The Good Life: Editors’ Picks of the Week

Every week, we round up our editors’ favorites—restaurants, cocktails, experiences, exhibits, and everything in between. Here is our latest list: a new osteria with your favorite Italian fare; a pair of Art Deco-inspired cufflinks; The Frick, marking its reopening; and a Burberry cardigan, proving that well-made basics always stand the test of time.

Osteria Antica

We celebrated Mom’s birthday lunch at Osteria Antica, the latest outpost of the Wildflour Group. Mom chose it primarily because it’s the latest restaurant design project of my sister, Lara Barrios, and I must say, it’s among her best.

The space is elegant yet inviting, with a series of brick-walled rooms and leather-clad seating in different nooks and corners you can embrace as your own. It’s flooded with sunlight by day, and warmly lit with chandeliers and wall sconces of glass after dark.

We enjoyed bites of aperitivi and antipasti in bursts of color: potato crisps with a dollop of kaluga caviar; lobster tartlettes with stracciatella, pesto, and citrus; and tuna crudo drizzled with acqua pazza and dotted with watermelon, cucumber, lime, and basil.

A bowl of cioppino bathed a hodgepodge of red snapper, manila clams, mussels and prawns in a spicy tomato broth. Roasted cauliflower agnolotti was accompanied simply with brown butter.

We had pizza, of course— San Marzano tomatoes topped with fresh buffalo mozzarella— from the wood-fired oven in the open kitchen. My meat-loving brother had the River Snake Farms zabuton, with porcini mushrooms and wilted spinach on the side, to foil the richness of the Barolo peppercorn sauce. 

Outdoor seating is ready for chilled birra Peronis on hot, summer nights, but to be honest, we’d much rather stay indoors at the bar. – Yvette Fernandez, Chief of Editorial Content

Osteria Antica is at the Podium.  For reservations, call 0917 109 7880. Facebook: @WildflourItalian | Instagram: @osteriaanticaph. Photos courtesy of Osteria Antica

JJ Jiao Cufflinks

One of gemologist and jewelry designer JJ Jiao’s favorite design periods is Art Deco, a passion that becomes evident upon visiting her boutique—a hidden gem, pun intended—at The Raffles Makati. Her earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and pins mostly echo that epoch, demonstrating her knack for mixing and matching gems, stones, and metals in a way that nods to the past while remaining fresh, modern, and effortlessly classic.

These cufflinks are no exception. The Deco era saw white gold emerge as an innovative alloy, while modern, geometric patterns offered a refreshing contrast to Art Nouveau’s elaborate, flowing, organic designs. Featuring embedded diamonds set against a white gold lattice design, these cufflinks are subtly stylish and very elegant. While cufflinks are a timeless addition to any gentleman’s jewelry collection, they are by no means exclusive to men—modern style icons like Sofia Coppola and Princess Charlene of Monaco effortlessly punctuate a crisp, white button-down shirt with them, proving their versatile appeal.

Jiao’s family has been in the business for nearly half a century, collaborating with local artisans to bring exquisite designs to life. Her eponymous line of bespoke jewelry, the heart of her brand, stands as a testament to decades of dedication and craftsmanship. – Kimberly Rocha-Delgado, Digital Editor

The JJ Jiao boutique is located at the Ground Floor of the Raffles Makati, 1 Raffles Drive, Makati Avenue, Makati City. +63 2 7795 0712. Photo courtesy of JJ Jiao Jewelry

The Frick Collection

I’m experiencing major NYC FOMO with the long-awaited reopening of The Frick Collection on April 17. One of New York City’s most treasured museums, the Frick returns to its historic Fifth Avenue home after a multi-year renovation by Selldorf Architects and Beyer Blinder Belle. This ambitious project preserves the museum’s Gilded Age grandeur while enhancing infrastructure, accessibility, and visitor experience.

Marking the most comprehensive upgrade since its opening in 1935, the renovation restores the Frick’s historic first-floor galleries and unveils an entirely new second-floor suite, the Frick family’s living quarters, offering public access to these spaces for the first time. Expanded exhibition and program areas include new special exhibition galleries, the museum’s first dedicated education rooms, and a 218-seat auditorium. The project also revitalizes the 70th Street Garden, which is now visible from multiple vantage points. 

The inaugural season features a slate of special programs, including a porcelain floral installation by Vladimir Kanevsky, a music festival debuting the Stephen A. Schwarzman Auditorium, and the first exhibition in the museum’s new special exhibition galleries—Vermeer’s Love Letters, opening in June. Definitely a must-visit for anyone  planning on spending time in NYC this spring and summer! – Alicia Colby-Sy, Lifestyle Editor

The Frick Collection, 1 East 70th Street, New York. frick.org

Burberry Cardigan

I have a very non-Burberrys looking Burberrys—Burberrys with an s, which was how it was branded prior to 1999 when it became just Burberry. It’s a heavy shetland shawl collar cardigan purchased even before that, and because it differs so much from the traditional check, it may have been a smaller run. Shetland wool is coarser and heavier and more old-school than the now-popular merino, and while Shetland wools can be soft, this piece is more heft feel and roughness. Best paired with a softer cashmere scarf of a simple color, so as not to compete with what is now a very period-proper piece from before Burberrys became mainstream.

While everyone usually starts with the traditional Burberry check or a small derivation thereof, remember that the checks and tartans and such were made to indicate townships or regions or families or even groups of warriors. The true worth was in the work, in the craftsmanship and material and know-how. Houses like Burberry have been around for generations, and the same is expected of their pieces and products. – Carl Cunanan, Cars and Watches Editor

Burberry, 1F, Rustan’s Department Store, Ayala Center, Makati Ave, Makati, Metro Manila. +632 81638020