Navigating Makati's menu with Erwan Heusaff

There is no shortage of great places to eat in Makati. In fact, it’s quite the contrary. The city brims over with eateries, cafés, bistros, and bars of all sorts to suit all tastes. In Makati, you can find everything from fresh and flavorful noodles, to indulgent donut burgers, to round-the-world cuisine, and just about anything else your tummy fancies. The question is, where does a hungry foodie start?

 

The answer: just about anywhere. But if you need more direction, then perhaps Makati native and self-proclaimed fat kid inside Erwan Heussaff can help you out.

 

By way of video, the famous foodie takes his audience out on a food and pub crawl featuring all his favorite restaurants and bars.

 

“We handpicked a selection of what I believe to be some of the best restaurants in the city, the best bars or hangouts in the city to really show its diversity and the different opportunities that present themselves to people that live in the city,” Heussaff said at the video’s launch last Sept. 25.

 

On Heussaff’s restaurant line-up are XO 46 in Salcedo Village, Sala Bistro, Kai, and Cerveseria in Greenbelt, and Kikufuji in Little Tokyo. It’s easy to believe that they are the best in the city, especially since there’s a lot of footage of the hungry host heartily digging in to all kinds of dishes that range from 10-hour pork belly, to crunchy string potatoes, to bacon-wrapped asparagus yakitori.

 

Meanwhile, the pub line-up seemed to focus on the places’ ambience and feel as much as it did on the drinks themselves. Among Heussaff’s pub recommendations are Murphy’s in Legaspi Village, which, being an authentic Irish pub, serves up draft beer and gives off the vibe of a cool watering hole. There is also the mysterious Blind Pig, also in Legaspi, which is supposedly the only speakeasy in Makati.

 

Heusaff also dropped by the Museum Café in Greenbelt, which offered slushy margaritas, an easygoing atmosphere and great music; Bar M in Salcedo village, a cozy after-work hangout with a vast whisky collection; and Salon de Ning, all old-school glamorous as it revived a 1930s Shanghai with its interiors. 

 

As appetizing as the videos make these places seem, and as accessible as the places are (they are pretty much within walking distance of each other and the central business district in Makati), the very obvious drawback is the price. 

 

The videos may be free for the download, but the places they feature cost more than a pretty penny. If you can afford to wine and dine in these establishments, then great—but if you can’t, it doesn’t mean that there’s nothing else for you. 

 

As Heussaff himself said about the food and pub crawl, “for me its just a drop in the water. There are so many different places that you can go to.” 

 

After all, it is Makati—where you can wander aimlessly and still end up with a full, happy belly. –KG, GMA News