The sprawling metropolis calling chefs home
Not so long ago, the pinnacle of Manila dining was whatever Western franchise was entering the market. But things are changing, and as Filipino food grows more popular around the world, there’s no better place to taste it than in the Philippines. After years of working abroad, a generation of chefs is coming home to disrupt the food scene by focusing on local flavors from their own storm-battered archipelago. They’re finding a hungry audience, with a large, young working class filling cocktail bars where DJs spin into the night, devouring haute takes on traditional ferments at modern restaurants, and indulging in coconut-filled choux and pina colada lattes at funky cafes. — Toni Potenciano
Map: The 38 Essential Manila Restaurants
The university town graduating to culinary destination
Historic, beautiful, and just 40 minutes by train from London, Cambridge attracts 8 million visitors each year. They’re left in slack-jawed awe by the stunning architecture and picturesque River Cam, but slack jaws aren’t much good for eating; despite the city’s evergreen popularity, it’s never been thought of as a dining destination. Restaurants have had to broker an uneasy truce between appealing to students at the famed university, who are only there for half the year, and year-round residents. That all changed during the pandemic. With many students kept away from the city in 2020, restaurants formed closer ties with locals and each other. Add in a modest flourishing of new openings and some retrospection on what it means to serve two communities at once, and Cambridge’s food scene has become as serious as any other. With a little attention — and willingness to go beyond the historic center — seasonal visitors can learn to love it too. — James Hansen
Map: The 18 Essential Cambridge Restaurants
Banana ketchup has been an essential Filipino ingredient for generations, but it’s also a vehicle for constant reinvention. Some of the country’s top chefs have introduced ingredients like turmeric, bell peppers, and banana peel vinegar, prompting diners to reevaluate not only a beloved condiment but their relationship with the history of their cuisine.
Get to know banana ketchup (again and again)
Diminutive Cambridge squeezes in more than 100 pubs. While locals and students can extensively test every spot, visitors aren’t as blessed with time for trial and error. To avoid disappointment, follow these rules for finding a place to drink. — JH
Cambridge’s touristy center may be stunning, but it’s not a place for great pints. It’s worth taking a look at the exterior of the Eagle, a 17th-century pub where Francis Crick announced the discovery of DNA — before immediately leaving to drink elsewhere.
Stay away from your fellow tourists
Some of the city’s greatest pubs are close together. A solid start would be a trio of pints at the Free Press, the Elm Tree, and the Clarendon Arms; or a crawl including the Live & Let Live, the Cambridge Blue, and the Petersfield.
Don’t walk, crawl
A great many British pubs are leased by giant pubcos, which often means they are contracted to serve a few identikit beers. Steer clear of any pub with their branding, and head for one of Cambridge’s many free houses that make their own rules or one of the independent brewery taprooms, like Calverley’s.
Ignore the pubcos
In Grantchester, a pretty village and tourist haven a short country gallivant from the center, there’s a pub called the Red Lion that’s run by a big pubco. But its fire is warm, the surroundings are idyllic, and the beer runs true from the lines. It conforms to none of the rules of Cambridge pubs, but it’s worth a pint.
All Rules Have Exceptions
