All Stories

Everything we've published, newest first.

Philippinen Ehrengast banner on the Frankfurt fair hall with the Messeturm tower rising behind

Why write with the archipelago on fire?

‘Literature is the slower type of art which is consumed in seclusion, a great antidote against the flood of information.’

By Igan D'Bayan · November 1, 2025
Cecile Licad in white-framed glasses smiles from behind an open concert grand piano

Cecile Licad’s tones of home

A Hamburg Steinway on the Banaue Rice Terraces, paksiw every morning, and the word motorsiklo written where accelerando should be.

By Igan D'Bayan · September 21, 2025
Triptych of brunch plates: a cheese toastie with pickle, crab cake benedict and a layered mango dessert

Out to brunch as the world turns

The Great British Brunch at Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill: unlimited cheese toasties and sticky toffee pudding, and a chef with Ramsay tattooed on her arm.

By Igan D'Bayan · September 18, 2025
Collage of four plated dishes from The Test Kitchen, including cured meats, a glazed lamb shank and a pork chop

Inside a kitchen constantly put to the test

Ever the explorer, Chef Josh Boutwood treats The Test Kitchen as a culinary laboratory rather than a typical restaurant.

By Igan D'Bayan · August 28, 2025
A visitor walks past the vast tilted timber structure of the Philippine Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, soil trays in the foreground

Heart & soil

A thousand hand-made tiles of soil from Calatagan, Baybay and Tampakan, built to erode: the Philippine Pavilion at the Architecture Biennale.

By Igan D'Bayan · August 18, 2025
A server holds a pizza before a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the illuminated Ortigas skyline at night

Podium Social brings culinary cool to Ortigas

Five restaurants on The Podium’s sixth floor rethink how Manila gathers and eats, above a kaleidoscopic view of Ortigas.

By Igan D'Bayan · July 17, 2025
A dry-aged tomahawk steak carved tableside into rosy medium-rare slabs on a vertical stand at Smith & Wollensky

Eyes on the Tomahawk and other tales at Smith & Wollensky

The Manhattan steakhouse lands in BGC with dry-aged Tomahawks carved tableside, a Grammy-nominated pianist, and no interest in local tastes.

By Igan D'Bayan · July 10, 2025
A chef leans on the black marble bar of a Bistronomia Group restaurant, backed by shelves of liquor bottles and copper mugs

Exploding olives, tempting tapas, and a tale of virtual travel

Las Flores, Tomatito, Rambla and Rumba: how the Bistronomia Group serves a trip through Barcelona, Navarra and Madrid without a boarding pass.

By Igan D'Bayan · May 22, 2025
Japanese designer Mihara Yasuhiro in front of a DJ setup, smiling and wearing one of his signature deconstructed sneakers

Meet the Japanese designer who expresses the sublime through the ridiculous

Japanese designer Mihara Yasuhiro brings his sculptural, street-meets-art sneakers to Studio Dimensione BGC, in a bold collab with Suyen Corp.

By Igan D'Bayan · May 14, 2025
Compilation grid of Scott Garceau’s donut paintings, showing album covers of Grace Jones, Joy Division, The Cars, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Björk, and The Beatles with donuts integrated into their artwork

A glazed rebellion: Scott Garceau’s hole-hearted art at The Crucible Gallery

The monolith on Who’s Next is now a donut, and so is the pulsar on Unknown Pleasures: Scott Garceau glazes rock’s most iconic sleeves.

By Igan D'Bayan · May 4, 2025
Collage of LongHorn Steakhouse dishes: grilled steaks, lobster tail, a chicken salad and a chocolate dessert

Real steak cannot be faked

LongHorn Steakhouse rides into Ortigas with a meat-slinging manifesto and no truffle foam anywhere. You cannot fake steak, is the belief.

By Igan D'Bayan · May 1, 2025
Canvas tote bags printed with a glowing gradient design resting on rows of curved wooden chairs

‘The Imagination peoples the air’: PHL prepares for literary spotlight at Frankfurt Book Fair

As Guest of Honour at the 2025 Frankfurter Buchmesse (FBM), the Philippines is boldly scripting a new chapter for its literature on the global stage.

By Igan D'Bayan · April 21, 2025