Nicole's Museum Hopping: Yuchengco Museum + Rizal Coffee

Nicole's Museum Hopping: Yuchengco Museum
by Nicole


This year is about to end and a new one is about to start hence people are going to pen their to-do lists once again. As for me, I've started writing mine last month. One of the things listed: visit museums around the metro.

So it began. First stop is. . .  the Yuchengco Museum in RCBC Plaza, Makati City! HONESTLY, this is my second museum stop but I decided to share this one first :D

@ the Yuchengco Museum entrance

My humble camera died so most of the photos here are from my lovely friend (who's actually more like a sister :D).  So grateful she went with me! She also said she'll be joining me in my next museum trips so HOORAY to that! I am stoked!

The Yuchengco museum opened in September 2005. A pretty young museum but one of the best I've been to. It was created to house the art collection of businessman, diplomat Alfonso T. Yuchengco. You don't just see paintings and sculptures here but you can also read books. I just looove that this museum has a library in it! I spent a couple of hours reading some books from those shelves - España, Bound to Empire: The United States and the Philippines, and O.D. Corpuz' The Roots of the Filipino Nation.  If get rich, I would absolutely build something like this!

Library at the 4th floor
This is also the room that showcases a glimpse of Mr. Yuchengco's roots and his works.
You can also see paintings of the women associated with Jose Rizal here.

How do I go around a museum? The best way is to start from the very top - learned this from one of my favorite museums which I will be showing you guys soon. Take the elevator up to the top most floor then journey down by taking the stairs. Take the stairs - you'll get to see more stuff than taking the boring elevator :D

The Yuchengo Museum is currently hosting the Nothing to Declare exhibit. Nothing to Declare aims to contribute to the discourse on migration, the movement not just of people across borders, but also of forms and realities across time and space.

This one is one of the coolest in the exhibit! These eggs won't break even if you step on them. A metaphor for being strong and yet fragile.

 “The Easter Bunny—Just As Charming and Just As Fake” Ovoid/Void piece (2010)
 wherein the author invites the audience to walk on a ground
made of resin trays filled with resin eggs.
3rd Floor

Beside those eggs is this piece called "Suspended Garden." There are few ways on how to view this floating potato or pebble-looking recycled pulp pieces. One is to look at this from the top (just how this photo was taken). You can also lie down on that circular carpet (which is made of newspaper formed into strings). We did lie down and it was so cool! I didn't understand it but like what my friend told me, "you don't need to understand art. You just have to experience it."

Experiencing art
Tony Gonzales and Tes Pasola (Philippines) Suspended Garden Installation (recycled pulp), 2010
3rd Floor

Now down at the ground, you'll see a continuation of the Nothing to Declare exhibit, paintings by Juan Luna, Botong Francisco. . .

The Yuchengco museum joins the 150th year of Jose Rizal's birthday hence in almost every floor, there's something about Rizal. This one is, for me, the center of it all.

"Genius has no country" - Jose Rizal
A painting of Jose Rizal (center) by Juan Luna. The other two paintings are by Luna and Hidalgo
The paragraphs written on this wall are excerpts from Rizal's famous speech delivered in 1884 at Hotel Ingles, Madrid

Speaking of Rizal, here's my take home. I bought this limited edition Jose Rizal Blend from the Yuchengco Museum store. This is the most fragrant coffee I've ever smelled, hands down! The aroma is just addictive! I was so eager to drink this so we boiled this for breakfast ha ha! We don't have yet a coffee grinder at home that's why.

Php 250.00
A combination of Arabica and Robusta coffee grown in the Philippines

I had a blast in this museum! I can't wait to go back! I hope you'll get to visit this museum too. Entrance is only 100 pesos. Happy Christmas!  :)



Address and Telephone number
Yuchengco Museum
RCBC Plaza
Corner Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues
Makati City, Philippines 1200

Information: (632) 889 1234
Please note that the museum is at the courtyard of RCBC Plaza.


Museum hours
Monday to Saturday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed Sunday and on holidays

Restaurant Review | Vieux Chalet

Vieux Chalet
Taktak Road, Antipolo* (+63 2 697 0396)
Type of Cuisine: Swiss
Average cost per person: Php 250 - Php 300 (US$6.25 - US$7.50)
Overall Rating:

Having trooped to Antipolo to work on our feature for Table For Three, Please, we decided to go ahead and hit two birds with one stone and make our way to Vieux Chalet, a wonderful Swiss restaurant tucked away in Taktak Road. And tucked away, it was! We almost got lost on the way there, but the search for this jewel of a place is part of the experience, as Miss Hassig would tell us later, grinning. Once you get there, though, famished and more than a little relieved that you weren't lost, after all, you'll find that the Vieux Chalet dining experience is definitely worth the trip.

Vieux Chalet is perfectly situated so that you have an unobstructed view of the city. The restaurant itself is a house with a very restful and homey feel to it.The service was very good, even if there was only one waiter attending to everyone when we had gone (there were only three occupied tables). And, like the place itself, there is a very homey feel to the food. The prices are rather steep, but we account this to the fact that they use only the best and freshest ingredients.

Vieux Chalet is the perfect setting for a romantic dinner, or even for a long, leisurely meal. The surroundings are tranquil and beautiful, almost leaving you without a sense of time, and the food is of the sort you imagine coming home to at the end of a long, hard day.

Rösti (S: Php 125, US$3.13, M: Php 185, US$4.50, L: Php225, US$5.63) Swiss-style potatoes; this tasted a whole lot like hash browns. It wasn't anything exceptional, in other words. If you're fond of hash browns or potatoes, you might enjoy this. If you're looking for something a bit more interesting as a side dish, however, we suggest you try something else.


Italian Soup (Medium: Php 265, US$6.63)
This wasn't listed in the menu, but our waiter recommended it. The soup was creamy without being too heavy. You can tell that the bread topping the soup was homemade. This was, all in all, wonderful. It was very homey and comforting — perfect for a cool rainy day.


Osso Buco (Medium: Php 585, US$14.63, Large: Php625, US$15.63)
The meat itself was very tender, easily falling off the bone. The taste of tomato was very distinct. It was good, but Bong says the one from Cyma is better.



Mango Flambe (Php 125, US$3.13)
The mango flambe is supposed to be served with butterscotch ice cream but we had it changed to their homemade parfait au chocolat. The ice cream was wonderful: very thick and creamy, with a hint of rum.

* How to find it: Make your way through Ortigas Extension (you'll pass Ever Gotesco Ortigas, Junction, Brookside Hills, Valley Golf, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, etc) until you reach the fork at the end of the stretch. Head left (the path to the right ought to take you to SM Taytay) and follow the road until you reach Villa Christina. Drive through the narrow, slopey road. You'll be seeing signs pointing you to Vieux Chalet. Follow them and you'll get there without any trouble :)

Reviewed by Bong, Harrell, Joey, Kat, and Tiffy.
Photography by Joey.
See more photos on Joey's flickr.

Manila Foodistas at Table For Three, Please

The Foodistas were asked to write a feature on Filipino Street Food for Table For Three, Please.

An often overlooked aspect of the Filipino gastronomical experience is that of our street food. From your typical isaw & barbeque, to your fishball & squidball, and to the bibingka and puto bungbong that is reminiscent of cool December mornings and misa de gallo.
Read the rest of the article here.

We really enjoyed going out and working on this feature ♥ Thank you so much for having us!