Nightout-ing in Manila

If it gets too exciting, sit on the sidelines or find your corner.

Let’s face it --- the nightout scene is crucial in any city.  Locals, tourists, expats, visitors --- they are normally on the hunt for Things To Do When the Sun Sets.  They say that Manila has one of the most pulsing nightspots in Asia, mainly based on the fact that Filipinos love to “party”: eating, drinking, dancing, videoke-ing, you name it.  In a city that does not really sleep, thanks to 24-hour McDos and Starbucks-es, and of course the graveyard workforce, one can be assured that in any fraction of any day, there is something to do in the city.

The point is, are these options enough?

I remember the time when my friends and I started hitting the age bracket that would put an end to our 20s, we started complaining that our favorite clubs (including the now-defunct Embassy) were starting to get invaded by “young” people.  Picture that Sex and the City episode where Samantha does a PR job for this teenage socialite’s bar mitzvah and the (older) girls started making comments, “She’s too young to wear that dress!!”  Anyway, maybe that’s part of the wonderful woes of getting older --- but seriously, how come these teen-agers are wearing these really, really short dresses paired with sky-high Louboutin knock-offs?  What is with the thick rogue on their faces?  And why the hell do these girls in groups wear the same thing to these clubs?  (Though of course there was the time two decades ago when I started cutting off my jeans real short and then accessorizing them with safety pins --- seriously!)

Anyway, I do admit I go out at least once a week mostly to hang out with friends in bars and the occasional clubs.  Last Saturday we went to Opus Bar and my initial impression was the place looked... nice.  Until of course it started getting populated by its suki customers and somehow the bar just turned out to be a place to drink, hobnob, and yes, you better dress up otherwise the suspecting bouncers will not leave you alone.  Like, ya know?

For a time Bside was a favorite but it came to the point when the bar merely had about five tables filled.  My friends and I frequented Boozestop when we were broke (haha) and the New Penguin (now called Black Bird) is still probably trying to regain its former glory during its Malate days (although it had a few interesting gigs late last year and early this year).  M Café is a staple for us mainly because it has waaay better music than most clubs and the drinks are decent, and Martini’s at the Mandarin is quite posh and has one of the best ambience, cocktails and jazz acts around (Sino si Kat?).  If my friends and I just want to talk and drink an old favorite was Rue Bourbon at The Fort but we started staying away from it when it started getting too crowded by Distellery-type people (and I never really liked that place).  Lately we like to chow and drink at Barcino’s and we try our best to make it to Pub Quiz nights at Murphy's on Tuesdays. We haven’t gone out to dance in a long time but I have been to Republiq a couple of times.  I loved Jill’s at The Fort Strip for its Decadance Fridays, especially those days when you just want to dance like a dork to “Fill Me Up, Buttercup” and “My Sharona”.

I know. I am too stuck in Makati or The Fort.  Unfortunately, Malate is no longer what it used to be, Quezon City is a bit far (and assumingly occupied by the university crowd), and the Greenhills area has not excited me yet.  And I hate Ortigas (the same way some people hate Makati).

This is not to say I am such a party animal, but I like to get crazy once in a while (like five times a year, maybe).  Most of the time I like to watch people and figure out, "How come they all look the same?"  It's a great past time, believe me.

As another weekend awaits I have to admit I am still boggled where on earth to have a nice nightout in Manila.  The thing is, with age, a “nightout” gets redefined.  In this case, a nice nightout place needs to have the following points:

1. The crowd – Of course it is essential that we get to rub elbows with people within our age range, mostly professional, working people.  This may sound discriminating, but seriously, do youngsters want to hang out in a crowd about ten years older than them?  I don’t think so.  And I really hate to say this, but I’ve had a couple of experiences where, uh, “businesswomen” were flaunting their stuff on the dance floor.  It was quite awkward.

2. Good music --- I am going to eat my head if I hear another “R&B” dance remix.  I actually miss those rave and house days… how 90s, huh.

3. Decent drinks – we were once served a cocktail that tasted of something flammable (Gasoline?  Kerosene?) in one of Makati’s hotspots.  And when a friend asked for a White Russian, he was served a tall glass of watered down rhum with a separate shot glass of condensed milk (gulp).  I can only name a few places that serve really good cocktails, but normally it’s been a hit or a miss all over.  I wish bars here would get more creative with their drinks… we do have the talent and the yummy resources anyways.

4. Sustainability – what a big word, huh.  But seriously, it is all about finding your own Cheers… you know, that bar where everybody knows your name.  It is something I have always imagined: walking into a bar, post-work, and then the bartender knows what to concoct just by looking at that particular expression on my face.

Dirty martini, coming up.