Monthly Archives: May 2012

An Evening on the Mediterranean

A peaceful dinner at Restaurant 101 on McKinley Hill is always a welcome suggestion. When Chef Cantrel has prepared a Mediterranean feast it’s an offer too good to refuse. The dining room, as always, is calm and welcoming. We are … Continue reading

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Frills & Furbelows at Café Juanita

Late last year, armed with map and compass, I journeyed into the depths of Pasig City on a quest for Café Juanita. Our diligent driver turned out to be better at following his nose than I was at map reading, … Continue reading

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The Cheese Club of the Philippines Turns Thirty

This year, the Cheese Club of the Philippines is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, and apparently there are plans afoot for a birthday party later in the year. Recently I spoke with current President and long-standing member of the CCP, Chris … Continue reading

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Picnicking in Pila with TourFlair

A beautiful blue Manila sky dusted with talcum powder clouds.  For the first time in a fortnight there is no thick coating of smog over the city. We are heading south towards Pila on a gastronomic tour arranged by Filipina … Continue reading

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Travelling Back in Time

Philippine heritage is a mixed bag of cultures that is reflected in its people, its language, its food and its architecture. During three hundred years of Spanish colonization, Augustinian monks constructed grand European-style churches all over the archipelago, the conquistadors … Continue reading

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A Nuclear Theme Park?

In Britain there has been a trend over the past thirty years or so to convert old farm buildings and factories into beautiful homes. It is hard to imagine doing the same kind of recycling with the empty nuclear power … Continue reading

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Tapas & Sangria for me!

I had been trying to arrange a night at the newest tapas bar in town, and it finally happened this week: a Girls’ Night Out at COVA tapas & sangria, at the quiet end of Jupiter Street. Co-owners Tatyana Guevarra … Continue reading

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Nepalese Cooking in Makati

We first went backpacking in Nepal in the early 90s. In Kathmandu we lived on rice and dal and $2 a day. It was not, you have probably guessed, the most salubrious, gastronomically sophisticated side of town. Nepal snuggles into … Continue reading

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Five More Things I Love about the Philippines…

Jeepneys The jeepney is a cheap and popular form of transport in the Philippines. Originally adapted from US military jeeps left behind in the Philippines after World War II, today they are made in the Philippines, mostly from second hand … Continue reading

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Tea with Tiaras

Last week I had afternoon tea  with nine princesses from Sydney. These gorgeous, sixty-something ladies travel with tiaras, so I thought the Makati Shangri-La was a fitting place to welcome them to Manila. Needless to say they arrived at the … Continue reading

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