Makati, Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and What to Eat in Manila

After walking the 16th-century cobblestones of Intramuros, travelling ten kilometres south-east into Makati and Bonifacio Global City (BGC) feels like stepping into another century. Built on former military airfields and haciendas, these two green, pedestrian-friendly districts are where Manila's contemporary art galleries, weekend farmers' markets, craft cocktail bars and chef-driven Filipino restaurants thrive.

Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and Makati highlights

• Bonifacio High Street and BGC Street Art (Taguig): BGC is built around a kilometre-long open-air park promenade (Bonifacio High Street) flanked by shaded walkways, outdoor sculptures and giant multi-storey building murals painted by Filipino and international muralists between 5th Avenue, 7th Avenue and Burgos Circle. Families enjoy the interactive Mind Museum, while Mitsukoshi BGC and High Street Central anchor the dining scene.
• Ayala Museum, Greenbelt and Ayala Triangle Gardens (Makati): at the heart of the Makati business district, the redesigned Ayala Museum holds the Gold of Ancestors exhibition (over a thousand pre-colonial gold sashes, masks and necklaces) alongside sixty hand-carved historical dioramas. Step outside into the tropical rain-tree garden of Greenbelt and tree-lined Ayala Triangle Gardens.
• Salcedo & Legazpi Weekend Markets and Poblacion: on Saturday mornings in Salcedo Village and Sunday mornings in Legazpi Village, locals gather for regional Filipino street delicacies and coffee. After dark, head north in Makati to Poblacion for speakeasies, rooftop craft-beer bars and creative bistros.

Six essential Filipino dishes to eat in Manila

Whether you dine at an heirloom-recipe restaurant (such as Aristocrat by Manila Bay, Abe, Manam, Locavore or Romulo Cafe) or a tasting room in Makati and BGC, order these six classics:

• Adobo: pork belly or chicken slow-braised in cane vinegar, soy sauce, crushed garlic, black peppercorns and bay leaves until deeply savoury and glazed.
• Sizzling Sisig: originating in Pampanga, finely chopped crispy pig's cheeks and ears tossed with calamansi juice, onions, chicken liver and chillies on a smoking cast-iron platter, often topped with a fresh egg.
• Sinigang: a brightly sour broth soured with fresh green tamarind (sampalok), guava or calamansi and simmered with pork ribs, prawns or milkfish (bangus) and water spinach (kangkong).
• Kare-Kare and Crispy Pata: oxtail braised in a roasted-peanut and toasted-rice sauce served with fermented shrimp paste (bagoong), or crackling deep-fried pork knuckle.
• Kinilaw: indigenous Philippine raw fish ceviche cured briefly in coconut vinegar, ginger, red onion, calamansi and chillies.
• Halo-Halo: literal Tagalog for "mix-mix", a tall glass layered with sweetened jackfruit, red beans, macapuno coconut and leche flan under finely shaved ice, evaporated milk and purple yam (ube) ice cream.