Carlos Celdran -A walking tour of Manila that will change your perception.

If visiting Manila for the first time one of the best ways to acquaint yourself with the city from an objective point of view is by taking the  "Walk this Way" tour with Carlos Celdran.


He candidly discusses some of the vital information that has been conveniently swept under the rug to hide the abuse that the Philippines had endured during its entire colonial occupation,  from the Spaniards and finally to the Americans.  


His information is definitely an eye opener for first timers to learn of the beautiful, "Paris of the Orient."  Celdran does a wonderful job preserving the legacy of such an impotant part of our history.  He champions all that is noble with regard to the beautiful and often disheartening history of our beloved Manila.


for more information visit: Walk this Way

Celdran's charm is that he is witty and while using humor, makes light of such a painful part of our history that still affects modern Manila society.  His tour sheds light on the present state, by discussing the origins of corruption, its mode, and its present day effect on our society as a whole.

Definitely a tour worth taking and worth every Peso.

Modern Manila looking "Old"

To get that nostalgic feel, I chose to shoot with a "retro" inspired Digital Rangefinder camera. All images shot with an Olympus EPL-1

Figaro, The best breakfast in Rockwell.

Whenever I touchdown from a long flight and settle into one of the Rockwell hotel/condos I always look forward to my morning breakfast.  Since the plane arrives at 530am from LAX,  and check in is not allowed until later in the morning,  I start my day eating brekkie at Figaro Coffee Co.,  a local homegrown coffee house with several branches throughout Manila.

Pictures can't describe the taste, go in and try it for yourself...

Freshly brewed Coffee,  with free refills when purchased with any of the breakfast specials.








The Honey glazed bacon and eggs with Cofffee P199:


Fresh eggs sunny side up, with sweet honey cured bacon over ciabatta bread.  Garnished with basil and fresh tomatos. -simply delicious!

The Rockwell branch is located on the corner of Joya/Estrella, at the base of Joya Towers.

U107 G/F Joya Residential South Tower


Their history in brief:

"Established in 1993, Figaro is a 100-percent Filipino-owned company whose product lines include specialty roasted local coffee varieties and various sandwiches, pizza, pasta and more. It has about 65 outlets nationwide, most of which are in Luzon."

*All Images shot with a Pentax Optio W80

Something you will almost never see in Manila: An empty MRT

I was shooting a site located at Trinoma Mall along North EDSA.  Deciding to forego the bus commute back to Rockwell,  I decided to board the MRT at station North EDSA and was shocked at this rare occurrence:

Orchard Road, Megamall: Looks like Singapore, but tastes very poor.

While on a surftrip to the Mentawai Islands,  a Malaysian friend of mine argued how superior his cuisine was over my own.

I love food from all regions and find the subtle nuances that make each cuisine special.  Although growing up in the USA, being a Fil-Am makes me a huge fan of Filipino food by default. My Dad being Kapampangan, had the skills of a master chef and dinner was always a treat in my household.

Despite my national spirit, I had to agree with him with regard to the food centered around mainland Southeast Asia,  most specifically Singapore, Malaysia, & Thailand.

Due to their proximity to each other,  it's no wonder that each of their respective cuisines have culturally exchanged the best each has to offer. The trade routes that interconnected each of these cultures offered the best spices form around the world.  Peranakan, Chinese, Hindu, Indonesian and Malay all come together to form some of the best food throughout all of Asia.

"What a treat", I thought to myself when I saw "Orchard Road" (famed street of Dowtown Singapore) at Megamall in Manila, Philippines. There aren't too many S'pore-centric restaurants in town, so I thought this was a dream come true.

My mouth began to water and I instantly became nostalgic for some of my best food memories.

Its a unique place you place your order near the plexiglass clear view kitchen.  you can see all the chefs and ingredients before your eyes.  with such visibility you would expect freshness at an all-time level.

They even offer local Singaporean favorites, like the Milo Dinosaur and Rojak.





The fantasy ended as soon as the food arrived.  Our eager anticipation was immediately let down by the  flat appearance and taste of the Roti Pratha w/ Malay curry sauce (P110)

The Roti was a joke.  According to the Roti-Wala,  the dough is prepared and fried into pancakes offsite and delivered.  There is a flat skillet on site, which seemed only for show, because you never witness freshly ladled roti batter.  They are simply reheated by buttering each side, pan fried and sliced like a pizza.  Such a shame because it is simple to make and tastes best hot off the griddle.  It should have a crispy shell,  with a fluffy-doughy inner layer.  Sadly this Roti was a flattened chewy pancake.

Don't even get me started on the watered down Curry sauce.

We were hoping that the Roast chicken Rice (P165) would redeem this place.

Sadly,  it seems that I beat the lunch crowd and being too early for freshly prepared food, I was subject to (what seemed like) last night's reheated left overs.  The chicken was dry and tasted stale.  it was as if they took old refrigerated chicken, micro-waved it, and brushed it with sesame oil to make it appear fresh. 

The only thing worth mention was the Beef Hor Fun (P185).  At least this menu item was Wok fried on demand.  The only downer was that the beef was a tad bit tough.

All in all I grade this mall based establishment as follows:

Appearance of Restaurant: A (very clean, unique presentation of visible kitchen, and modern looking)

Food Quality: C- (might have been D if not for noodles)

Price: C (overpriced for the quality and size)

Orchard road is located at Megamall 2nd floor, just across from the entrance of the Atrium.  I feel the place still has potential as soon as they revise the Roti preparation and improve the freshness.

Who knows, maybe if you arrive at lunch/dinner rush hour traffic then you'd probably finally taste the freshest food with crowds forcing the kitchen to make each item to order.

The silver lining of the entire event was that I was reminded that there are other Malay/Singaporean options here in Manila.  Orchard Road's failure reminded me that Banana Leaf will still be the best "mall-based" staple for Malay/S'Pore cuisine.

All Images shot with an Iphone 3Gs

The Manila Commute

Recently, I have been burning a hole in my wallet commuting throughout Manila. Despite being such a small city, and taxi fares actually quite cheap, commuting typically shouldn't be a grave expense.

However, due to the recent unbearable heat, pedestrian modes of getting around are out of the question; and traveling by bike is like russian roulette on 2 wheels.

Alternatives to the taxi are the MRT/LRT systems, the "Jeepney", or the bus.

The bus provides swift travel from daredevil drivers, and if with A/C, they are quite comfortable. (however, not during rush hour when every tom, dick or harry will nearly sit on your lap)

Bus protocol is quite simple, but there are a few rules to abide by.

1. The conductors are usually proficient in English, so you can simply ask if the bus is going anywhere near your intended destination.

2. Save your fare receipt. Despite the conductors having memories like elephants, occasionally they may mistake you as a new passenger. However, if you are distinctly a foreigner, then i doubt he will forget your face. If he questions simply say in a polite tone: "Nag bayad na ako" (I have paid already)

3. When the bus gets crowded be prepared to have everyone attempting to sit in the vacant seat next to you. Unlike Japan, this is Southeast Asia, where personal space does not exist.

4. Beware of Snatchers/Thieves. They usually hit the open windowed non-air/con buses, but always be on guard. Never travel with anything that is too flashy, or something that you wouldn't easily give up in a heartbeat, while at knife point or worse gun point. So don't where your favorite watch or necklace that your boyfriend gave you.

Simply conceal your personal valuables away from sight.

Into the great known and finding the unknown

I developed this blog to showcase the hidden Asia most tourists overlook. Its a view from a local perspective. Stay tuned...