South’s best kept secrets

In today’s well-documented world, moments do not exist unless photos can prove them. And this is why we always bring cameras with us.

In the South, one can find a great number of spots well worth documenting with posts on your social media feed.

Yes, the South of today is dynamic, vibrant and thriving. From the southern tip of Metro Manila to the provinces of the Calabarzon region, the South has become even more progressive, lively and fun over the last decade. So get ready to be amazed as we map out just a few among the many spots in these areas, which can give you thousands of those social media-worthy moments.

Get ready to drive to them— and, by all means, bring your trusty camera with you.

The Bowery

This restaurant-bar, which is owned by Chef Cuit Kaufman, is located near the busy Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City. It offers fine New York comfort food and drinks with a tropical twist. It is open up to the wee hours.

The restaurant component is downstairs and the bar is on the second floor. It regularly hosts musical acts. The destination is surely worthy of a social media posting, or two or three.

The Bowery is at the G/F, Forbeswood Heights, 29th St. corner Rizal Drive, Taguig. Visit @thebowery_ph on Instagram.

Mr. Roboto

This food hub named after a 1983 song by rock band Styx has a specific theme: Retro Japanese Robot. It is owned by Dani Ramos and David Mendoza, second-generation restaurateurs from the famed Neil’s Kitchen, also located in Alabang.

It serves scrumptious Japanese food with twists that draw millennials in. Its interiors also appeal to the nostalgic tendencies of the younger set. Remember Voltes V, Mazinger Z, Daimos and Voltron? Go and rediscover them at Mr. Roboto.

Mr. Roboto is at G/F, Corporate Center (Sykes Building), Madrigal Ave., Muntinlupa. Visit @Mr.RobotoPH on Instagram.

Makiling Botanic Gardens

If you want a photo-op with nature that isn’t so physically taxing, visit this facility which gives you a preview of the 4,244-ha Mount Makiling Forest Reserve, an Asean heritage park, to which it belongs. The entrance is an exhibition of plants endemic to Makiling, a forest 65 km from Metro Manila. Go a bit deeper into the gardens through an ecotrail.

The facility is located inside the University of the Philippines Los Baños campus. Like Makiling Botanic Gardens on Facebook.

Buku-Buku Kafe

This restaurant café, owned by a mother-daughter-son trio, began in Imus, Cavite. It has now become a haven for lovers of food, visual arts, music and literature. On the gastronomic aspect, it specializes in Filipino comfort food with a Southeast Asian twist, as well as barako coffee. Goers can expect to meet free spirits, creatives and bookworms enjoying the ambience.

Buku-Buku Cafe is located at Upper G/L, SM Southmall, Almanza Uno, Las Piñas City; and Lower G/L, SM City Dasmarinas, Cavite. Follow @bukubukukafe on Instagram.

Magnum Opus

This is the South’s first specialty coffee shop. The name itself translates to “great work”—it treats the process of making your drink with great care and passion, as if churning out a masterpiece. Its interiors are industrial while the place is just the right size: not too big so it’s still conducive to intimate talks, but not too small either so it can also host group meetings. The shop is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

Magnum Opus is located at 115 Aguirre Ave., BF Homes, Paranaque City. Follow @magnumopuscoffee on Instagram.