december-2011

Movers, shakers,
tastemakers
It’s easy to see that, apart from
the infrastructure that charms
conglomerates into setting up shop
in Cebu City, it’s the locals who are
driving the palpable shift in lifestyle
— little pockets of upgrade fueled by
big passions.
It helps that the shared worldview
is outward-looking and expansive;
Cebuanos are eager to share aspects of
their homegrown culture to the world,
and are just as enthusiastic about
bringing back bits and pieces of outside
infl uence for their own enjoyment.
C EBU IN THE SPOTLIGHT
At The Tinder Box, for instance, a
local wine and cigar bar chain that
found root and great success in Cebu,
a wide and sophisticated selection
of wines and spirits, plus imported
cigars, are displayed in interiors that
show touches of Cebuano design, most
notably by Kenneth Cobonpue, one
of the city’s favorite sons and perhaps
its most famous lifestyle and design
proponent. The upstairs nightspot, Z
Bar, sports an even bigger display of
Kenneth’s work, a massive and fl uidform
installation of intricate metalwork.
Taking the dress code a notch or
two down is Formo, a casual bar and
{ 120 }
Clockwise: Abaseria Deli and Café is popular
for selling accessories on display as well
as various regional cuisines; watering hole
Formo’s busy night scene; The Tinder Box
wine and cigar bar is decorated with Kenneth
Cobonpue pieces.
restaurant that, six years after opening,
is still the watering hole of choice of
the working-age crowd. Weekends fi nd
the DJ-music-fueled lounge especially
packed.
Elsewhere in the city, Lala Jurado
Lava, an accessories exporter, runs
a second venture, Abaseria Deli and
Café, as a stress outlet from her main
line of business. Abaseria’s menu — a
combination of Visayan classics as well
as iconic dishes from different regional
cuisines in the country — boasts a
following that included the late former
president Cory Aquino.
To a large extent, Abaseria, Spanish
for “sari-sari store,” lives up to its name.
There are shelves of goodies on sale —
from accessories to bottled food — as
well as artwork on the walls that all
come with price tags.