SACS Future Tours
Colorful getaway: Manila
reservations@shenzhenacs.com
Highlights of this Colorful Getaway are:
A visit to the Salcedo Village Market
This charming and bustling market is packed with colorful stalls selling everything from heavenly organic cakes and locally grown coffee to cheeses, breads, oils, dips and chewy sweets made from water buffalo milk. It’s an ideal place for grazing with hundreds of freshly made dishes on offer from around the region. It’s also fantastic for food shopping.Top local buys include pesto made with super nutritious Mallunggay leaves, blocks of organic chocolate and smooth and aromatic balako coffee.The market is well organized, impressively hygienic and everyone is polite, friendly and eager to chat about their homemade products. Most stalls offer free tasters and prices are very reasonable. Pack your suitcase lightly so you can take loads of Filipino treats back home with you.The market is open every Saturday from 7am until 2pm.
Salcedo Market, parking lot of Torsedillas, Salcedo and Luisto Sts., Salcedo Village, Makati City.
Manila Design Trip
If you love interior design then you’ll fall head over heels in love with the galleries in Harrison Street. It’s a quiet and secluded leafy compound where 1940s-style houses open their doors to the public to exhibit and sell beautiful arts, crafts, furniture, ceramics and sculptures.And most importantly—they are amazingly cheap! With frangipani trees casting shade over the street, this tranquil community is a rare find in Manila. Start at Avellana Art Gallery, which specializes in eye-catching Filipino art, then head over the road to a-11,
which sells limited edition furniture and homeware.Your final stop should be the atelier ofwell-known fashion designer Jesus “Joji” Lloren.These galleries are open to the public (Mon-Sat, 10am-7pm) but we advise calling ahead to check times.The Peninsula offers an exclusive trip for guests which includes a delicious Filipino lunch or a dinner buffet in one of the serene gallery spaces.The Manila Design Trip includes transport to and from the hotel and costs P25,000. Book it via the concierge.
Avellana Art Gallery, 2680 FB Harrison St., Pasay City, (632) 833-8357. a 11, 2680 FB Harrison St., Pasay City, (632) 832-9972. Jesus “Joji” Lloren, House B-20, 2680 FB Harrison St., Pasay City, (632) 401-1194.
Dinner at Travel Café
This hip Manila hangout is not only a mellow café and modern Filipino restaurant, but also a travel shop where you can book a trip to one of the stunning islands and a shop selling everything from CDs of local music to stoneware pottery.The food is excellent—expect modern interpretations of well- loved local dishes such as adobo (chicken marinated in soy sauce vinaigrette stuffed with liver), Batangas beef ribs, or braised oxtail served with banana heart. End your meal with the Philippine’s most famous and extravagant dessert, halo halo. Expect a rainbow- colored tower of different flavored ice creams, shaved ices, sweet preserved beans, coconut and
fruit. One portion feeds at least four. Travel Café Philippines, Greenbelt 5, L/2, Ayala Center, Makati City, Manila, www.travelcafephilippines.com