The Good Life: Editors’ Picks of the Week

In every The Good Life: Editors’ Picks column, we round up our editors’ favorites—restaurants, cocktails, experiences, exhibits, and everything in between. Here is our latest list.

A Chorus Line at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, Spring Awakening at the Proscenium Black Box Theater

When people ask me what I miss most about New York, it’s heading to TKTS on a slow day, and watching a Broadway show on my own. 

Because I used to need but a single ticket, I usually managed to get a plum seat at the last minute. 

I love a good musical.

Luckily for me, I saw two excellent ones last week.

First was the dazzling opening night at Theatre Group Asia’s production of “A Chorus Line” directed by Emmy Award-winner Karla Puno Garcia.

It’s the 50th anniversary of the musical, and the Manila production features a powerhouse ensemble of Filipino and Filipino-American performers who are referred to as triple threats. They can sing, dance, and act. 

And they do so marvelously.

Went into Sandbox Collective’s production of “Spring Awakening” not knowing what to expect, and what a surprise.

The intimacy in the Black Box at the Proscenium Theater is the perfect setting for the show that brings the audience closer to the passionate actors and the coming-of-age musical set in 19th century Germany that could very well be in 21st century Philippines.

Some characters are heartbreakingly naive and tentative, others are more curious and bold. We were riveted and silent in some parts, moved to laughter and even tears in others. 

And we were on our feet at the end. – Yvette Fernandez, Chief of Editorial Content

A Chorus Line is showing at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater at Circuit Makati through March 29. Hippodromo St, Makati City, 1630 Metro Manila. (02) 7908 3524 

Spring Awakening is at the Proscenium Black Box Theater at Rockwell Makati through March 22. Proscenium at Rockwell, Estrella, Rockwell Center, Makati City, Metro Manila

Toma Toma

It’s not even a month old, but Toma Toma has already made its mark on Manila’s cocktail scene. At the helm is its owner/founder/mixologist Arcadius Rybak, who, after an impressive tenure at Hong Kong’s best bars, decided to settle in the Philippines to continue to design the bar programs of leading establishments here and abroad as well as begin his next project. (Coincidentally, Rybak has also appeared in four episodes of Robb Report Philippines’ Bar None, sharing recipes for the Sidecar, Tommy’s Margarita, Bramble, and Piña Colada with a Filipino twist.)

That project is now realized in Toma Toma, a bar/eatery/restaurant/lounge in Green Sun at Chino Roces, Makati. It’s a place that defies categorization, because the drinks in the cocktail menu, with both seasonal and classic options, are the star, but so is the food, inspired by local ihaw-ihaw culture. Rybak’s love and excitement about the Philippines and its local produce is contagious, and is obvious in the whole range of cocktails highlighting regional fruits and local salts and vinegars, like a drink made with green mango, spicy suka, tultul salt, mezcal, and onion lambanog; or another made with kamias, codial made from Sagada pine needles, dalandan kosho, and gin. There are inventive takes on classic cocktails like the Lambatini, which combines lambanog and house-blend vermouths, and Bee’s Knees, made with honey from stingless bees in Laguna that actually leans more sour than sweet.

The food is just as wonderfully surprising. Turns out, the food program was developed with Metiz’s Stephan Duhesme, and are all winners, like the Chicken Balls that are a take on tinola, carrying over the flavors of spring onions and ginger. One of the standouts is the oyster mushroom skewer drizzled with an inasal emulsion.

Best of all, it’s a place that is beautiful and elegant but doesn’t aspire to be intimidating. It’s relaxed and earthy, decorated with rattan and bamboo and tables made with slabs of wood from Pampanga. If only I lived down the street (oh, the lucky people in Dasmarinas Village), it would be the perfect place for a quick drink after work before heading home.

I don’t want to jinx anything, but let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised to see Toma Toma topping a few important lists this year. – Kimberly Rocha-Delgado, Digital Editor

Toma Toma is located at Green Sun, 2285 Chino Roces Ave, Makati City, 1232 Metro Manila. https://www.instagram.com/tomatoma.manila/

Briana Swann at The Jazz Club at Aman New York

Wishing I was in New York this week to catch the latest installment of The Jazz Club at Aman to be held on Friday, March 20. This edition features Briana Swann, a rising voice on the city’s jazz scene, with a set shaped alongside Maja Olivares-Co, the force behind the series.

What I appreciate about this program is how it makes jazz feel accessible. The repertoire moves across genres with familiar songs. The Man I Love, Night and Day, and Stormy Monday stays rooted in blues. There’s also a thoughtful mix of pop and soul with Natural Woman, Ain’t No Sunshine, and Crazy, alongside reflective pieces Amazing Grace and How Glad I Am.

One of the most personal touches is Dahil Sa ‘Yo, a Filipino love song that feels right at home in this lineup. 

It’s the kind of show that brings different audiences together, whether you’re there for jazz standards or more familiar contemporary tracks. It’s the kind of night I wish I could have seen in person. Maybe in the fall! – Alicia Colby Sy, Lifestyle Editor

The Jazz Club is located in Aman New York. Private Entrance at 9 West 56th Street, New York.