Happy Mother’s Day 2023 at The Loggia by Margarita Fores in Palacio de Memoria, Paranaque City!

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms on Earth! Ever wonder why we call our planet Mother Earth (or Mother Nature) & not Father Earth? In a metaphor, as the only planet we knew in the entire universe to host life & protecting nature like a goddess who exemplifies our mothers’ qualities who bore us, feed & nurture us as long as they are able without expecting anything in return. In fact, motherhood is the exquisite inconvenience to another being’s everything. So salute to all moms for all your sacrifices just to make our life better as a human being.

In the Philippines, Mother’s Day is officially celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of May following the American tradition. Though not a public Holiday, the occasion remains one of the biggest days for sending flowers & greeting cards & certainly the biggest dining-out day of the year (with Valentine’s Day coming in as 2nd only as the busiest day for restaurants). Now, it’s time to celebrate with our walking miracles – all the wonderful women in our life, our mom, wife & also the titas (as 2nd moms to our Bianca).

Speaking of restaurants, this mother & chef (Asia’s Best Female Chef in 2016) hosts one of our bucket list destinations (“My Italy” TV series) in our favorite Metro Channel that features programs about travels, food, home & living. She runs a variety of restaurants including CIBO chain that specialize the world’s best cuisine – Italian food. One of her distinctive restaurants, The Loggia by Margarita Fores is an al-fresco Italian-Filipino dining that fuses Filipino flavors with Fores’ expertise in Italian cooking.

The Loggia is housed in a beautifully restored 7-storey pre-war mansion near Manila Bay. The Lhuillier family of the country’s largest pawnshop chain, Cebuana Lhuillier, acquired the property in the early 2000s. The Zobel de Ayalas 1st built the mansion in the 1930s which was left standing during the Battle of Manila when the surrounding areas were bombed in February 1945. There was an indication Japanese military officers occupied the house because of an existence of a tunnel beneath its gardens leading towards Manila Bay.

Upon entering the premises, you’ll be surprised by the 2 vintage planes parked on the mansion’s grounds that you’d think this maybe a former airfield being near the NAIA terminals (that’s used to be the Nichols Field, a US military airfield). The 2 planes, acquired by the Lhuilliers, are a decommissioned Cebu Pacific & a smaller one an original late 1950s Antonov An-24 B (where Elvis Presley purportedly boarded in once?) that’s transformed into a Mosphil Lounge where you can unwind & relive the old funky town Manila.

Such stately mansions with fabulous gardens were prevalent along what was then known as Dewey Boulevard (now Roxas Blvd.). Two premiere polo clubs also used to be located nearby Palacio de Memoria, namely, the pre-war Manila Polo Club founded in 1909 by prominent Americans & a splintered Los Tamaraos Polo Club established in 1937 by the Elizaldes after a top aide of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon was refused membership in the exclusively white Manila Polo. Today, the Palacio faces the Los Tamaraos Village from where the pre-war club derived its name along with lots of condominiums photobombing the mansion.

Though post-war renovations had been made on the original 2-storey structure (that’s not been lived in for almost half a century), it only started recapturing its Old World elegance true to its Spanish colonial design before the pandemic began. Today, you can tour the Palacio by booking an appointment for a 1 ½ hour guided (or self-guided) tour of the galleries, rooms, gardens, aircrafts & museum on the mansion grounds.

The Palacio de Memoria showcases the Villaroman Function Hall used to be the dining hall in the 1950s, the Los Tamaraos Ballroom with an Art Deco terrazzo floor mixed with mother-of-pearl attributed to National Artist Juan Nakpil, the now Venetian-inspired Red Room, the Gray Room recreating the “lady’s tea room” & the Ambassador’s Dining Room. The 3rd floor & up are private rooms which also serve as showroom for Palacio’s in-house auction called Casa de Memoria.

There’s also a museum which was originally part of the Los Tamaraos horse stable during the prewar which was turned into a garage in the 1950s. It’s now transformed into a museum of outstanding Christian art & heritage from Europe. The only Filipino item here is the ivory-made late 18th century Madonna & Child. The Ticketing Office is also here where you start the tour.

The 3-hectare Palacio de Memoria is located at No. 95 Roxas Boulevard, Barangay Tambo, Paranaque City just beside Bayview International Towers. It’s just 15 minutes drive away from home & a few blocks walking distance from Tambo National High School. The Palacio is open Mondays-Sundays from 10AM to 6 PM. Its Loggia by Margarita Fores is savoring the best unique dishes in a historical old Manila ambiance. The Loggia is open from 11 AM to 9 PM.