Jar Concengco’s writing portfolio
F&B Report
The fight for Filipino farmers’ dignity is everyone’s responsibility - From promoting non-GMO seed production to utilizing natural farming and inculcating dignity, these efforts might yield a better future for Filipino farmers
F&B Report
Dylan Patisserie and Butternut Bakery: Manila cake brands bring new layers of flavor - Over the course of a pandemic, Dylan Patisserie and Butternut Bakery navigated their own set of challenges without losing sight of their sweet goals
F&B Report
These local doughnut destinations offer a glimpse of a flavorful future - Bakers behind novel doughnuts elaborate on surprising flavors they’ve crafted, from mojito-soaked to vegan maple “chicken”
F&B Report
MadEats on the appeal and long-term viability of ghost kitchens - The main advantage of ghost kitchens? Feedback is instant and so are the solutions
Metro.Style
Editor’s Pick: Samsung The Serif for the Discerning Tastemaker - Why choose between style and function when you have The Serif—a new lifestyle TV that has practicality and beauty at the same time. Visual artist, photographer, and furniture designer Jar Concengco shares some of his insights on this gorgeous design piece
F&B Report
Hey Pie People is a tasty study in defining success on your own terms - The defiant takeaway from Raeanne Young Sagan’s approach to her dessert shop Hey Pie People? Saying no and taking care of yourself
F&B Report
Mrs. Saldo’s: A private dining restaurant in Silang, Cavite that feels more like home - Mrs. Saldo’s is exactly the space Rhea Rizzo needed for several reasons—to find balance, to create cuisine that touches the soul, and to break her own boundaries
Metro.Style
Step Inside A Café Whose Peaks And Curves Are All About Its Owners' Female Energy - The restaurant just got bigger with a divine white extension where you can watch their bakers make pastries all day
F&B Report
Inside the art of beautiful takeout and delivery package design - A marketing strategy you shouldn’t ignore is providing the full package experience—that is, beautiful packaging design capable of withstanding the demands of delivery
Metro.Style
This Wood Kiln Drying Facility Is Experiencing A Second Life As A Boutique Hotel - A second generation furniture maker from Betis, Pampanga turns to adaptive reuse… here’s how Venta Suites, her pandemic project turned out
Metro.Style
Inside Casa Tropica Villas, Where Personality And Inspiration Make Fond Pool-Side Memories - HANDS Design Studio’s Bali-inspired design is poised with front and center views of Mt. Makling
Metro.Style
Laidback Charm Laced With Nonchalance Makes This Modern Tropical Getaway A Relaxing Escape - Step inside any of ten transportive villas in Zambales’ Sundowners, and you’ll feel like you’re in Marrakech or Mexico
F&B Report
Why the women behind Half Saints reinvented their already successful menu - Half Saints’ menu engineering during COVID-19 will be remembered as a moment of future-proofing for any food business
F&B Report
At these new coffee shops, a post-COVID cafe culture is emerging - The long-term outlook of cafes and coffee shops in a post-COVID future is rooted in captivating design, thoughtful spending, ethics, and traceability
Metro.Style
5 Scandi Design Moves To Cop From The New Flagship Store Of Design Story - Design Story opens its new flagship store at the Karrivin Plaza, and its designer Rossy Rojales of Hurray Design and owners Stenie Coyuito-Tay and Dana Uy share their process in designing for retail and how this process can help all of us at home too
ANCX
The super easy ways to turn your instant noodles and 'de lata' into healthier meals - These convenience food staples can help you stay healthy during the lockdown. Just simply lessen the fat and sodium and add loads of nutrient-rich greens and flavorings.
F&B Report
Gingham, red, and a little smile: Inside the story of Lola Nena’s brand refresh - Sometimes a little freshening up is all it takes to further establish a brand’s growing clout—just like what Morfosis did with Lola Nena’s
F&B Report
The donut effect: Bringing value back to local neighborhoods? - As more people are staying home, businesses in city centers find new life in quieter neighborhoods
F&B Report
Restaurants on wheels: A brief look at accessible and mobile ambitions - Taking your food outside the enclosures of a mall can mean making the dining experience more accessible to customers
F&B Report
The biggest lessons these entrepreneurs learned amid COVID-19 - More than a year after the first lockdown, these F&B insiders offer a glimpse of the future of the industry
F&B Report
A successful partnership is a cocktail of friendship, respect, and compromise - Canned cocktails and compatible partnerships aren’t dichotomies, as exemplified by entrepreneurs and longtime business partners Kelly Parreño-Librojo and Rachel Carrasco
F&B Report
Tikim TV believes in the power and timelessness of street food - Filipino street food has remained unstoppable even in the pandemic. Tikim TV’s Sherwin Llames, meanwhile, satisfies our appetite for good storytelling with his documentaries on street food vendors
Metro.Style
Reminiscent Of An Origami Crane, This Modern Home Was Designed With A User-Centered Approach - The advertising world’s power duo, David and Angel Guerrero, worked with Architect Denise De Castro of DEQA Design Collaborative to build a home that reflects values of sustainability and wellness
Metro.Style
Like A Good Pair Of Jeans, This Denim Wear Designer’s Home Fits Him To A “T” - It’s a house that responds to the pandemic through design and reveals the secret to a lived-in space
Metro.Style
Japanese And Scandinavian Design Come Together In This Home Inspired By Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s 'In Praise of Shadows' - Japanese architect, Keiji Ashizawa collaborates with Danish design group Norm Architects in Azabu Residence, where pensive luster is preferred over shallow brilliance
ANCX
An expectant father shares his fears, hopes in bringing a child into a strange new world - Driving your pregnant wife to her doctor’s checkup would have been an uneventful thing pre-pandemic. But what could have been a tense, frightening trip turned into a sobering one for this about-to-be dad of four.
Metro.Style
Inside This Minimalist Family Home, A Distinct Absence of Clutter, Baggage And Distractions - Tucked within a bird and wildlife sanctuary in Silang, Cavite, values of restraint and mindfulness inform a family’s design decisions
Metro.Style
In 2021, Revamp Your Space With These 7 Projects Using Wood - Minimalism just got a warm makeover with this timeless and versatile material
Metro.Style
Learn 5 Useful Takeaways From This Japandi Starter Home - Frances Cabatuando of Nobi Home (and founder of Home Buddies) documents her first time living alone… Here are tried and tested lessons from her experience
ANCX
The food recipes Pinoys search for the most in this pandemic, according to Google - Filipinos have also been Googling for recipes that are easy to make, comforting, and with ingredients that aren’t hard to find
Metro.Style
In 57 Square Meters, This LGBTQ Couple OF 20 Years Pens A Love Letter To Japan Through Design - Via their condo’s warm wood finishes and natural color palette, this couple ‘traveled’ to Japan during the pandemic without leaving their city home in Makati
Metro.Style
This Japanese Hybrid Space Shows That Simple Is Best - Ishinomaki Home Base is a furniture showroom and workshop, cafe, boutique hotel and events place designed by Keiji Ashizawa to “truly feel good”
Metro.Style
At The Interior Lifestyle Living Fair In Tokyo, Waste Is A Design Flaw - With a focus on offices and home offices, this design fair delivered lots of ideas on sustainability, efficient and space-saving furniture and the value of upcycling
Made in QC 2
Sourdough Cafe - With so much time spent at home during the pandemic, many have attempted to make their own sourdough bread. It is not easy. Nor is it something that you can instantly make. Many recipes found online can have you kneading it every thirty minutes for the first two hours and have it rest for another eight. This is all assuming that you already have a starter which can take several more hours or even a couple days. One gains a newfound appreciation for the artisans who do this well for a living. Chef Alvin Ong is one such artisan who set out to bring high quality sourdough closer to the residents of Quezon City...
Made in QC 3
Joy Of Urban Farming - Hunger mitigation and food security are two issues in the country that have seen an expedited response during the pandemic. As people were required to stay home, local government units made sure that no one went hungry by distributing food to its most vulnerable residents. Others found ways to grow their own food despite being in an urban setting with little or no land for a proper garden. These same issues were being tackled back in 2010 by then Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte with her flagship project called The Joy of Urban Farming. Originally located in the Quezon City Circle and now located on the grounds of Quezon City Hall behind the Public Library, The Joy of Urban Farming demo garden is open to educate and inspire its residents on how you can also grow your own food.
Made in QC 3
Love Bikes PH - When visual artist Eng Chan attended a bamboo bike making workshop by famed custom bike frame builder Craig Calfee back in 2009, he immediately was inspired to create. While the other attendees of the workshop were satisfied just by learning how to make a bike out of bamboo, Chan wanted something more.
“I was more concerned about the look and the aesthetics of the bike,” Chan explains. He was more interested in creating art or something sculptural.
Metro.Style
This Emily In Paris Location Is Where The Hermès and the Rothschild Families Once Lived - Take your cue from Scarlett Johansson and Tom Hanks, and have drinks at Hôtel Particulier, too… or stay a night or two
Metro.Style
EXCLUSIVE: Inside Fashion Designer Jerome Salaya Ang’s Neo-Brutalist Lair of Exotic Curiosities - In the mountains of San Mateo, Rizal, this home is filled with an intoxicating mix of wooden Catholic relics, chinoiserie and tribal artifacts
Metro.Style
Step Into A 2D Sketch When You Visit This Milk Tea Bar - Doodles and the commitment to a singular aesthetic makes this place twice as fun
Metro.Style
This Handmade Homeware Brand Makes Modern Heirlooms Out Of Japanese Surplus - Learn how one of the first store managers of Uniqlo transforms discarded items into precious pieces for the home through a slow process that celebrates craftsmanship
Metro.Style
7 Ice Cream And Gelato Spots Offering Every Flavor Under This Hot Summer Sun - Summer is here! And the best way to keep your cool is to enjoy a refreshing scoop of ice cream or gelato. For sure, some of you like to keep it safe and classic with your choice of flavors. And some of you may automatically order the newest, weirdest flavor available. Whatever your predilection, you’ll find what you’re looking for at 7 of these spots serving some of the most creative flavors in town.
Metro.Style
4 New Spins On Ice Cream—From Dairy-Free Delights To Frozen Rolls - You’d think that with all of the flavors there are for ice cream in the world that it would be enough. Apparently, there is a whole slew of trendy styles that are setting out to reignite our excitement for our favorite frozen dessert.
The Quezon City Food Journal
Icebergs’ claim to fame is their Halo-Halo. They are the first to serve the traditional Filipino shaved ice dessert “flipped” – meaning instead of the ice being on top of the mixed ingredients of kaong, macapuno, pinipig, tapioca balls, sweetened jackfruit, and caramelized bananas among others, the ingredients get top billing and are featured on top of the ice…
The Quezon City Food Journal
Chef Edward Bugia of Pino Resto Bar is known for making innovative and refreshing twists of Filipino classics such as Red Wine Adobong Tadyang and Crispy Hito with Ensaladang Talong. What launched Pino Resto Bar on the map was when food writer Reggie Aspiras praised their Kare Kareng Bagnet on New Years Day of 2009 on a national broadsheet. A favorite date restaurant and place for casual meetings, Pino Resto Bar has created a relationship with its community that Bugia describes as “symbiotic”…
The Quezon City Food Journal
Tapsi Ni Vivian at Bulalohan is a 24-hour open restaurant started by Vivian del Rosario. As it currently enjoys 6 branches all around Metro Manila, Tapsi Ni Vivian’s road to success was not always smooth. The restaurant persevered because of Vivian’s diligence and dedication…