozy little place is located at the Cubao Expo in Araneta Center. Here, diners can enjoy vegan dishes like the veggie burger and veggie burger steak, veggie medley lettuce wraps, and eggplant & cheese wholewheat tortilla. Halo also offers pasta dishes, so if you’re adventurous enough, you may want to try the spaghetti with malunggay pesto. They do not serve red meat; only chicken and tuna. Their line up of beverages are must-try. There’s the bohol coffee, bohol tsokolate, wheatgrass cold tea and Halo’s house specialty the tarragon tea.

What I have tried (together with friends) so far in Halo’s menu are:

(a) Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Olives – this one I highly recommend. I like how the tomatoes and olives blended and created a slightly sour sauce which suited my taste bud very well.

(b) Spaghetti with malunggay pesto – this dish is for the brave and adventurous. Although the malunggay sauce may look like your regular pesto, there’s more than slight difference in the taste since it is impossible to totally remove the bitter taste of the malunggay. Hey, but this is really healthy! Remember that malunggay is a better source of vitamin C than citrus fruits.

(c) Veggie Medley Lettuce Wraps – a little salty for my taste but still good. Look forward to discovering the taste of banana and ginger combined.

(d) Chicken Pastel – hmmm… this is different from the usual pastel dish because this one is not baked. It was okay. Still healthy, I guess, because it uses white meat (chicken skin not included).

(e) Wheat Grass Cold Tea – a drink that you MUST try when you eat at Halo. The wheat grass they use is freshly cut from the plant box they keep outside of the café.

(f) Eggplant & Cheese Wholewheat Tortilla – I think the wholewheat tortilla made the difference in this appetizer. And the eggplant? The eggplant always goes well with anything!

(g) Tuna Steak – one of the best-tasting in the menu. Loved the way it was cooked.

(h) Tarragon Tea – a highly recommended after meal beverage. Halo uses a mixture of fresh and dried tarragon leaves. You will enjoy its natural sweet flavor and fragrant aroma. I think it has a calming effect on the drinker because when I had a cup at Halo, I was able to sleep immediately when I got home. Maybe I should start growing tarragon in my backyard.

Here’s a peek at some of the food we tried:

(1) veggie medley lettuce wraps (2) vegetarian burger

(3) eggplant and cheese wholewheat tortilla (4) spaghetti with malunggay pesto

(5) wheatgrass cold tea (6) wheatglass plant box

Food prices range from fifty pesos to a little more than a hundred pesos. Really affordable.

For a list of Halo Cafe’s offering, click here.

A few snapshots of Halo’s interior: