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M A N I L A C I T Y G U I D E
Hot Tip
With its colorful and coolly laidback collection of cafes and bars, it's little wonder that Malate is known as the Greenwich Village or Left Bank of Manila. Credit for the lively area around Remedios Circle is at least partly due to Larry Cruz, whose popular Café Adriatico (on Adriatico Street) is a favorite watering hole of Manila's bistro-loving bohemians. Cruz's Café Havana, next door, is a recent addition to the Malate scene, luring locals and visitors with its exhilarating ambience and Latin music. Ricky Martin would feel at home here: Cuban music and cigars in the Hemingway Room are mixed with copious amounts of mojito, a heady cocktail of lime juice, soda water, white rum and fresh mint leaves. Don't nosh on too many of the free banana chips or you won't leave room for the saucy Spanish cuisine. House specialties include sopa de Calabaza, a spicy pumpkin soup sopped up with bread; arroz a la Cubana, rice with ground meat and fried banana; the encendido stew of ox tongue, chorizo and hot peppers; and habanera ribs glazed with guava, honey and pepper. For dessert, ask for the chocolate "smokeless cigar." The Latin beat continues at Guernica's, a popular Spanish eatery favored by visiting execs; writers and artists flock to the Penguin Café. After you eat, get in tune: try belting out a song at the Library bar, a rollicking singalong spot, or catch the hepcats playing at the Jazz Box and the folksingers at the Hobbit House, a bizarre joint staffed by midget waiters. A gay old time can also be had at Politixx, where a glittering stageshow packs them in from 10:30 p.m. nightly on Fridays and Saturdays in the upstairs salon called the Red Square. The performing divas dance and strut before audiences of all persuasions. Everyone is welcome, so long as they cheer, not jeer.
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