The Pen’s The Bar gets a touch of Albania
THE PENINSULA’S The Bar will be taken over by Albanian bartender Sofokli Gali of Nouvelle Vague on Oct. 3, starting 8 p.m. The Tirana bar is the first from the Balkans to make the World’s 50 Best Bars extended list. For one night only, he will be showing Manila why he shook up his city with the Tirana Cocktail Fest, how he built MUSE from the ground up, and claimed a spot in Drinks International’s Bar World 100.
Exploding Galaxies republishes Sarap and Palayok
EXPLODING GALAXIES is republishing two vital books on Filipino food culture — Sarap: Essays on Philippine Food and Palayok: Philippine Food Through Time, On Site, In the Pot, by Doreen G. Fernandez and Edilberto N. Alegre — and is launching both simultaneously on Oct. 11. Exploding Galaxies focuses on republishing the lost classics of Philippine writing. The publication of Sarap and Palayok marks its first push outside the orbit of fiction and the beginning of what may be many rediscovered titles on food. Until these new editions in 2025 by Exploding Galaxies, these two books have not been published again since Sarap first came out in 1988, and Palayok in 2000. Sarap features essays written and compiled by Ms. Fernandez and Mr. Alegre about the life and ways of Filipino food. In this new edition it is accompanied by the work of four illustrators: Gianne Encarnacion, Kitty Jardenil, Elle Shivers, and Eva Yu. The book was designed by Kristian Henson. Meanwhile, Palayok: Philippine Food through Time, on Site, in the Pot by Ms. Fernandez presents the origins and evolution of Philippine cuisine. In this new edition, Ms. Fernandez’s writing is accompanied by photographs by Jilson Tiu of the eateries and arteries of Manila, of first catches and ferments, of kitchens, tables, and fiestas all over the country. The book was designed by Miguel Mari. Starting Oct. 15, the books will be available to purchase via the website, www.explodinggalaxies.com, and in select branches of National Book Store, Fully Booked, Kultura, Mt. Cloud Bookshop (Baguio), and Everything’s Fine (Makati).
Crystal Dragon’s Mid-Autumn Fest menu
CRYSTAL DRAGON, luxury integrated resort City of Dreams’ restaurant for Cantonese and regional Chinese cuisine, presents a special ala carte menu in celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival. Available from Oct. 1 to 19 for lunch and dinner, the celebratory menu is designed to strengthen togetherness with loved ones featuring seasonal dishes. These include Double-boiled 10-head Abalone with fish maw, blaze mushroom, cordyceps flower and baby pork ribs; Braised Stuffed Whole Sea Cucumber with minced pork in supreme oyster sauce; Deep-fried Live Sea Grouper with saffron orange peel vinaigrette; Braised Fresh Water Crayfish, Szechuan style; and Tea-smoked Eight Treasures Rice wrapped in dehydrated lotus leaf. A menu highlight is the dessert, featuring the mooncake tradition offered as a set of Cranberry Mango Lava Snow Skin Mooncake and Oven-baked Traditional Mini Red Bean Mooncake, with Chilled Honey Lemon Tea with fresh pomelo and malva nut. Limited-edition White Lotus Seed Paste with Double Egg Yolk Mooncakes are also available at Café Society throughout the whole month of October. The mooncakes are encased in a gift box of four. Crystal Dragon is open daily from noon to 11 p.m., while Café Society is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Tuesdays when it opens at 8 a.m. For inquiries and reservations, call 8800-8080 or e-mail guestservices@cod-manila.com; or visit www.cityofdreamsmanila.com.
Goldilocks unveils new Signature Chocolate
GOLDILOCKS launches its newest creation, the Signature Chocolate cake. This combines four layers of black velvet cake wrapped in chocolate frosting. Each slice has cashew praline between layers, adding a unique texture to the cake. It is topped with bittersweet chocolate curls atop a base of chocolate droplets. Now available for P750, the Signature Chocolate can be enjoyed in Goldilocks stores nationwide, or delivered through www.goldilocksdelivery.ph, GrabFood, and foodpanda.
