Where's Bacchus?

A portion of a wall and the ceiling of the formal dining room of Café Ysabel. It is also the room used for large group reservations. There is another, more casual dining area which, unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a photo of.

Ornate whimsy

With my fascination for lamps and lighting fixtures, a lamp was bound to catch my eye in the 1937 home of Alejandro and Ramona Legarda. I just love the young person with a monkey cavorting all over this particular metal chandelier. • LEGARDA ANCESTRAL HOUSE #6

Pride of place

The interiors of the Legarda ancestral house is a perfect example of American colonial era home design in Manila. I will not be the only Manileño to say that it reminds me of my own grandmother's house. What I find absolutely amazing is how everything—from the furniture to the bric-a-brac—is wonderfully preserved. It is to the Legarda family's credit that the younger generations resisted the urge to modernize the home (well, except for the air-conditioner, that is).




The living room has two sets of seating. The one above flanked by family photographs, and another directly across, above which hangs the centerpiece of the room: a painting by Filipino artist Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo (21 February 1855–13 March 1913), a contemporary and close friend of Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal. Titled "La Inocencia," it is still in its original Art Noveau frame and is believed to be a painting of Hidalgo's mistress in France. • LEGARDA ANCESTRAL HOUSE #2

Ancestral home

Welcome to the home of Alejandro Legarda and his wife Ramona Hernandez, now a museum and fine dining restaurant called La Cocina de Tita Moning (The Kitchen of Aunt Ramona). Built in 1937, it was one of Manila's first art deco houses. It is located along San Rafael Street in the San Miguel district of Manila which, before the war, used to be one of the city's most elegant neighborhoods and home to many of Manila's most elite families. Malacañang Palace, the official residence of the President of the Philippines, is also in the San Miguel district. In the next few days, we will be touring this elegant house where Alejandro and Ramona raised four children and which was used by three generations of the Legarda clan. • LEGARDA ANCESTRAL HOUSE #1

The art of eating

During the past three years, our neighborhood has become quite a popular location for small, independent restaurants and bars. Aside from Trellis, which has been around since the 80s, there's Pino, Tomato Kick, Friuli and Kiss the Cook, and many others that I have not yet featured here—all within walking distance or a tricycle ride away from our house. Makes for very happy taste buds but I'm beginning to despair of my waistline. Leona Art Restaurant used to be located in a different part of Quezon City but recently moved in too. Both their grilled and fried pizzas are good and we're looking forward to trying other items on their menu. I should ask the owners why they call it an "art restaurant" but I won't be surprised if it has to do with all the eclectic, quirky and lovely decorations they have in the place.

Of glass and light

Inside the Quezon City branch of Alba Restaurante Español. I just love the wine bottle holder that they built into the wall separating the foyer from the main dining room.

Details

These are the magnificent friezes, columns and chandelier in the main lobby of the National Art Gallery of the Philippines, which used to be the Legislative Building of the country. I know that the architectural details have been there since the early 20th century, when it was built during the American Colonial Era. Unfortunately, I do not know anything about the chandelier, not even whether it is old or new. If I may hazard a guess, I think it's both. The main chandelier looks like an antique but the organic glass shapes and curvy rods with balls at the end are a newer addition. In fact, the addition reminds me so much of Filipino artist Impy Pilapil's work. What do you think?



If I ever find out, I'll let you all know, of course.

The firm

Only a quarter of a century old, Puno & Puno Law is one of the best-known law firms in Manila. Like most other law firms in the country, they can handle almost any kind of legal case but their particular specialty is corporate and regulatory laws. Thankfully, we were at their offices because of an event and not because we needed their services.

Leaves of rice

The Pahiyas Festival celebrated in Lucban and in other towns in the Philippines is a harvest festival. It is always held on May 15, the feast day of San Isidro Labrador (St. Isidore the Laborer or Farmer). The highlight of the festival is a procession of revered religious icons followed by the town's prettiest girls in fancy gowns, which begins and ends in the parish church. The houses along the roads where the procession goes through—the route is changed every year—are decorated just for the festival and this is what pahiyas (ornaments) refers to. The decorations are composed of the fruits of the harvest and Lucban has a special kind of ornament made of rice, called kiping, which is why the festival attracts thousands of tourists every year. Grains of rice are pounded to a flour and mixed with water and food coloring to form a paste, which is then brushed over leaves and left to dry. The result is thin, translucent, jewel-toned leaves which are used to cover the houses' facades or strung into elaborate designs, like this almost two-story high chandelier which graces the entrance of Buddy's restaurant in Quezon City.




Smaller kiping lanterns are hung all around the restaurant's interiors, and the flower pattern at the building's facade is echoed by the beautiful light fixtures on the ceiling.




A photo collage about Lucban—the higantes, the procession led by the statue of San Isidro, Mount Banahaw, the parish church, and a house richly and colorfully decorated with pahiyas—curves along the wall of the staircase which leads to the second floor.

Everything has a price

ZeKaf opened in the basement of the new dormitories of the Ateneo de Manila University late last year. With flowers on the tables, warm light, earth colors and a photo mural in sepia tones, it looks pretty good for a school cafeteria. I'd call it a café rather than a cafeteria if it weren't for the fact that their food counter still looks like those found in any school cafeteria anywhere in the world. The food's good too but, compared to the other cafeterias on campus, their prices are higher and the serving sizes are smaller. I guess ambiance doesn't come cheap.

P is for Pilipinas

Before the Spaniards came and conquered the islands in the 16th century, our ancestors in the big island of Luzon already had a written language. Called Baybayin, it was the alphabet of the spoken Tagalog and Kapampangan languages, and shares its origin from the ancient Brahmi script of the Indian subcontinent with many other Asian languages. After more than four centuries of colonial rule, however, we no longer use Baybayin regulary and very few people can write in it with any facility. But the logos and abbreviations of many of our government institutions still use the alphabet's individual letters. The logo of the National Museum of the Philippines is the Baybayin "P" in the middle of a stylized sun. This rendition in marble is on the floor of the main lobby of the National Art Gallery.

---

Reminding all CDP bloggers yet again: our theme for September 1 is Open-air Markets (so difficult for me!) and the poll is ongoing for the October theme. Please vote and help spread the word!

Still life with fountain

Simple lines, warm colors and fabulous textures at the foyer of Kimpura Japanese restaurant.

Natural or man-made, take a refreshing dip in Watery Wednesday.

Warm

A row of lovely floor lamps at Sofitel Manila's 7Pecados by the Bay.

See what's reflecting what at James' Weekend Reflections.

Basketball-crazy

The 73rd season of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) games began last month. Since the Philippines is a basketball-crazy country, many of the basketball games are held in the Araneta Coliseum, to accommodate the large number of fans who watch. One of several restaurants on the periphery of the stadium is Café Bola, with its circular logo and light fixtures.




Talk about thematic: even Café Bola's food is spherical! This is their Seafood Bola with Parmesan Cream & Ham sauce.

Rosy moment

The delicate pink stained glass windows of the Chapel of St. Thomas More in the Ateneo Professional Schools do not have obviously religious images unlike those in other Catholic churches and chapels I've seen.

Urban or rural, natural or man-made, take a sightseeing tour of our world's diverse scenery!

Hi there!

THEME DAY: REFLECTIONS • Just having fun (again) with the mirrored ceiling of Sofitel Manila's 7Pecados by the Bay.



See the world in mirror images through the lens of CDP bloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Corner showcase

Back in September of last year, I featured the lovely carved wood screen of Adarna Food and Culture, a restaurant that specializes in Filipino historical recipes. Every nook and cranny is filled with heirloom home accent pieces. The lamp and table would have blended well with the interior design of my maternal grandmother's house. I question the black rotary dial phone though—until the early 1980s, our phone was just like that.

Dignified

The second dining room of Café 1771 is called "The Lounge" and it's easy to see why. This long table was the one set up for our group, friends from college. The books on the shelves are real; old, used ones but bound like new in hardcover. In fact, the first book I pulled out to check whether they were real happened to come from the library of the university where we studied, which gave us all a good laugh.




My friends and I agree that the earth tones and subdued lighting of The Lounge provide a more relaxing atmosphere than the bright colors and fluorescent lights of yesterday's Whimsy, which is through the doorway where the waiter is standing. We also noticed that the ones who chose Whimsy were in their twenties, while those in The Lounge were all at least in their forties.




Replace the painting on the wall with a wide video screen and The Lounge can very well be in someone's lovely home. A movie would be perfect with the popcorn served as an appetizer.

Whimsical

Café 1771 has two distinct dining rooms. This light-hearted, colorful room is called "Whimsy."

Welcome mat

This unique tile mosaic mat greets diners who enter Café 1771 in El Pueblo Real de Manila in Ortigas Center. The smaller text at the bottom of the illustration says "l'esprit du chateau" and it accurately describes the restaurant's new interiors, which I will show you in the next two days.