5 films to see on the week of August 30 — September 5, 2019

SOLAIRE Resort and Casino presents MaestroRy, a special, one-night only tribute concert to National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, on Aug. 31, 8 p.m., at The Theatre at Solaire.

URBAN ELECTRO band NU’EST returns with five members, a new album, and a concert tour which is making a stop in the Philippines. PULP Live World brings the band’s members — JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun, and Ren — here for the 2019 NU’EST Concert in Manila, which will be on Aug. 31 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. For details visit www.pulp.ph.

THE WORD “raw” can capture an image of boorishness. We humans think that something is only worthy of attention when it has been touched by our numerous complications. It takes a certain elegance and skill to present food safely and tastily in its rawest form, for example, sashimi. In sashimi, there is a communion between nature and humanity, the tongue getting a taste of what the universe has created in its truest, most honest, and yet proudest form, aided with minimal intervention by the human hand.

THAILAND’S CLIMATE — social and meteorological — makes for perfect culinary theater. Spices and herbs grow in abundance, while influences are gathered from high and low, from different regions like China, India, and Portugal through trade; to different classes: from the royal family itself down to the common people.

RAMEN-YA or ramen restaurants have become so popular in the country that most malls have more than one offering some form of noodle soup from some region of Japan. Such is the focus of these restaurants to maintain that authentic taste, a bowl of good ramen will set one back around P500 so it was a pleasant surprise to find a good ramen restaurant offering a complete meal for the same price.

MICHELIN-STAR chef Yoshiaki Ito of Paris-based L’Archeste restaurant and Epilogue resident chef, Hiroyuki Meno were once colleagues at the prestigious Hiramatsu restaurant chain. The Hiramatsu group is a publicly listed company from Japan, headquartered in Tokyo, and engaged in the operation of French and Italian restaurants. The Hiramatsu group operates several successful restaurants all over Japan, and has also one in France under its eponymous brand, the Restaurant Hiramatsu Paris.

CELEBRATE the Mid-Autumn Festival with special Peninsula mooncakes that are available only at The Peninsula Manila Boutique.

FUNDADOR SUPREMO 18 recently bested some of the world’s top brands to win the coveted “Best Brandy in the World 2019” title at the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC).

ILOILO CITY — The opening of the restored main building of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), which served as Iloilo’s first government hall, adds to the roster of historical and cultural attractions here.

ON a gloomy morning in mid-August at the Quiman Trading workshop in San Fernando, Pampanga, lantern-maker Chris was concentrating on making a frame with some thin steel before his fellow lantern-maker and mentor Bong welded it. Afterwards, the frame would be wiring and papered over to become a multi-colored lantern. Chris and Bong were among 20 craftsmen who have been working on three designs commissioned by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) — a sundial, a line of baybayin script, and star-shaped lantern — since May this year.

WORKS by Luna, Hidalgo, Amorsolo and more up for sale at the León Gallery’s “Magnificent September Auction 2019” on Sept. 14.