Filipinos love coffee, there is no doubt about that. Traditionally though, Filipinos are not really that fancy coffee drinkers. Just a simple cup of coffee bought at the sari-sari store, with perhaps some creamer and sugar would do. There are also the beloved regional blends like the kapeng barako of Batangas or the Philippine Civet Coffee or kapeng alamid which is sourced from the droppings (AKA, uhm…poop) of wild Philippine civets which also happens to be the most rare and expensive variety. In recent years however, Filipinos have come to appreciate the more “sophisticated” varieties of coffee like the cafe lattes, cappuccinos, frappes, etc. And we can all thank/blame (depending on…
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A Farewell to Hotel InterContinental
As we in the metropolis are still having a Christmas hangover while looking forward to the New Year, unfortunately one beloved landmark in the city will bade farewell along with 2015 with the Hotel InterContinental Manila having its final day of operations on New Year’s Eve and its New Year’s Eve countdown to be held there being the last event to be held in this storied hotel. The Hotel InterContinental Manila has been pretty much a part of the cityscape of the Makati Central Business District (CBD) and the greater metropolis of Manila for over 46 years. While the hotel may not be as iconic as the Manila Hotel or The Peninsula Manila, it…
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Mercato @ Glorietta: Mercato Centrale’s New Makati Venture
As someone who has been somewhat abreast with the developments in the metropolis, the Urban Roamer knows all too well the travails of Mercato Centrale with its several attempts to establish itself in the Makati CBD area. There was the food truck concept at Glorietta 1 Park to the one at the carpark rooftop to the one inside Glorietta mall itself, all of them eventually fizzled out. Now Mercato Centrale is making another attempt to establish themselves in Makati, this time at the Glorietta 4 Park. There are no fancy concepts, just the straight-old Mercato experience folks have come to love known as the Mercato @ Glorietta.
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The NBA Store Manila, AKA the City’s New Hoops Haven
In the midst of the Christmas rush the metropolis has been going through as of late, a new retail store just opened early December that has made the shopping landscape in the city a bit more interesting in time for the Yuletide season. It was the opening of the NBA Store Manila, the official retail store of the US professional basketball league the NBA or National Basketball Association. The NBA Store Manila holds the distinction of being the first NBA Store to open in Southeast Asia, as well as for being the largest NBA Store outside the US that has opened. Just goes to show how much Filipinos love the NBA…