My Trip to the Philippines, Part One
Business trips often take me to beautiful countries filled with history and culture.
If you follow my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48, you may have seen photos from my recent excursion to the Philippines - a place I’ve wanted to visit for a very long time. The Republic of the Philippines is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. My brief stay was in Luzon, the country’s largest and most populous island, and home to Manila, the national capital. I was invited to speak there as part of the ANC Leadership Series. While in the Philippines, I also toured many wonderful places including the historic walled city of Intramuros and the National Museum of Natural History. I went to the province of Pampanga to plant rice, and to see some of the amazing works of the region’s craftspeople. I walked through Binondo - the oldest Chinatown in the world and learned how to make the country’s traditional bread, pandesal, from one of Manila's finest bakers.
Over the next few days, I’ll share lots of photos from my trip - enjoy them all.
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- The journey started aboard Philippine Airlines, now running direct flights from New York City to Manila – about 17-hours long. The flight was very smooth. In between naps, I read the entire history of the Philippines in preparation for the trip.
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- Once we arrived, we were given a warm welcome by the Department of Tourism and representatives from our host company, ABS-CBN, the Philippine news channel.
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- Here I am with the Undersecretary of the Department of Tourism, Art Boncato, Jr.
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- While waiting for our baggage, we enjoyed a lovely spread of native breakfast treats including kakanin, or sweet rice cakes. There are many different kinds of kakanin, but the most commonly eaten for breakfast are bibingka—a cake made from galapong, milled glutinous rice, and coconut cream—and the sweet, simple steamed rice cake, puto.
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- Here is my plate, with a little bit of everything. I love trying new foods wherever I go.
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- To get through the traffic in Manila, we were provided “outriders” – skilled motorcyclists from the government who clear traffic from in front of the vehicles they are escorting.
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- I stayed at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila hotel. This is the view from the “Opera Suite” overlooking Manila Bay, a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila.
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- Waiting for me in my room at the Sofitel was this fun photo cake.
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- One of our first stops was the SM Mall of Asia, known locally as simply MoA – a large shopping mall in Bay City, Pasay.
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- MoA is currently the fourth largest shopping mall in the Philippines and the 14th largest in the world. It attracts about 200-thousand visitors a day. We were there soon after it opened, so it was still quite empty.
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- Among the stores we visited was Kultura – a retailer of uniquely Filipino home accents, fashion statement pieces, souvenirs, and delicacies. There were many weaved baskets, boxes, and other storage pieces. I love shopping for inspiration and ideas – I was particularly interested in those items made out of rattan.
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- There were also many traditional Filipino gowns, dresses and blouses.
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- I bought this box of mother-of-pearl spoons – they are perfect for serving caviar. Caviar should always be served from a non-metal spoon, so it does not affect the caviar’s fragile flavor.
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- After the mall, we visited the old walled city of Intramuros. This cascading water fountain is just inside Fort Santiago Park.
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- Intramuros is the oldest district and historic core of Manila. The streets are lined with old buildings, and some roads are still in their original cobblestoned form.
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- This is the main gate of Fort Santiago, a citadel first built by Spanish navigator and governor Miguel López de Legazpi. The fort is one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Several lives were lost in its prisons during the Spanish Empire and World War II. José Rizal, one of the Philippine national heroes, was imprisoned here before his execution in 1896.
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- Inside the fort were guard stations, together with the barracks for the troops and quarters for the warden and his subalterns. Also inside were various storehouses, a chapel, the powder magazine, the sentry towers, and the cisterns.
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- This is the entrance to San Agustin Church in Intramuros – it is the oldest baroque church in the country. It is also the only UNESCO heritage site in Metro Manila. Its rich and intricately carved door bears the relief of St. Augustine, his mother St. Monica, and symbols of the Augustinian order.
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- The halls are pristine and well-preserved. San Agustin Church was named a National Historic Landmark by the Philippine government in 1976.
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- We took a few minutes to walk through the church as workers prepared for an upcoming wedding.
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- The church is patterned after some of the magnificent temples built by the Augustinians in Mexico. The present edifice was built in 1587, and completed, together with the monastery, in 1604. The massive structure is highlighted by the gorgeous ceiling work, moldings, rosettes.
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- This is the baroque pulpit with its ornate gold decorations.
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- Next, we went to the nearby National Museum of Natural History. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by Filipino Architect Antonio Toledo in the late 1930s. The National Museum of Natural History has six floors with the “Tree of Life” as the atrium’s centerpiece, which is composed of two parts — the dome and the DNA-like structure. The dome serves as the atrium’s ceiling, while the DNA-like structure links the dome to the atrium’s ground, resembling a tree trunk.
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- Around the grand foyer are these large painted tapestries featuring several Philippine animals. This is the Philippine eagle – also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle – an eagle of the family Accipitridae endemic to forests in the Philippines. It has brown and white-colored plumage and a shaggy crest.
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- The tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo is a small hoofed mammal belonging to the family Bovidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines and is the only endemic Philippine bovine.
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- Once inside the museum, we were offered cool refreshments – perfect for this hot and humid day.
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- The space was decorated with beautiful tropical arrangements.
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- And some of the country’s most delicious fruits, such as mangosteen, rambutan, lanzones, and atis.
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- Lechon, or roasted suckling pig, is one of the most celebrated dishes in the Philippines. Here, Chef Joel Binamira, the man behind the respected food blog “Market Manila” and the founder of Zubuchon, cuts through the crispy skin of the lechon with a plate. I tried several different types of lechon during my stay – all very good.
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- We enjoyed lots of seafood including this grilled Philippine Sea Bass.
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- These are river prawns cooked with crab fat.
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- This is sauteed squash blossoms and winged beans.
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- And this is taro leaves cooked in coconut milk with shrimp.
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- Chef Margarita “Gaita” Fores helped plan this delicious luncheon. She is a seasoned restaurateur and was named Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2016. She brought her copy of my first book, “Entertaining” for me to sign.
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- Here is my plate with “a little bite of everything” plus a charming roll shaped like a pig. We were well-fed here in the Philippines.
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- My second plate included some of the fish, beans and delicious rambutan fruits.
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- For dessert, there was a buffet of delectable native treats including silay pili bars, Bulucan pastillas, maja blanca, murron, champorado, bibingka and and puto bumbong.
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- Here I am with Manila mayor, Isko Moreno, and Department of Tourism Secretary, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, who hosted our visit to Intramuros. It was a busy first day in the Philippines, and so much fun. Tomorrow – more photos from my event sponsored by ANC.
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