Manila: Late night shabu-shabu at Golden Fortune Seafood Restaurant

Here is the answer to your late night shabu-shabu cravings! Last March, the Philippines hosted the Asia 21 Young Leaders Forum. Among the delegates was Minnesota state senator Mee Moua who had mentioned to us over dinner that she was hoping to visit Chinatown before leaving the next day. On short notice, we rang Ivan Man Dy of Old Manila Walks to give her a private night tour of Binondo!

After exploring Binondo, we went for late night shabu-shabu at Golden Fortune Seafood Restaurant which closes at 1 a.m. daily. What's even better is starting at 9 p.m., they give a hefty discount for shabu-shabu (30 to 50 percent depending on the ingredient), dimsum and seafood. The same discount is offered from 2 to 5:30 p.m.

The shabu-shabu was great! At least we now know where to go when craving for late night food in Binondo!

Golden Fortune Seafood Restaurant
Peace Hotel, 1283 Soler Street
Binondo, Manila
(02) 244-2777

Ateneo turns 150!

Last Sunday, the Ateneo de Manila University opened festivities marking its sesquicentennial or 150th anniversary. The celebrations could have been bigger with student participation but had to be toned down because of the A(H1N1) situation. But the events were meaningful and grand nonetheless.

The whole day was actually a motorcade that started in Intramuros, the orginal site of the Ateneo, ending at the current campus in Loyola Heights. It started with a High Mass at the Manila Cathedral celebrated by His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and a battalion of Jesuit priests. This was followed by a procession from the Cathedral to the ruins of San Ignacio Church and the original site of the Ateneo de Manila.

It was in 1859 that the City of Manila handed over control of Manila's only primary school, the Escuela Municipal de Manila, to the Jesuits, who had returned to the Philippines on June 14, 1859 after nearly a century of absence.

As a side note, had the Jesuits not been suppressed and expelled from the Philippines in 1768, the oldest school in the country would have been the Colegio de Manila which was founded by the Jesuits in 1590. It was made the Universidad de San Ignacio by Pope Gregory XV in 1621, and the first royal and pontifical university in the Philippines and in Asia in 1732.

The Escuela Municipal de Manila formally opened its doors on December 10, 1859. In 1865, it was renamed Ateneo Municipal de Manila after it was accredited as an institution for secondary education.

Anyway, we all trooped to the San Ignacio Church to witness groundbreaking ceremonies for the reconstruction of the church and its Casa Mision which will house the Museo de Intramuros. That's right, the three-storey Casa Mision will be reconstructed to house the priceless relics and artifacts that have long been in storage in the offices of the Intramuros Administration. The ultimate dream is to rebuild the San Ignacio Church, arguably the grandest of all Intramuros churches!

After the program, we were served a traditional 19th century Ateneo breakfast composed of churros con chocolate, melocotón (peaches) and pandesal. A fire destroyed the Intramuros campus in 1932. The school thus transferred to Padre Faura Street in Ermita. And this was the second stop of the motorcade.

A marker was unveiled at the entrance of what is now Robinsons Place as a reminder that the Ateneo campus once stood there. The Padre Faura campus, together with the San Ignacio Church in Intramuros, were destroyed during World War II.


The motorcade also passed by the old Salcedo Campus, the Ateneo Professional Schools at Rockwell, and the School of Medicine and Public Health in Ortigas before finally making its way to Loyola Heights. The motorcade was welcomed at the Church of the Gesu with cheers from the Blue Babble Batallion.

The day finally ended with a concert by the Ateneo Chamber Singers, the Ateneo College Glee Club and some more talents at the Gesu. But the absence of most of the students was felt. So I hope in December, when we hold the One Big Night, no A(H1N1) will dampen the celebrations! But thank God for giving us a sunny Sunday!

Manila: Charlie's Grind & Grill serves great burgers!

I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today! I'm sure J. Wellington Wimpy would have been happy if he lived in Barrio Kapitolyo in Pasig with Charlie's Grind & Grill dishing up some of the best burgers in town.

Great thing it's near my place of work so I get to enjoy their Black Angus Burgers with Fresh Fries (note it's fresh because they are chopped just right before frying) anytime I crave for a burger. You can add 'shrooms or even smoked bacon if you want. And there are a lot of American comfort foods too. But I'll definitely go back for more burgers.

The store can actually fall in the category hole-in-the-wall (there are a lot of hole-in-the-wall places which serve really great food). You could easily miss it since it's tucked inside a car wash! Anyway, I'm on my way there now for dinner!

Charlie's Grind & Grill
16 East Capitol Drive, Bo. Kapitolyo, Pasig City

HCS turns 10!

The Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) began in 1994 as an ad hoc group known as Save Manila Bay! As far back as the Aquino administration, a group of concerned citizens was already clamoring for the conservation of our built heritage, settings and sites. A well-connected constructing company was about to reclaim Manila Bay, and the Secretary of Public Works already had plans of constructing a fly-over on Quirino Avenue and Roxas Boulevard. Doris Magsaysay Ho, Bambi Harper, Edda Henson, to name only a few concerned citizens, were up in arms and formed the Tourist Belt and Business Association to save Manila Bay from commercial depredation.

The HCS was formally established on 21 June 1999. The incorporating trustees were Doris Ho, Joan Orendain, Bambi Harper, Paulo Alcazaren and Augusto Villalon. Evident it is that the objectives stated by the Society were the results of more than a decade of battles and sustained advocacy.

The main issue of the day was the July 2000 demolition of the Jai Alai Building, an Art Deco treasure designed by noted American architect Welton Becket, on the orders of Mayor Lito Atienza. For more information on this, read The Game's Over: A link with the past goes as Manila's Jai Alai stadium is torn down.

Villalon says, "The useless demolition of Manila’s Jai Alai building in June 2000 was the catalyst that opened Filipino eyes to the fragility of the remaining symbols from our past."

"The year 2001 was when heritage conservationists flexed their muscles, forged partnerships with environmentalists to protect heritage, and tested the effectiveness of Philippine law in preserving the nation’s cultural heritage," Villalon recounts in his article Getting our heritage to survive the ages.

In the spirit of continuity, the 2002 HCS Board emphasized the importance of advocacy work because of the belief that before “coming to blows,” we first have to exhaust all means to inform local and national government officials, communities, architects and engineers, developers, lawyers, students, even the media about the value of heritage – what heritage is and why we are battling to conserve it.

Heritage conservation maintains links with our past by preserving significant structures, historical and cultural sites and settings. Our built heritage is evidence of our political history and socioeconomic development; it reflects our shared values, and is tangible proof of Filipino excellence and creativity.

Far from converting anything of our heritage into a museum, the HCS affirms that an efficient 21st century lifestyle can take place in the same urban and architectural envelope created by earlier generations. Built heritage can be recycled for contemporary, adaptive re-use, thereby preserving the cultural charm and traditional character of our cities and towns. Heritage conservation enhances progress and modernization : from urban revitalization and community housing, to the revival of traditional crafts and the stimulation of entrepreneurial activities. It awakens our pride of place, arousing cultural and historical awareness, which often advances cultural tourism.

Ten years after its creation, HCS continues to dream and work for "a Filipino society that values and preserves its cultural heritage in order to instill pride of place and strengthen Philippine national identity." With the help of every Filipino, that dream will become a reality.

Join us for a Benefit Dinner on 20 June 2009 at My Mother's Garden (the residence of Pablo Antonio, National Artist for Architecture), 2650 Zamora Street, Pasay City as the Heritage Conservation Society celebrates a decade of enthusiastically promoting pride of place in the entire country. Please contact the Secretariat 5212239, 5222497, (0917) 8668853 or (0922) 8712061 for more information.

Baguio: Baguio heritage in Camp John Hay going gone!

Unbelievable! Greedy! Stupid! That is all I could say when I saw these photos of the original American housing in Camp John Hay flattened to make way for new developments. I used to be so happy that at least Camp John Hay was still an enclave of Baguio heritage and green. But that was until I saw these photos!

It's really stupid. No, really! The new buildings they construct have no connection whatsoever to the history of Baguio. They should stick to the distinctive green and white architecture of the American colonial period. These developers are giving Camp John Hay a serious identity problem. They continue to destroy its unique character. The simple elegance of these decades-old houses would have been unmatched if they had been restored. Now what? Will they build second-rate copies of houses in the Alps?

Jack Carino writes, "More of old Baguio's distinctive green-and-white architecture gone!!! Photos taken January 30, 2009. So not even a toot from conservation activists. I enter Camp John Hay maybe twice or thrice a month to check on the sale of our magazines and I didn't get a clue that this was going on! Probably the demolition was done stealthily? Or traffic was rerouted when this was done?

"Anyway, I think that the Camp John Hay managers have no sense of history and heritage. They will probably build European-inspired structures just like the Manor and the Suites.

"Those vestiges of Baguio's American colonial past should have been preserved and whatever they are going to construct there should be brought to the Baguio outskirts."

Dion Fernandez tells us more, "I spoke to a representative of the John Hay Management Corporation last month, and the demolition job seen in Mr. [Wilson]'s photos is part of their plan to create an exclusive 'playground of the rich,' which runs contradictory to 'quiet dignity' as promised in the turnover manuscript posted over at the Bell House. A luxury neighborhood is expected to rise where those simple houses have fallen. The only American Heritage area left would be the so-called 'Historical Core,' which unfortunately will also eventually be 'developed' as per the architectural plans found on a balcony also outside Bell House.

"Meanwhile, I have seen the plans of the Ayala Corporation to put up a massive BPO building within Camp John Hay. Yes, it is a concrete/glass structure. Yes, pine trees will be destroyed to make way for this behemoth."

Isn't that just horrible? There are just a few pristine areas left in Baguio City. Let's preserve what's left of the heritage and environment of Baguio, especially those wonderful pine trees!

Many thanks to Ronald Hilton for taking and allowing me to use the photos and to Jack Carino for forwarding them to the HCS. At least we know now the stupidity that is happening in Camp John Hay. It's time for Baguio citizens to be vigilant! Wake up Baguio! Let's put an end to this nonsense!

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