Barcino

Regardless of the generation to which you belong – whether you’re fresh from the university mill giving the rat race a try or looking for a night away from the hyperactive laughter of your kids at home – you have probably spent more than a couple hours at Barcino, gulping glasses of wine under the inebriated illusion that they are bottles of crimson water, and munching on slivers of cheese in an attempt to satisfy the salty cravings of your alcohol-doused taste buds. Understandably of course, because wine never goes out of style; remember, even Jesus made sure there was wine at that wedding. It’s comes as no surprise either that even Manila’s younger set has taken a liking to wine, because – let’s face it – ours is a generation that doesn’t mind getting sloshed with five bottles of isopropyl alcohol as long as we look sophisticated and cultured while holding our wine glasses. Having been named the best enoteca at the Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets Awards in 2008, it’s quite clear that Barcino has managed to etch out its niche as the favorite Friday night haunt for the young and young at heart alike.

Mr. Jones

One would expect that, at least as a diluted form of backlash from 90’s Hard Rock-esque experiential dining, there would have been some sort of 50’s-style diner in Manila for some time now. After all, there is nothing Filipinos love more than all-day breakfast and fried chicken, and Pancake House doesn’t serve chocolate malt milkshakes with Paul Anka playing in the background. So it came as no surprise that we were eager to try Mr. Jones at Greenbelt 5 when we heard that it served diner favorites, in full mid-twentieth century regalia. You can just imagine the images of Denny’s grand slams we immediately conjured up, and the level of excitement we had to contain and when we heard that Mr. Jones had all-day American breakfast favorites on its menu.

Max Brenner

Just when you thought it was impossible for something more sinful than Max Brenner’s rich chocolate creations to occupy that coveted spot by the entrance of Greeneblt 3, Hermes opened its doors to Manila’s insanely wealthy set, where of course, no one else but Jinkee Pacquiao could actually exit with her entire posse of ten toting an Hermes shopping bag each. With the opening of Hermes, we thought that the rest of us who live paycheck to paycheck were left with one less place to visit for cravings of the sweet kind. Thankfully though, Max Brenner only relocated to the new Greenbelt 5, where its sweet desserts have actually become more accessible to those who have found sanctuary in the mall’s newest culinary offerings.