Far from home is close enough

MANILA, Philippines - Not every semester break lets you duck off on a rocky flight to Boracay for its white sand and Jonas’ fruit shakes, or to Hong Kong to chow down a bowl of noodle soup with the mood of Wong Kar Wai. There’s usually a fair bit of down time involved, but hiding behind closed curtains watching Game of Thrones reruns makes you an easy target for a semester break spin-off of existentialism.

Instead, consider these two places that can guide you around the Philippines within the space of mere meters.

Ritual

A lot of souvenirs from tourist spots never meet the goal of function. After all, a souvenir fridge magnet can only hold so many to-do lists and some ceramic figurines are, more often than not, abstract beyond reason. But then there’s Ritual at the Collective, probably the best place to find locally sourced pantry goods, preserves, organic clothes, toiletries and other household knickknacks like thimbles and safety pins. “Ritual is more an experimental spot than anything else”, says Bea Misa, Ritual’s shopkeeper who runs it alongside Rob Crisostomo. “We think more people should mess around with distribution norms and sourcing norms.” Narrowing the distance between ‘the source’ and ‘the shop’, Ritual offers a sustainable alternative that actually works. Here you’re encouraged to bring your own plastic containers, explaining that “Metro Manila needs to be more anti-monokultura and post-plastik”.

The products they sell are a result of combing through communities for produce and building relationships with the suppliers. “They are our friends, foremost,” Bea notes. “for sure if we ever get married, they will be there we always joke that our future wedding will be a mess of people and farm produce.“

Beth Angsioco and Chey Giney Villar’s Adarna boasts a comprehensive Philippine trek by way of food trip.

Bea takes as an example one of their suppliers, young Moslems who work for peace through sustainable agriculture and enterprise from Liguasan Marsh. “We started selling their coffee because their office had become a refugee center during the war and flooding in Maguindanao. We really wanted to help them out because aid was getting so thin.”

The shop has a few chairs and tables set up outside underneath the Collective skyroof. During the day it’s a nice place to sit and set down your groceries as you have a glass of organic regular brewed coffee that their friends from Ligusan Marsh have sourced from the indigenous community at Mt. Apo and Daguma Range. You can also follow it up with espresso cacao or Manibos guyabano juice.

Ritual, Unit A, The Collective, 7274 Malugay Street San Antonio 1203 Makati Philippines; Tuesday to Sat, 12-9p.m.

Adarna

Adarna is a little charmer that is a food trip on its own, celebrating the richness of Filipino culture by scouring the country for the best heirloom and regional recipes. “The place is our advocacy for better appreciation for what Filipino is,” explains Beth Angsioco, who runs the restaurant with Chef Giney Villar. They both have backgrounds in social development, which allowed them to travel around the country. “There’s a lot that we don’t eat here anymore,” Beth discovered. “When people think about Pinoy food, they think ‘it’s nothing special’. We want to help develop a kind of mindset that is more appreciative of what Filipino food is.”

It took them a year to hunt down their adobo, which was a recipe they eventually found from a well-off Batangas family. But because people back then didn’t share their recipes, they kept at recreating the dish through palate memories and storytelling until one day, a family member finally announced, ‘this is it’.

Adarna’s sinigang is made from real sampalok, batwan, which is a round fruit that Ilonggos use, and when in season, ‘catman’. You can also find the Sulu-based ‘piassok’ in their menu along with the original Ilocos sisig, called the ‘dinikdikan’, both of which you would have a fair amount of difficulty finding in menus around the country.

Its old house interiors that seem layered with the comfort of a family home takes in just the right amount of outside breeze, making the dining experience rich with Philippine culture beyond just food. Inside you’ll also find an old jukebox, a vintage sari-sari store, and photographs of yesteryear carnival queens and movie stars. It reminds you of a time that families really did have dinners together without iPads and diets for guests.

Adarna Food and Culture Restaurant, 119 Kalayaan Avenue, 1101 Quezon City, Philippines, 632)9268712; +63917)9618113