A travel & adventure blog by Kara Santos
Looking for the best coffee shops and bar crawl spots in Poblacion, Makati?
Whether you want to start your day with a perfectly brewed cup of coffee or are planning a night out filled with beer, wine or craft cocktails, Poblacion has become one of Metro Manila’s top destinations for café hopping and nightlife.
When I’m not traveling, I like eating out and trying different restaurants in the city. One of my self-imposed personal side quests is to visit and dine in the oldest restaurants in Metro Manila that are still operating today. It just felt like a fun thing to do since a lot of older establishments are overlooked compared to the trendy new spots.
Below are just some of the oldest food establishments established in Metro Manila, including the oldest restaurants and oldest bakeries (some of which have cafes) where you can dine or buy food in Metro Manila. For the purposes of this list, I limited it to establishments that are more than 50 years old and the ones where I have personally eaten or visited.
Continue reading “Oldest restaurants and bakeries in Metro Manila”La Rosa Vino, a premium wine shop in Quezon City, recently held the third run of their annual Wine and Food Hop, a unique food crawl with curated wines and delicious bites in several establishments along Maginhawa Street, QC’s famous food and arts district.
Where’s the best place to get halo-halo in Manila? When summer temperatures sizzle, thoughts often turn to cool drinks and refreshments like halo-halo. This famous Filipino dessert is a delightful mix of crushed ice, sweetened fruits, ube, leche flan, and a drizzle of evaporated milk, leading to a burst of flavors and textures in every bite.
NOTE: Originally written on October 2023. Last updated on January 2025.
The mere mention of the City of Pines immediately brings to mind images of hot chocolate, brewed coffee, ube jam, strawberry taho, and a lot of other iconic eats. Baguio City is an amazing destination for foodies, with a sheer variety of artistic homegrown restaurants to choose from serving all types of cuisine. In the past few years, Baguio has become a destination for beer lovers as well.
What’s new in Maginhawa? This foodie street in Teacher’s Village, Quezon City is well-known as an Arts and Food Hub, with small start-ups, family-run establishments, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and unique concepts that have evolved over the years. Some favorite establishments closed amid the pandemic, while loads of new cafes and restos have popped up.
After a day of hiking, caving, biking, and other adventure activities, you’ll definitely work up an appetite while in Sagada. Even if you’re just on a chill staycation, you’ll probably get really hungry walking around town because of the cooler weather and steep roads.
While the small mountain town has fewer dining choices than Baguio City, it’s worth checking out all the unique homegrown restaurants that make use of local ingredients and highlight the rich mountain culture.
Continue reading “Food Trip: Where to eat and drink in Sagada”Baguio City has always been one of the country’s top destinations during the Christmas season. The cold, chilly breeze, Christmas lights, scenic spots, and great eats make the City of Pines a favorite among those based in Manila and the rest of Luzon looking for a quick getaway for long weekends and holidays.
For travelers, backpackers and province-based tourists, Manila is often just thought of as a stopover between flights on the way to another destination. The big city can be overwhelming with the heavy traffic and crowded streets. It’s often seen as gritty and chaotic, especially if you visit the areas of Quiapo and Divisoria.
I often take the tourist sights in Manila for granted because I live here. But if I were a first-time tourist in the Philippines or if I had to take around foreign tourists, balikbayans, expats or province-based friends, what would I do and where would I go?
After a full week of sightseeing in Italy’s capital city Rome and Vatican City ticking off all the big-name attractions for first-timers and biking along Rome’s ancient Roman roads, we got a taste of “La Dolce Vita” (the sweet life) in the Tuscan countryside near Florence on our way to Venice.
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