A few midnight haunts

Self-proclaimed night owls are up and about, more alive at night than they were during the coffee-born day.  After a long day at work or in school, they prowl the streets of the Metro and urban areas looking for a place to unwind, and temporarily forget the stress daylight chores bring.

This month, The Menagerie takes its readers out past their bedtime, onto the streets of Metro Manila, exploring the various sights and sounds that are sure to be found under the night sky, and explains what it really means to pull off an all-nighter.

Midnight Mercato

Hungry for a late-night snack? Don’t bother tiptoeing to the kitchen to make your way through the dark in search of food. Instead, put on some shoes, grab your wallet and head on over to Midnight Mercato. Located at 34th Street and 8th Avenue in Bonifacio Global City, it is filled with dozens of stalls lined up offering visitors tasty and affordable dishes from 10 pm until 3am.

From molten chocolate cakes, mozzarella paella, and giant hamburgers, all the way to liquor ice cream, the area is just itching to entice one’s taste buds. Midnight Mercato is a place for everyone, both young and old, and by 11 pm, it certainly feels that way. The place is crowded with people and their empty stomachs, trying to make their way from one stall to the next. When there are no more seats available at the dining area, this does not stop the hungry crowd from enjoying their food. People are happy sitting on the sidewalks or standing up across the street from Midnight Mercato to enjoy the good food, good drinks and good company.

It is almost impossible to tell which task is more difficult: figuring out which food is more delicious than the next, or simply finding a place to sit. Regardless of the challenge, Midnight Mercato literally brings a new and delightful flavor to the term “midnight snack”.

Soderno

For the South bound, they need not cross the horrifying expanse of traffic (aka northbound traffic) for a food trip. Right outside Alabang, just across Alabang Town Center sits a food bazaar modeled after Mercato. Open from 10 to 12, the slightly smaller Soderno features a wide selection of food that includes stalls also found in Mercato and its own unique ones as well.

BF Homes is another location in the South teeming with night activity. For the hungry, there is the plethora of Korean barbecues, Japanese restaurants, and other restaurants and bistros from various cuisines.

One notable place is South Diner, a 50’s styled joint, not unlike the more famous Johnny Rockets, albeit more affordable in its selection of all-star American fare.

Another is Charbroiled, a near-unanimous local favorite. The Takaw and Mongolian bowls there are a must try. People looking for an intimate setting to share a drink with a few friends will find that BF is also home to a number of ‘chill bars’ and pubs that lack the usual loud music, and allow for heart-felt conversations over a drink or two.

Footballs fans might want to check out the Irish pub, Mulligans, which regularly screens matches, and is a great place to meet fellow fans of your team. Or the enemy’s. Whoops.

Casino Filipino Hyatt

If late night excursions such as movies, late dinner and heading to the bar with one’s friends seem a bit childish, then heads up to those twenty-one-(and above)-year olds.

All sorts of people—young, old, local, foreign, handicapped, and fully functional—flock to the Hyatt Casino to be entertained and to entertain. For some, it’s a means of earning money, such as running errands for winning customers and earning tips. On the other hand, for others, casinos are means for losing money thanks to the addiction gambling brings to all sorts of games. At the Hyatt, there are other means of entertainment apart from slot machines and table games, such as a show called Pirates of the Caribbean. The casino at Hyatt also features comedians, singers and a chic selection of restaurants to entice their customers into staying all night long.

There is almost no difference between casinos at night and casinos during the day in terms of service. However during the day, there are no entertainment shows and less people. As soon as the regular office hours are done for the day, the number of people at casinos increases.

With the Casino Filipino Hyatt Filipinos need not spend money on plane tickets to Vegas. Instead they can enjoy the taste of Vegas that the casino offers with its games, entertainment and lights. With all the noise and fun going on, customers need not worry. In spite of being far away from the City of Sin, the motto “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” applies to the City of Metro Manila.

Casinos are known for the fun, relaxation and enjoyment they offer their guests. However for certain people, it is not always fun and games. Especially if these people are the ones ensuring their guests’ wellbeing inside. One casino employee explains that working a night shift in a casino is “no different” from working in any other night shift in a hotel or a hospital because it is sometimes difficult to try to stay awake for the sake of the guests.

It is critical to be just as awake during the night as it is during the day, especially because the dealers are handling money. They have to be very careful to make the correct payments and give out the right set of cards; otherwise, they will be sanctioned.

Casino visitors may think that the ultimate challenge of the casino is either not gambling one’s life savings away or not being mistaken for a cast member of The Hangover. For the dealers and the entertainers, the challenge they face is literally just that: a face with a wide grin and bright eyes that one wouldn’t think lacked in sleep.

Cioccolo

Life in the city is fun and never dull, but it could be so stressful sometimes because of all the traffic and pollution invading the its busy streets. Almost always, people spend more time sitting inside their cars on their way to their destinations, rather than sitting comfortably in restaurants waiting for their food to be served. With these situations, wouldn’t it be great if adventurous people could escape Manila’s traffic and pollution once in awhile and head on to the province where the air is still fresh and traffic is non-existent?

Located along a gloomy road in Angeles City which few dare to tread is a magnificent kingdom coming to life only when the clock strikes 6 in the evening. The locals fondly call this the Grand Palazzo Royale. This kingdom, boasting of its bold statues of lions and mermaids, is a place of bonding and relaxation for people inclined to a life of lights and basking under the moonlight.

Inside this kingdom is a small coffee shop called Cioccolo where people could have coffee, cake or dine outside while listening to live bands. The coffee shop serves varieties of delicious cakes with the Brazo de Mercedes cheesecake being the favorite, followed by the Ferrero cake. These sinful treats are best paired with the coffee shop’s signature drinks, ranging from your classic hot chocolate to the more “daring” ones.

Visitors would feel like they are in another period with its medieval decorations and a relaxing aura emanating from the intricately landscaped gardens. The cold breeze passing through the trees nearby would help even the most problematic and stressed people unwind and forget that they still have tons of paperworks on their cluttered desks waiting to be accomplished.

For people who want to escape the clutches of stressful city life and have time to spare, Cioccolo is a great escape. With its luxurious atmosphere, visitors would feel as if they’re not office-ground commoners, but royalty from a more carefree era.