It was such a coincidence that I was at Back to the 90's yesterday and it was apparently--Hashtag:…read moreThrowback Thursday. My friends from Concerned Artists of the Philippines in UP held a back to back gig of two independent bands there last night (Plagpul and KALIS), so I passed by and gave my support. It was my first time in this bar but I already knew about it for quite some time; it's Back to the Future signage along Tomas Morato, corner E. Rodriguez is simply hard to miss. I was curious at first to see what it's like inside Back to the 90's, only to find out that it's actually no different from most bars ideal for gatherings of independent bands and the underground music scene. The only difference with Back to the 90's is practically, its 90's theme. You will definitely see a lot of Throwback posts on their walls because of the framed movie and music posters from the 90's era. Haha! What a virtual way to describe it, but I would rather stick to such description than say nostalgic because I simply did not get the feel. I was born 1991, so I really wasn't able to get a glimpse of how bars then were like. Although, when I asked some of my older friends there, they said that 'yes, this is actually a recreation of a 90's bar.' What I like about it, is it's cozy but rock and roll ambiance that went well with its small, vertical space; comfortable couches are leaned against graffiti walls showcased by dimmed pin lights. They also have a very cute menu placed in an old school CD case where they offer alcoholic beverages and bar dishes like Nacho's, Fries, Buffalo Wings, etc. Although, I wasn't able to have a taste of any because I was a little broke last night (P200.00 per order), and their selections were not really that inviting, the waiter said that their best seller is the Tapsilog. Overall, it was an OK bar for me. I would go here if good bands will be playing but probably not for a usual late night chill or beer nights.

I've been an avid goer of gigs since 2007 and even started my own production company in 2009, but…read morebelieve it or not, I only started frequenting Route 196 in 2014. Of course, I would watch gigs there from time to time, but because I live in Makati and parking can get difficult, I used to get too lazy to go all the way to Katipunan. Since my first gig in April 2014, I'm probably there almost once or twice a week. It even came to a point that I was there four times in one week! Yes, parking can be difficult, but with Mak around, he's sure to find a decent and safe parking spot for you. Once you park, you pay an entrance fee to Ryan, who at times often tease me already. (See? I go there waaaaay too much.) There are times though that entrance is free. Usually for Rockeoke nights, which I've honestly never been to, but come on. Karaoke with a live band backing you up and everyone drunk enough not to judge your horrible singing? Come on. That's got to sound inviting. From time to time, I buy a bottle of scotch that is served to me by my favorite waiter, Mark. If you're a fan of How I Met Your Mother, just imagine Mark as Linus. He never leaves my glass empty! My friends and I have actually gotten close to the waiters,(and by close I mean, Facebook friends and commenting on each others' posts), that we would often tease each other with little inside jokes. On Tuesdays they have drink all you can for P300 on certain cocktails and every night they have buy one take one on pizza until 8 or 9 pm. If you're feeling cheap, go for those two options, but if you're really hungry, try the deviled chicken or deviled tofu with a serving of rice, which by the way, is not even expensive at all! If you're not a fan of spicy food though, try their other pizzas or their rice bowls. Basically, Route 196 has everything I need when I go out: good food, great staff and brilliant music. And of course, an unlimited amount of cheap drinks!

Joining the ranks of bars like Saguijo, Big Sky Mind, and Club Dredd, Route 196 has become a hot…read moreand sought-after venue for today's young artists. Most big names of the independent art scene frequent Route 196, if not for their own events, for the crowd. Route attracts writers, independent thinkers, music aficionados, filmmakers, and patrons of the underground community. Events I've attended here include Stereodeal's album launch, GeekFight! Trivia Night, Deus Sex Machina, a gig with indie bigwigs Bullet Dumas, Ebe Dancel, and Johnoy Danao, and a fundraiser for a dance film. Route may be a bit difficult to get to, with no direct commutes, but it doesn't stop the crowds from going out of their way to get there. The lure of the culture of Route 196 is just too strong.

Good place to hang out, live band and pretty good food food, get your group several buckets of beer…read moreand you are set. The ambiance is okay, an almost too high of a stage is the main focal point to an almost urban-western setting, of course the servers have play their part as well wearing almost awkward cropped western top and hat. Overall this place is alright and for a Tuesday night, the place is hopping! I can only imagine how this place is on a Friday and on the weekends. Cheers!!

I pride myself on having an excellent sense of direction, especially in Metro Manila. However, when…read morea friend of mine told me we were going to Tago, my inner GPS completely conked out. Tago's name is apt, then, because the bar is completely tago (hidden) somewhere in Cubao! The place itself hosts no gaudy signage. In fact, you'll be hard-pressed to find it if you've never been. Giving directions to tago is a BITCH! But it's absolutely worth it. The bar itself is small, and the outdoor area is narrow. Frequented mostly by jazz musicians and fans, Tago is an intimate little hideaway in Quezon City that's mostly for friends and fans. No annoying young millennials to be seen here, folks! It's all a bunch of old, funny farts who play really excellent music, and the retired hipster in me likes it this way. There's something comfortable about a place that doesn't require you to dress to the nines because you're not there to impress anyone. You're there to watch a fantastic show, and you are always guaranteed a good time. This is because the patrons are passionate about what they do, and when they go on stage, it is immediate the moment the first chord is strummed, or the first drumbeat is banged.

They weren't kidding when they decided to call it Tago Jazz Cafe. First of all, it was pretty…read moredifficult to find. Okay, granted that my friend who brought me there was just guessing directions, it would have taken some guessing regardless. Don't expect outdoor signage or anything fancy to let you know that you have arrived; Tago, after all, exists for the art, not for the attention. It is real music for real music lovers. My visit was an outlier to the more regular patrons who frequent Tago. They are serious jazz enthusiasts, all from a tight-knit community of savants and seasons musicians. All that talent convened in just one tiny place is both intimidating and humbling. I would compare the experience to seeing Julliard-trained talent performing on the street corners of New York City: overflowing talent, yet so understatedly served. On the one hand, I wish there were more places like Tago, or that people knew how to appreciate jazz and jazz bars more. On the other hand, all that attention might mean losing the charm and intimacy that tiny Tago provides its best patrons.

This place is way overpriced and on top of that they have bizarre extra fees too…read more Drinks and food are just ok. Views are nice: basically a rooftop city skyline. But for the high price, the quality, quantity and services are seriously lacking. They also have strange extra-charges. For example if you ask the left-over food boxed they will charge you a substantial fee for that! We had never seen or heard of such policy anywhere else and they don't inform you of such bizarre fee in advance either! The humidity and pollution don't help this place either. Will not go back and don't recommend it.

Sky Deck View Bar offers delicious Filipino and international dishes, friendly and attentive…read moreservice, and an unforgettable ambiance with 360° views of Manila--especially magical at sunset. They offer extensive mix of local and international dishes, standout items like bagnet and calamari; some variability in temperature and taste

I found out about this rare gem through Reese Lansangan's instagram post about a place in Cubao…read morethat sells Pinoy-made ukuleles. I checked out their page instantly (or should I say, insta-stalk?) to check out if they could apply a decal of the phases of moon on my ukulele. What really piqued my interest was that they conduct a free ukulele tutorial every Thursday at 6 PM. It so happened that it was also a Thursday when I found out about it so phoned my friend and we got there in the nick of time. We both have been trying to learn how to play the ukulele for months all by ourselves and we really never got the time to learn it side by side. We also wanted to learn under the wings of someone who has been playing it for years so that we can ask questions which is obviously quite impossible if your mentor is someone from a Youtube video. Not only did we learn how to play 'Til There Was You by The Beatles but we also met fellow ukulele players and most of them were just as newbies like us who wanted to learn how to play an instrument even at a late age. They also have an open jam every Friday nights to gather ukulele players all around the metro and form a camaraderie with everyone who loves to play the uke. You can also order tea or coffee while you're there and just like the ukulele they sell, they're also made by Filipinos. Hooray for supporting local!

I can say that ukuleles are getting more and more popular these days. I base it on the fact that…read moremusic instrument shops are running out of stocks now more than ever. I got my first ukulele from a huge chain, and when I went back two months later to get one for my brother, they were all gone. Going back a week later didn't help, and neither did trying out some other stores. Of course they do restock, it's just that more people are buying them. I guess more and more musicians are using ukes for their live performances and fans are following. Just think about Meghan Trainor and Vance Joy. Now, I stumbled upon Four Strings Cafe's online page when I was on a roll googling ukulele shops and liking their pages. The cafe is located in Cubao Expo. There you can find ukuleles of literally different shapes and sizes, strings, accessories like tuner and some ukulele bags too. You can also, for some reason, buy Manic Panic hair dyes there. That's where I'm gonna go to once I decide to do a YOLO hairdo, although I doubt they have resident hairstylists there. I'm totally kidding. Their string babies are locally-made and are priced competitively in my opinion. I attended one of their free ukulele workshops where you they teach you chords and songs with some other enthusiasts. All of you squeezed inside the tiny cafe, but for me it was totally worth it.

This place is a little bit under the radar and it maaaay have a slightly sketchy vibe (lol) but…read morewhen you get inside-- Wow. It's totally like being transported to the 80's! They really went all out in decorating the whole place with legit 80's band shirts and album covers on the walls, a whole line of famous records of the era crossing a panel in the ceiling, a giant rubik's cube that lights up dangling right by the entrance, a Super Mario game screen cap wall-art, and 80's movie posters all around that my John Hughes movie fangirl self got so excited about. It might have been the first time I honestly appreciated the 80's, hahaha. I'm not sure how it is on normal nights, but it's definitely a great place for themed parties, which is exactly what we did when we booked the whole place for an 80's themed office christmas party! It was perfect! The whole ambience really set the theme in motion, complete with an in-house DJ who gamely played an all 80's playlist for us the whole night and even assisted us with an 80's "Name-That-Tune" game that got super competitive, hahaha. As the night winded down, a couple of us got to hang by the bar counter watching the 1983 Star Wars Return of the Jedi (but of course. wooo!) on the TV by the drinks shelves, with ice cold beers. What a night. That's another thing, their beers are all perfectly chilled! And they're not too expensive either. Food may be a little too oily and pretty ordinary, but I don't think you really go here for the food anyway. It's a bit of a niche spot that nearby QC-office goers would frequent, so if you're from there, check out this cool little spot!

We found ourselves on October 21st, 2015, aka Back to the Future day, on the other side of the…read moreplanet, sad that we were missing the celebration with our friends in LA, but also happy that we didn't get inundated by it. And yet completely coincidentally, we find ourselves with a hotel in Timog, where, just half a mile away, there was a bar called CAFE 80's! The coincidence could not have been more perfect. The place is dark, but covered in 80's memorabilia, which is always fun to look at. The DJ played 80's hits as would be expected. They were playing Back to the Future on the TV, but afterwards instead of playing Part 2 (where the date would've shown), they switched to Cocktail starring Tom Cruise. The place was relatively empty when we got there around 9pm so maybe we were the only ones that actually knew about the occasion. The beer prices were decent, but the cocktails were both small-sized and not very strong. Stick to bottled drinks. Food was also just meh, only get it if you're super hungry and need something to absorb the alcohol.

I was actually debating with myself whether I should share this place or not. But, fine, I'm…read moresharing one of my favorite drinking joints in the QC area! I discovered this place because a friend (who also didn't want to share it with me!) was having a super duper BAD day. Of course, I suggested we drink somewhere near his place. He said that he wanted to get wasted and that we should drink at his "secret place." So, why is Coal awesome? Be here on Sundays to Thursdays from 5-9PM to avail of their "Drink All You Can" Promo! It's only Php99 (2.11USD)! On Fridays and Saturdays, the same promo is Php168 (3.58USD); just stick to the weekdays! In the promo mechanics, you have to order a "pulutan" that will cost you about Php200 (4.26USD). But, still, all the beer you can drink for Php99. Looove it! It is such an awesome deal. I know that they just started this promo in September 2015. So far, they've kept extending it and I hope they will keep on extending it! :D About the food, it's your typical pinoy bar food. I recommend you try the Baked Mussels, Crispy Pork Strips, Chichaocoal Bulaklak, and the Coal Pork Sisig! If you wanna go cheap when you avail of their promo, here are the "pulutans" you should order: Onion Rings, Sweet Spicy Chicken, Smoked Hungarian Sausage, and Inihaw na Liempo! It's a bit difficult to get to but the trike drivers and guards in the area know the place very well. Also, they have private KTV rooms! Perfect for barkadas or an after office chill out session. :)

Good to enjoy w/ friends in very noisy open are environment. They also have individual rooms. We…read morecan watch sport TV programs there. Foods are not but and low price range. Consequently, their customers seems young people who easily get fights such environment.

A tiny little shack on one of the side streets along E. Rodriguez houses one of the oldest bars in…read morethe local scene. A friend once described it as a bar "where everyone is broken", and people just want someone to sit down and talk to or to drink their troubles away. While this seems like a melodramatic way to describe such a famous (or infamous) place, it seems to be spot on. I can't actually recall much of the food here, but I do remember all the faces, drunken laughter, the awesome music, and the late night talks and interesting goings-on in the bar. People might say that BSM may be where the good, the bad, and the ugly happens but I guess everyone seems to want to be here anyway when it does. Also, it can't be a bad thing when the alcohol is good, cold, and cheap, right? :D

Big Sky Mind boasts 4 things that have won me over despite its distance from me: 1) a great crowd:…read moreusually the chill, creative, intellectual but fun-loving types. 2) Comfort food that tastes just that perfect amount of "dirty," and not too meticulously cooked, which allows you to enjoy 3) a great selection of drinks that taste good and hit hard, so you end up drunkenly singing to 4) their playlist of nonstop classic alternative/punk songs. The anthems of Generation X/Y's youth. This two-floor joint is a great place to unwind. Did I mention there are plenty of sofas? (But hey if that ain't flying with you, there are regular tables and seats at the bar as well.) By the way, I found it just a tad difficult to spot, so if you're geographically inept like I am, it's behind the BPI and across McDonald's along E. Rodriguez, facing Dona Juana Rodriguez Avenue. Meh, just look for the sound of people having a good time.