Boracay, Philippines

Adventures in Travel & Dining

The Philippines

The Joy of Returning Home

ARTICLE & PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANET SUSAN R. NEPALES

It has been five years since my husband, Ruben, and I last visited the Philippines, so our trip back home in November was special.

It was our first time flying via Philippine Airlines (PAL), and during the 13-hour flight, the flight attendants made us feel like we were already in the Philippines. They served delicious Filipino food, from sinigang na baboy and pork adobo to arroz caldo and tapsilog.

My dad, Vic Rodriguez, recently turned 92. I haven’t seen him or my family—which has grown from a family of eight to a clan of 35—with the new additions: grandnephews and grandnieces, new in-laws, and new partners.

For our first week, we stayed at the Solaire Resort & Casino in Entertainment City, built along the Bay City area of Parañaque in Metro Manila.

Even though it was November, the luxurious hotel lobby was already decked in Christmas decorations. The Philippines, after all, is known for having the longest Christmas celebration, from September to Jan. 6.

At the tree-lighting ceremony at Solaire, internationally renowned Lea Salonga and guest Clay Aiken, the “American Idol” second-season runner-up, sang with the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Actress and singer Carla Guevara hosted the event.

Later that evening, Lea and Clay performed her Broadway showstoppers and songs like “Stayin’ Alive” in a concert aptly titled “Stage, Screen and Everything in Between” at Solaire’s The Theatre. Lea’s talented brother, Gerard, was the musical conductor of the show.

During our three-week stay, we tried to catch up with some friends, including fashion designer Puey Quinones, who invited us to have dinner at his well-appointed new atelier in Poblacion, Makati.

Puey loves to cook, but this time, he had a personal chef serve us some of his favorite dishes. I am so proud of Puey for managing two ateliers at the same time in two time zones—one in Los Angeles and another in Manila.

It was a blast to reunite with some young filmmakers we met in Cannes when we attended the opening of the QCinema International Film Festival. They showed their short films, part of the “Directors’ Factory Philippines,” at the festival, which was celebrating its 12th year under the leadership of our friend Ed Lejano, the festival’s artistic director.

It was an honor to meet the Philippines’ National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee again, who attended the festival, and good old friends like Nestor Cuartero, formerly of Tempo.

Chef Sharwin Tee must have predicted that we needed a respite from the chaotic city, so we gladly accepted his invitation to have lunch at Ezra Resort in Tagaytay, where he prepared some of his grandma’s favorite dishes at his Little Grace popup.

Since we were already in Tagaytay, we stopped by my younger sister Rebecca Mendez’s house in Trece Martires. My brother-in-law Willy Mendez, a culinary expert, prepared some of his home-cooked specialties there.

My Rodriguez family reunion was held at The Perfect Pint in Rockwell, where I finally met my new grandnephews and grandnieces. They were happy with our gifts to the clan: Stella Rosa Philippines bottles of wine.

To our surprise, we bumped into singers Dingdong Avanzado and Jessa Zaragoza, along with their daughter Jada, who treated their guests from Canada at the same restaurant. Our writer friend Senedy Que also surprised us by dropping by, as he lives at The Proscenium in the Rockwell area.

We received a rare invitation from First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos to the Laperal Mansion for a historic get-together and the launch of CineGang Inc., a nonprofit organization composed of filmmakers, producers, executives, and writers who aim to upgrade Philippine cinema through seminars and workshops.

The Philippines’ royalty in Tinseltown attended, including actors Vilma Santos, Christopher de Leon, Tirso Cruz III, and Dingdong Dantes; producers Joji Alonso and Perci Intalan; Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) head Don Artes; Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chair Joey Javier Reyes; ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigbak; and incorporators Kevin Andrew Tan, Paolo Victor del Rosario, Pedro Laylo Jr., Paolo Roberto Martel, and Rajan Uttamchandani, among others.

A visit to Pangasinan is a must since my husband is a native of that province. We enjoyed the famous Calasiao puto and sampled many other native delicacies. He always prayed to the Señor Divino Tesoro and Our Lady of Manaoag when he was in grade school in Pangasinan and made sure that we prayed and lit candles at these churches. He shared several stories about the miracles that occurred there.

We were grateful to our sister-in-law’s godson, Phil Hernandez, for driving us to Pangasinan from Manila.

We found our blissful beach house in Binmaley, Pangasinan. Thanks to our Ate Imelda Estrellas, who lovingly opened this vacation house designed by her late husband, Kuya Nitoy Estrellas.

Here, we could really enjoy the fresh air, beautiful landscape, relaxing and calming beach, and all the homecooked dishes they had specially prepared for us: garlic fried rice, tapsilog, tsokolate-e, dried fish, spicy crabs, sinigang na baka, coconut juice, and lots of fresh fruits like lanzones, bananas, and mangosteen.

I hadn’t heard of Station Zero in Boracay until we stayed at the Crimson Resort & Spa Boracay for the first time.

Taking PAL again from Manila to Boracay, we were welcomed by the Crimson staff and brought by a van to their private dock, where we were served native delicacies and freshly squeezed fruit juices.

At Station Zero, there are no crowds or vendors. It is just you, the white sand, the clear blue water, and the magnificent views. Yes, there is heaven on earth.

The hotel’s general manager, Didier Belmonte, made us feel like we were home with his interesting stories about island life. Nico Jhie Alejandrino, the front office manager, also ensured everything was okay with our stay.

After our short three-day stay in Boracay, we proceeded to Solaire Resort North in Quezon City, my birth city.

Upon entering the lobby, the spectacular Nikolas Weinstein silver sculpture “The Mangrove” welcomes you.

I went crazy over the champurrado with toppings like dilis and tuyo at Fresh and the varied offerings at the food court, including dangit and sisig.

Thank you to Tristan Dela Paz, senior manager of hotel services; Gabriel B. Sicubam, assistant manager of Fresh; and Chef Jonathan Carranza of Fresh, for ensuring we had a great time.

We returned to the Solaire Resort & Casino in Entertainment City to watch Raymond Lauchengco in his concert at The Theatre, celebrating 40 years in the business and reminiscing about his days as an actor and singer.

His “Bagets” gang—Aga Muhlach, Herbert Bautista, and Eula Valdez—supported him and went onstage to sing and dance with him.

His good friend Martin Nievera congratulated Raymond on his 40th-anniversary concert, “Just Got Lucky.”

Raymond, who started in the Philippine entertainment industry when he was 18, had belter Bituin Escalante as his special guest. Kudos to first-time director Waya Gallardo on a job well done, musical director Marvin Querido, and Raymond’s manager, Girlie Rodis, for a memorable show.

We also met with fashion designer Francis Libiran, who invited us to his classy new shop at Edsa Shangri-La.

Unknown to many, Francis, who is an architecture graduate, used to work as a draftsman at my architect brother Jun Rodriguez’s office, Pimentel Rodriguez Simbulan & Partners Architects firm.

But after two years, Francis left architecture and concentrated on his passion—fashion.

Francis’ manager, Arsi Baltazar; fashion designer Nat Manilag; and our good friend, beauty queen-actress-model-singer Bessie Badilla, who was in town from New York, joined us later for dinner.

We were surprised to see our long-lost friend, producer Robbie Tan, at the Philippine Movie Press Club’s Star Awards for Movies, where he received a Lifetime Achievement Award. We were touched that Robbie even remembered to ask how my dad was doing; I found that very sweet.

As a co-founder of the Manila International Film Festival, we were proud to sponsor two panels with CineGang.

The first panel, titled “How to Award Season Your Film and TV Projects,” featured longtime Oscar member David Magdael, president and CEO of David Magdael & Associates, and Annalee Paulo, president of 42West. They discussed how filmmakers could promote and market their films. It was moderated by multi-Emmy Award winner Lisa Lew and Winston Emano, a Mano y Mano Media principal.

The second panel, titled “A Filipino in the Lead: An Afternoon with Nico Santos and Mark Dacascos,” featured Santos, known for his roles in “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Superstore,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” and Dacascos, known for “Iron Chef America,” “Hawaii Five-O,” and “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.” They shared their experiences about how they started in the industry, what kept them in the game, and the role their heritage played in keeping them there. Emano also moderated the panel.

My grandnephew, Daniel Nepales, a budding filmmaker, was excited to watch and learn—as were the other attendees.

Flying back home to Los Angeles via PAL, we were surprised when a familiar face welcomed us—my charming niece, Elgeen Nepales, an LAX/PAL ground staff member.

The three event-packed weeks in the Philippines made us realize how you miss the islands and the people who make island living special.