2 Manila joints make it to Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024
A week before the live awards ceremony of the ninth installment of the Asia’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier and in partnership with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the year’s 51-100 ranking was published, and brought much joy to many Filipinos, as it included a bar in Muntinlupa City.
Making its debut in the roster is Southbank Café + Lounge, a self-proclaimed “drinking room” that focuses on technique-heavy cocktails within a Melbourne-inspired space, which sits snugly at no. 82. This was decided on by a 265-member academy, consisting of a gender-balanced crew of bartenders, bar owners, drink writers and cocktail aficionados.
Joining them are 14 other new entries from across the region, including Jakarta, Indonesia’s The St. Regis Bar (no. 88), which serves New York-inspired signature cocktails paired with a live jazz band and ultra-luxe interiors; the Cat Bite Club in Singapore at no. 77; and The Hudson Rooms (no. 81), the 1920s-inspired oyster and cocktail den on the rooftop of The Capella in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Last July 16, in a well-attended event at the Rosewood Hong Kong in Kowloon, another Manila bar got recognized, namely The Curator in Makati, as it landed at no. 33, up a spot from last year’s ranking. Operating since 2016, the country’s best bar is the only Philippine entry in the top half. It has been crawling its way closer to the top, with a no. 38 ranking in 2019 and 2021.
Hong Kong’s Bar Leone made history by debuting on the list at the coveted no. 1 spot. The year-old neighborhood bar in Central founded by bartender Lorenzo Antinori embodies the Italian ethos of “cocktail popolari” or “cocktails for the people.” Completing the top five list are Zest in Seoul, Jigger & Pony in Singapore, Coa in Hong Kong (last year’s champ) and Bar Benfiddich in Tokyo.
Dining out
Of course, no trip to Hong Kong would be complete without having my fill of my staples, namely char siu and the sourdough egg tarts from Bakehouse. When it comes to the barbecue pork, I often go to Yat Lok for a quick fix. But on this trip, I decided to explore another brand that’s long been on my radar and on the recommendation list of many locals—Dragon State Kitchen.
Located along Bonham Strand, the stand-alone Cantonese joint has all the standard roast items such as pork, duck, chicken and goose. But what many diners really come here for is the char siu, which, based on my experience, cuts just like butter and has a char that tastes like barbecued candy. The rice it came with wasn’t anything to write about, but the pork was tender, juicy and dreamily savory.
Whenever I travel, I try to book at least one restaurant that will offer a complete dining experience, one that would allow me to get to know a chef over multiple courses. For this recent trip, that was one Michelin-starred Estro.
Elevating Neapolitan cuisine through modern cooking techniques, chef Antimo Maria Merone’s tasting menus draw inspiration from his homeland of Naples by way of tipping the hat to his ancestors and childhood, and presenting it in a way that flashes elegance and his own culinary point-of-view to the plate.
My meal at Estro impressed from the get-go, as a handful of one-bite appetizers and a bread basket whet my appetite. A bit of customization was in order, as I got to choose from among four types of extra virgin olive oil, ranging from mild to strong, that I would like to dip my bread into.
The dinner then progressed into a series of dishes that imbibed the Italian manner of cooking, which is keeping it simple and fresh, but in a more sophisticated way, like a mound of fresh tuna crowned with tomato and accompanied by a pool of refreshing and light tomato-watermelon water; squid prepped to look and feel like pasta draped with lemon-scented almond cream and caviar; and cut-like-butter blue lobster laminated with an olive oil sabayon.
As expected, Merone did his pastas well, as proven by the scialatielli draped with a velvety zucchini-basil sauce and the restaurant’s signature, bottoni filled with buffalo cheese then accompanied by morel mushrooms and honey peas. The sophistication in his dishes could be mistaken for looking too simple, but a single bite proved otherwise as the taste evidenced the finesse and technique that went into them.
Even the service was remarkable—the servers kept refilling my glass with water, the tables constantly kept clean of crumbs and the assistance felt sincere. They even escorted me in and out of the restaurant, even to the comfort room.
Though short, I wanted my stay in Hong Kong to be marked and memorable. Estro certainly made that possible.
