Manila, “Blue-collar” Living

Bru and Marcus, the duo behind the illustration design team Electro Lychee, share some of the sweetest locales in Manila, focusing on the best of “blue-collar” living.

Electro Lychee Bio

Brief bio, occupation: We are Bru and Marcushiro, and we’re in our late 20s and early 30s. We currently run Electro Lychee, which is an illustration design studio based in Manila. We’ve showcased our work in magazines like GQ and Cosmopolitan in addition to doing work for major companies like Hewlett-Packard and Nike. We’re also full-time visual artists and showcase our work in galleries throughout Manila.

Length of time in city: Marcus spent his childhood and adolescence in Lucena, before moving to Metro Manila for college. He is now a city resident of Cubao, the commercial area of Quezon City. Bru has lived in Manila all her life.

Eat & Drink

Favorite high-end restaurant:

Summer Palace
Shangri-la Edsa Hotel, 1 Garden Way, Ortigas Center
We like the succulent and freshly prepared Chinese fare.

Je Suis Gourmand
Net One Building, Ground Floor, Fort Bonifacio
They serve deliciously rich French cuisine.

Best deal restaurant:

Ababu
Teacher’s Village, Quezon City
We stick by the greasy and delicious Persian offerings: ox brain, kebabs, and more. Forget about the ambiance, though.

Floring’s Famous BBQ
Unit 25, Shopwise Arcade, Araneta Center
Take a stab at authentic Filipino food. You must try their version of dinuguan (literally means “bloodied”—cooked-blood broth with pork). It’s tastier than it sounds!

Best street food:

Anywhere. There are hawkers on every side street in Metro Manila. Fist-sized, deep-fried calamari nibbles (US$0.06/piece) are our current cholesterol favorites. Dunk this in the hawker’s vat of spicy vinegar, and you’re all set.

Favorite cafe:

The Chocolate Kiss Cafe
91 A. Roces Avenue
Their devil’s food cake is to die for.

Best bar:

77 Bar and Cafe
Along Kamuning, Quezon City
The atmosphere is so cozy, you just want to crash on the couch after you’ve had one too many.

Read

Best store for books and magazines:

Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street.
Newly opened with five stories, they have an up-to-date, hard-to-find music selection. Booksale outlets are also great and are located throughout the metro. If you’re in a treasure-hunting mode, they have discounted magazines and used books.

Shop

Best boutique:

Archaeology Wing
Rockwell Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Makati
Along with the large labels are also a few hip, young designers with unique, handmade items.

There are also several ateliers tucked away all over the metro:
Debbie Co
136 Jupiter Street, Makati.
Makes custom made designs and a few ready-to-wear pieces.

Tonic, Astoria Plaza Hotel, #15 J Escriva Drive
Stocks graphic tees from Ubiquity and 2K.

Store For All Seasons
605 Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong
Specializes in streetwear and carries Electro Lychee items.

Make Love Not War
7496 Bagtikan Street, Makati
Sells edgy pieces by local designers.

Sightsee

Favorite art space/gallery/museum:

Cubao X
General Romulo Avenue, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City
The U-shaped compound houses a lot of galleries, antique stores, restaurants, bars, and shops you can’t find anywhere else. Highlights inside the Cubao X include Vintage Pop, which sells retro/mod gear and furniture like ’60s telephones and shag carpet. The Happy Turtle is an aquatic showroom and cafe, and the Sputnik has indie comics.

Be sure to check out Mogwai, a cafe and bar operated by two directors and decorated by movie set designers. It looks like something from Saw or From Dusk Till Dawn with a glowing red chandelier and lighted images of saints adding to the creepy-cool ambiance. The second floor is a small movie theater. On the bar’s opening night, they screened cheesy horror films from the ’60s.

Favorite outdoor space:

The University of the Philippines’ Sunken Garden and surrounding lush environment is a great place to relax. Just take care not to step/lie on the used contraceptives.

Best touristy thing to do:

Ride a calesa [horse-drawn carriage] in Old Manila or the tourist-friendly tram along Roxas Boulevard.

Things only a local does or knows about:

The everyday Pinoy may dress up their Santo Niño in modern garb (e.g., a statue of the Child Jesus in a basketball uniform). We also like to overload our public vehicles, have gin-drinking sessions in the afternoon (which can escalate into a shoot-out/stabbing), and we believe that cops are crooks in uniform (as reported everyday in newspapers).

The must-see thing in your city:

A lot of foreigners love being on our noontime shows “Eat Bulaga” and “Wowowee.” But if you don’t want to make a fool of yourself on TV, you could take a guided tour through Manila’s historic forts, cemeteries, universities, and more via the Old Manila Walks program.

Events

Best events in each season?

We only have two seasons: wet and dry. The wet season is from July to November with monsoons and flooding disasters. If you want to surf during these months, you’ll have to go out of town to La Union or Siargao.

On January 9, be brave and attend the Feat of the Black Nazarene amidst the swarm of devotees in the Quiapo Church when pagan superstition crossbreeds with Christianity. The feast is a chance to visit the many faith healers/fortune tellers and their assorted wares (bottled potions, charms, etc.) in the church’s vicinity.

Philippine Fashion Week kicks off in late March with over 100 designers from all over the country showcasing their work for 10 days.

Check out our bitchin’ beaches during the summer season from March to June, but avoid commercialized and overpolluted Boracay already, sheesh!

In April and October, the Manila F.A.M.E. International Convention at the World Trade Convention Center on Roxas Boulevard features the best in Philippine design (furniture, decor, paper goods, accessories), usually for product exporters and importers. We spent a good deal of time ooh-ing and aah-ing pieces.

August: We just wrapped up the second Graphika Manila graphic design conference.

For film buffs, there’s Cinemalaya in August, which was spearheaded by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The bigger Cinemanila managed to drag Quentin Tarantino over to our shores this year. Cinemalaya and Cinemanila aim to revitalize the commercial Filipino film industry.

We also have a lot of has-beens coming over for concerts (Engelbert Humperdink, The Cascades, Babyface), although we’re sheepishly excited that Fall-Out Boy’s having a concert here, too. Maybe the Spice Girls will come. 

Tips

How would you spend a day off in your city?

We’re big fans of the local and independent music scene. We’d probably be drinking and dancing the night away at our favorite spots, such as Saguijo Bar on Guijo Street in Makati and Route 196 along Katipunan Extention. You must try their pizza and butterscotch vodka. Drop by Big Sky Mind on Dona Street in New Manila. Gigs start at 11 p.m. and end much later.

We favor the North side of the metro (Quezon City) more than the South (Makati, Malate). We’re blue-collar that way.

Best websites for local info:
shopping: http://flairinthecity.blogspot.com, http://shopcrazy.com.ph
events and features: http://pinoycentric.com, http://clickthecity.com
music: http://pulse.ph
culture: http://www.oldmanilawalks.blogspot.com
fashionista: http://bryanboy.com, http://mnlstyl.blogspot.com (the blog of designer and Manila fashion critic Cecile Zamora van Straten)