When Peggy showed me their travel pictures of Vietnam, I started craving for Banh Mi - that classic Vietnamese sandwich that puts veggies and fragrant herbs plus plus between a sliced crunchy baguette. Whenever I go through a chemo session in Singapore, my friend, Ging, would always take out for me a mini Banh Mi from our favorite deli. So I longed for a Banh Mi in Manila and read about Wabi Sabi from the website, Our Awesome Planet. It's one of the artsy establishments located at the Collective, a converted warehouse and one that's definitely worth trying even if you have to get lost arriving at Malugay St. in Makati.
I would return many times over for the fresh banh mi and pho noodles but it's the haru maki that is to die for. The cook told us it was made of banana blossoms.
After lunch, Mia and I happily explored the rest of the amazing Collective. I bow in reverence to the creativity and tenacity of its founder for putting up this project which gives opportunities to artist-entrepreneurs with a dream. There's an art gallery, a shop selling furnishings entirely made of cardboard, an off-beat specialty grocery called the Ritual where you can find salt, vinegar, homemade miso and other ordinary (but is it???) ingredients in a special setting. There's also the design studio of utwentysix where we met Stephanie who recommended other restos for us to try. Theirs is an ideal set-up of an office in a stimulating environment. Stephanie also suggested visiting the Collective during Friday or Saturday nights to see the place come alive with the energy and music of various indie bands.
And this is where my weakness found me. We had already gobbled lunch but spying the thin-crust pizza at Calda, we tried it knowing fully well that my glucose count would be bad with the additional carb even if it is just one point five slice of pizza. True enough, my sugar level shot up so I promise to be better today. We also wanted to try the Wingman but that may have to wait when my gestational diabetes is hopefully gone after the delivery.
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