The last time I was in Metro Manila was February 2019, a year right before the pandemic. What felt like a short goodbye turned into years.

Coming back, I expected change. Yet, Metro Manila stayed true to itself. The concrete, the traffic, and the relentless pace. We still planned our days around rush hours and waiting it out before heading anywhere.

One thing that did change, though, was me. The 20s me that wanted to experience the metro through jeepneys and the MRT has been replaced by a 30-year-old tita who now picks comfort over adventure.

For this trip, my husband and I got around almost entirely through a Grab car. This is not an option for everyone, but it worked for us. This trip was different, but in the best way.

Here’s what we ate, where we shopped, and the places we wandered into.

Food We Tried

1. Bonchon

We actually stumbled into Bonchon by accident. We were looking for a Panda Express, a restaurant we’ve never tried since there’s none in Cagayan de Oro, but we couldn’t find the exact location on Google Maps and ended up walking into Bonchon instead. No complaints there.

Bonchon used to have a branch in our city before it closed in 2020, so I was happy to finally have it again in Metro Manila.

The food leans Korean, but the flavors sit well with Filipino taste buds. My favorites were the bibimbowl, the squid bowl, and the bingsu specifically the mango and the strawberry chocolate ones.

We loved it so much that we also ordered through Grab delivery at Casa Bocobo, the hotel we stayed in (You can read about our stay there here), and grabbed it again when we went to SM North Edsa.

2. Arroz Ecija Cafe

While searching for restaurants in Robinsons Manila, I came across Arroz Ecija Cafe. I was craving for lutong-bahay meals, the kind of simple and home-cooked Filipino food you don’t always find in malls, and this cafe delivered exactly that, but just in a more elevated setting.

I ordered beef steak and my husband had bangus, both with rice. We also tried the biko ube. If you’re after authentic Filipino flavors while in the Metro Manila area, it’s worth a visit at Level 2 of Robinsons Manila.

3. Lyndon’s BBQ Haus

Still on the hunt for lutong-bahay, I came across Lyndon’s BBQ Haus on Grab. We ordered the roasted squid, tuna belly, atsara, and java rice. The seafood was savory and the servings were generous. We liked it so much that we ordered from them twice, both delivered to the hotel we stayed in.

4. Super Healthee

When we wanted something lighter, we turned to Super Healthee, also via Grab. We tried the eggplant katsudon bowl, chicken salpicao bowl, the pollo asado bowl rice, honey-seasoned carrots, and their probiotic mango drink. It’s a solid option if you’re looking for something nutritionally dense without sacrificing flavor. Like Lyndon’s, we ended up ordering from them twice.

5. Red Mango Yogurt

After dinner at Arroz Ecija, we stopped by Red Mango for dessert. We tried the Biscoff Bonanza and that was my first encounter with biscoff. Between that and the biscoff topping on the bingsu at Bonchon, I was completely hooked. The yogurt was refreshing and a nice way to end the night.

6. Bebang’s Halo-Halo

My husband and I are big halo-halo fans. We’ve tried several versions back home, but Bebang’s is on a different level. From what we’ve seen, Metro Manila also agrees.

I had the Matcha Halo-halo and my husband went for the Presidential, their classic flavor loaded with special macapuno, ube halaya, leche flan, and more. It’s the kind of dessert that makes you wish they’d open a branch everywhere in the Philippines. World-class is not an overstatement.

Places We Wandered Into

1. SM North Edsa

Nothing could have prepared me for SM North Edsa. Coming from Cagayan de Oro where our malls are a fraction of the size, stepping into this complex was a whole experience on its own.

We went to Coffee Bean at the main complex at the ground floor and visited a camera store at the annex, except we didn’t realize the mall and the annex are two separate buildings.

We wandered, got lost, and by the end of it our calves were screaming. We found the camera store eventually, and capped the trip with Bonchon at the Annex, which made the tired legs worth it.

2. Robinsons Manila

I wasn’t prepared for Robinsons Manila either. As the largest Robinsons mall in the Philippines, it’s a different world. The size, the number of stores, the crowd, and this was on a weekday.

Back home, malls only get that packed during weekends and holidays. In Metro Manila, that’s just a regular Wednesday.

3. Promenade Mall in Greenhills, San Juan

Greenhills has a noticeably high-end feel to it. We originally went there for Panda Express, but ended up at Bonchon instead which, at this point, was becoming a theme for this trip. No regrets.

4. V-Mall in Greenhills, San Juan

V-Mall was one of my favorite discoveries. The tiangge section is massive. You can shop for clothes, accessories, furniture, electronics, you name it.

The best part is that it’s fully air-conditioned, so you can browse comfortably without the humidity and heat.

For someone not used to this kind of shopping setup, it was both impressive and a little overwhelming. I could have spent hours there.

5. Venice Grand Canall Mall

We made the trip to Taguig mostly out of curiosity. It has a reputation for being one of the more modern and polished parts of Metro Manila. Venice Grand Canal lives up to that. It’s a well-known spot for photos.

We went in the morning to beat the crowd. It’s beautiful, calm at that hour, and worth the visit even if just to see it for yourself.

6. National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History was a short walk from our hotel, which made it an easy stop to fit in. We had planned to visit the Museum of Anthropology across from it

I had been to both back in 2017, but time got away from us and we only managed to visit one musuem. Not much has changed inside since my last visit, but it remains clean and well-maintained, which says a lot about how these spaces are kept.

The park outside was a different kind of experience. We went in the late afternoon and it was alive with joggers making the most of the open space. Standing there, I could see the MRT running along Taft Avenue with the usual busy streets humming below it. Even in the middle of a national museum, Manila never really slows down.

Until The Next Trip

Metro Manila is not composed of cities that eases you in. It’s loud, fast, and relentless, but that’s what makes it memorable. Coming back after six years, I didn’t find different cities. I found the same metro, just with new restaurants to try, new corners to explore, and a husband to get lost in oversized malls with.

We didn’t see everything. We missed the Museum of Anthropology, never made it to Panda Express, and only scratched the surface of what the city has to offer. However, that’s the thing about Metro Manila. There’s always a reason to come back.

And we will!