“We are driven by the knowledge that food is medicine. Beyond just food, we serve nourishment.” This is one of the core values of The Farmassist, a new restaurant in Pasig. Don’t be misled by the name; although it may sound like a pharmacy, they actually serve affordable plant-based meals. In 2024, Happy Foodies will start featuring establishments and products that promote vegan, vegetarian, plant-based, and healthy food, beginning with this neighborhood find in Pasig.
Kabila Filipino Bistro | On the Filipino Fine Dine Side
Kabila may mean the “other side” or “across” in Tagalog, but don’t treat Kabila Filipino Bistro as an option. Sharing space with its sister restaurant, Museum Cafe, in the vicinity of the Ayala Museum in Makati, the Kabila Filipino Bistro, simply offers people yearning for Filipino food a simple but fresh alternative in a cozy fine dining space that’s bright, relaxing and have an unhurried feel.
Bale Dutung: Feeding the tummy, filling the mind
When traveling to the north, making a stopover in Pampanga is always a sensible decision. And why not? Kapampangans are really known for their rich food tradition. But eating takes on a deeper, and should I say cultural, meaning when you make a stop at Bale Dutung. Tucked in a residential village, the place looks more like a house than a restaurant which it actually is, being the abode of chef/cook/artist Claude Tayag and his wife, Maryanne. That said, the treatment we got was more akin to dining in a friend’s house.
Rediscovering Filipino flavors at 1521
With the globalization of the Filipino palate, is it still viable to set up a Pinoy restaurant nowadays? Ponder this: on one hand, you have to market to a younger generation of diners reared on a steady diet of pizzas, burgers and pastas. On the other hand, you have to appeal to an older generation who may have grown tired of the old favorites and are gravitating to international fare. Following the suggestion of a friend, we ventured to Mandaluyong to look for 1521 in the hope of finding a more definitive answer to our question. We’re happy to say that we walked in hungry for food and answers and walked out with a positive outlook and contented tummies.