Tatler Dining Philippines Guide 2017

GIGI BAUTISTA Gigi is the Managing Director of Gigi Bautista & Associates and GBA Events Asia, a fullservice event management company doing business across the region. Her travels to exotic destinations and delightful epicurean discoveries gave birth to her food blog: gourmetontheloose. LESLIE CRUZ-CALIMAG An intellectual property attorney by profession, Leslie's work takes her to fascinating places where first on the agenda is determining a great place for a fantastic meal. In her younger years, she chose to subsist on beef tapa, fried fish, and halabos na hipon to her family's chagrin, until her education in the U.S. and worldwide travels encouraged her to explore various cuisines. ROBERTO "BOBBY" CUENCA Bobby is a business executive with several years in the real estate, mining, and international commodities business. He was also in the hotel industry for…

What a wonderful and calorific journey this has been to give you, dear readers, a taste of the best dining experiences across the country in this year’s edition of the Philippine Tatler’s Best Restaurant Guide (BRG). Now on its 13th year, the guide presents this well-deserving listing of 172 culinary gems (whether fine dining or casual chic establishments) across every cuisine classification imaginable. We keep you clued in on what is trending in the F&B landscape with updated and comprehensive reviews, insightful features on novel food movements and, as always, a round up of the hippest bars in the city. For starters, wine and cigar critic and European Bureau Chief of Wine Spectator, James Suckling, takes us on a heady Tuscan trip and picks his favourite reds and whites from the…

Adamp, woody scent lingers in the air as we ascend in the lift. “It smells like a forest,” I remark. “A whisky forest,” says my guide, a soft-spoken man named Makoto Sumita. The doors open and it becomes clear what he means. There are stacks of casks, thousands of them, stamped with dates and filled with liquid that will be blended, bottled and sold around the world at increasingly high prices. I close my eyes and inhale deeply: the air is sweet and vaguely fruity. I’m breathing evaporated whisky. “That’s the angel’s share,” says Sumita. “We lose three per cent per year.” We are in one of the warehouses of the Suntory Yamazaki distillery, the oldest whisky distillery in Japan and the producer of some of the world’s most acclaimed single…

TERENZUOLA COLLI DI LUNI FOSSO DI CORSANO 2015 A minerally and spicy white with nutmeg and citrus fruit character. Full and flavourful. Pretty density and texture. Drink now. • 93 points MONTEVERRO CHARDONNAY TOSCANA 2013 This is a sexy chardonnay with sliced apple, honey, mineral, and stone. Full body, fresh yet round texture and intense. Gorgeous finish. Lasts for minutes. Very pretty. • 95 points PETROLO TOSCANA BOGGINA BIANCO 2014 A new wine from this wonderful winery. Shows dried lemon, melon, pear, and hints of cream. Full body yet bright and fresh. Layered and fascinating. Only two barrels made with the small Burgundian producer Lucien Le Moine. A unique wine. 100 per cent trebbiano. Drink now. • 95 points BANFI CHARDONNAY TOSCANA FONTANELLE 2015 An oily chardonnay with lots of density and intensity. Shows focus and beauty. Full and flavourful.…

TENUTA SAN GUIDO BOLGHERI-SASSICAIA SASSICAIA 2013 Fabulous structure for a Sassicaia, with powerful, polished, chewy tannins and ripe, subtle fruit. Aromas of blueberry, blackcurrant, rosemary, and lavender. Full body, bright acidity, and a savoury finish. Juicy and lively. Better to drink from 2020 but so impressive now. • 98 points ORMA TOSCANA 2013 Aromas of blackberry, burnt orange, liquorice, and spice follow through to a full body with superintegrated and fine tannins plus a fabulous depth of fruit and centre palate. This is a great wine. Drink in 2017. • 98 points BIBI GRAETZ TOSCANA COLORE 2011 2015 Opulent and fresh, with cedar, berry, tobacco, and orange peel aromas and flavours. Medium body, firm tannins, and a flavourful finish. Precise and powerful centre palate. Fabulous length. Better in 2019. • 98 points LE MACCHIOLE BOLGHERI SCRIO 2013 Wow. The best…

Back in 1873 a young entrepreneur named Gerard Heineken discovered a passion for brewing. So he purchased a piece of land in what is now the centre of Amsterdam, built a brewery and set about perfecting the recipe that would soon become Holland’s first ‘premium’ lager beer. Word quickly spread and the name Heineken, stamped onto every single bottle, became a national symbol of quality. Over the next 140 years, his brewery expanded and Gerard’s children and grandchildren explored new worlds, but the name on the bottle remained the same. Today, four generations later, they are still passionate about brewing a truly premium beer. After all, when your family name is at stake, you care a little more. At the heart of Heineken’s success lies pure, natural ingredients: malted barley, water,…