Monthly Archives: June 2026

Mactan Newtown (Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu)

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Mactan Newtown

The 28.8-hectare (74-acre) Mactan Newtown, a mixed-use, master-planned central business district, is the first integrated township development built by Megaworld Corporation outside of Metro Manila and the country’s first “Live-Work-Play-Learn” lifestyle township.  It caters to facilities and establishments such as condominiums, hotels, business process outsourcing office towers, a convention facility (Mactan Expo Center), a lifestyle mall, schools (Newtown School of Excellence, Global Leaders International School, etc.), groceries (Robinson’s Easymart, Bkue Mart), a bank branch (Unionbank) and a 75-m. wide white sand beachfront (Mactan Newton Beach).

Fountain at entrance

Plaza Magellan, a Megaworld Lifestyle Mall that will face the historical Mactan Shrine, brings to life the “Play” aspect of Mactan Newtown. Aside from housing the finest shopping, dining and entertainment choices, this three-level retail and commercial hub features a Spanish galleon flanked by Spanish steps and arches – reminiscent of the Spanish era in the Philippines.

Plaza Magellan Tower 1

The Newtown School of Excellence features two buildings with a total of 16 classrooms that can accommodate up to 35 students each; a modern library, school clinic, General Science laboratory, computer laboratory, TLE (Technology and Livelihood Education) classroom, playground and a multipurpose gymnasium. It offers programs from Nursery up to Grade 9 levels and boasts facilities that complement children’s academic and extracurricular pursuits.

Newtown School of Excellence
Global Leaders International School

Global Leaders International School (GLIS) is an accredited Cambridge International School, at Tower 1, Plaza Magellan, offering International curriculum for ages PK–12 that delivers quality education using a progressive teaching approach.

Mactan Expo Center

The Mactan Expo Center, a P1.5 billion standalone convention facility developed by Megaworld, has nearly 10,000 square meters of event space and a main hall that can accommodate about 2,500 people, in theater style, or 1,600 guests for banquets.  The hall can also be divide into three smaller venues for simultaneous events.

Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown

The area features two major, large-scale properties and various private condotels. The 18-storey, 547-room Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown, highly favored by business travelers and a certified Muslim-friendly establishment, is the largest on Mactan Island. It features an outdoor pool, a gym, and access to nearby beach frolics.

Check out “Hotel and Inn Review: Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown”

Mercure Mactan Cebu

The 550-room Mercure Mactan Cebu, formerly Belmont Hotel Mactan, is the latest addition to the township. It offers premium meeting facilities, a large pool with cabanas, and a beach bar.

La Victoria Global Residences

The Mactan Newtown caters to multiple residential developments.  It offers a mix of completed and pre-selling condominium developments catering to investors, retirees, and locals.  They include:

  • 8 Newtown Boulevard – a Japanese-inspired residential cluster that includes four 18-stories high towers featuring lush garden decks, an infinity pool, and sky gardens.
  • The three-tower One Manchester Place – located near the Cyberpark and Newtown Beach, this residential complex features executive studios up to three-bedroom units.
  • One Pacific Residence – located right at the center of the township, it features resort-style amenities, including a lap pool, in-pool lounge, and fitness gym.
  • The 20-storey The Pearl Global Residences – a tower inspired by the luxury of beachfront living, it offers studio to 3-bedroom configurations that will add 222 units from the Mactan Newtown’s 1,836 existing residential units from its inventory.
  • The 21-storey Positano Mactan – a residential tower capturing the vibrant Italian resort lifestyle, it features exclusive amenities like an aqua gym, pool deck, and fitness center.
  • The 20-storey La Victoria Global Residences – a Spanish-inspired condominium that will include 181 units, it blends modern living with the island’s rich historical heritage.
One Manchester Place
One Pacific Residence
Sales and Information Center

The Mactan Newtown also features a bustling food scene, highlighted by the Mactan Alfresco hawker center and the 8 Newtown Boulevard/Garden Walk retail strips. Dining options range from budget-friendly Filipino street food to casual international restobars. Foodies and diners will have their hands full choosing from some of Cebu’s finest dining establishments.  They include:

  • Choobi Choobi – famous for its “Shrimp in a Bag,” a one pound of fresh shrimp which comes with corn on the bob and sauce options like Butter Garlic, Cajun, Sauteed in Garlic and Spicy Gata. It also serves Filipino comfort food such as Choobi Pata, Lola Pepang’s Fried Manok and Fried Herbed Spring Duck (a free range duck fried with secret herbs and spices).
  • Chicken & Beer – a highly rated Korean-style restobar, it offers crispy fried chicken and great beers.
  • Gordon Ramsey Fish & Chips – located at the ground floor of Mercure Mactan Cebu, it offers traditional fish and chips using high-quality fillets (often Alaskan Pollock), shrimp, chicken combos, and fresh-squeezed lemonades.
  • Kogi-Q – located at 8 Newton Boulevard, it offers a yakiniku buffet experience.
  • Korea on the Plate – located at the ground floor of One Pacific Residence, it offers unlimited samgyeopsal for 550 pesos plus all Korean side dishes with unlimited refills.
  • Samurai & Geisha – located inside One Pacific Residence, this popular restobar features both Spanish cuisine and a shisha lounge.
  • Savoy Café – located inside Savoy Hotel, it serves a mix of Filipino and international à la carte dishes.
  • Starbucks – located at the ground floor of 8 Newtown Boulevard
  • Sugoi – Ramen Bar – located at Mangrove Place, it offers budget-friendly Japanese ramen.Zus Coffee
Chicken & Beer
Gordon Ramsey Fish & Chips

Mactan Alfresco, conveniently placed near the main entrance of Mactan Newtown, is a covered dining strip patterned after Singapore’s famed hawkers centers.  This 350-seater food strip is designed to showcase the best authentic Cebuano cooking and cuisine—from a delicious variety of sinugba to Filipino favorites like skewered chicken, fish, shrimp, Cebu’s famous chorizo and the freshest seafood. One of its unique features is the large communal outdoor grill or ihawan. 

Mactan Alfresco

A perfect way to cook Cebu’s bounty of land and sea, guests can choose from an array of freshly cooked food choices “turo-turo” style or choose fresh meat and seafood and have it cooked according to their preference. Each viand is partnered with puso (rice wrapped in triangular buri leaves) which one eats with their bare hands.  Diners here can also enjoy lechon, “the world’s best pig” (as the late Anthony Bourdain puts it) and Cebu’s culinary pride in the most delectable and freshest of ways with its six “lechon pits,” thrilling guests who can now experience lechon roasting on the premises while enjoying the freshest lechon.  Stalls include:

  • Anna’s Lechon – serves delicious lechon paksiw and dinuguan.
  • Cebu AyerLechon – Cebu’s No. 1 lechon-maker
  • Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly – try out their lechon belly, which comes in spicy and regular flavor.
  • Conching’s – a homegrown Cebuano brand, it is among the few places that offer a taste of native Cebu chicken or “Manok Bisaya,” which is best enjoyed grilled.
  • Hukad Cafe – offers irresistible varieties of sisig to delectable renditions of lechon and pansit.
  • Lolo Pinoy Grill
  • Mama Linda Inato BBQ Haus – serves a menu filled with delicious, sizzling grilled food and fresh seafood such as Sizzling Gambas, Beef, Pork, Squid, Seafood and even Chicken Feet. They also have Crab ala King in Chili Sauce, Garlic Shrimp and Garlic Crab, Sweet & Spicy Sugpo, Steamed Lapu-Lapu and Crispy Pata.
  • Manang Sayong – serves authentic Pinoy gastronomy such as pochero, sinuglaw (a delicious combination of grilled meat and ceviche), along with a variety of seafood, pork, beef and chicken dishes.
  • Mers Paluto – here you can pick fresh ingredients and have them cooked to order.
  • Meximama – offers Mexican favorites such as Taco Carnitas, the Costillas de Cerdo or Pork Ribs and for a sweet finish, their Churros con Chocolate.
  • Muvanz Pocherohan and Seafoods – aside from a great grilled seafood selection, it is known for their rich, savory beef pochero (beef marrow stew), their rich scallops (saltwater clam cooked with cream and butter) and sizzling squid.
  • Orange Brutus
  • Orange Karenderia – a Mandaue-based eatery that serves Cebuano favorites and equally delectable exotic dishes and is known for its bestsellers Betsy’s Garlic Chicken, their crispy Tuna Buntot or Pork Barbecue.
  • Oyster Bay Seafood Restaurant – one of Mandaue’s finest dining destinations known for its wide selection of live and fresh fish, crabs and lobster dishes, it offers dishes such as the Halaan Soup, Oysterbay Crab as well as Filipino and Chinese favorites such as lechon kawali, Bicol express, Patatim and other.

McDonald’s and Jollibee are also conveniently located across the highway just outside the main township gates.

Mactan World Museum

Soon to open is the Mactan World Museum, a P1.2-billion cultural landmark that will highlight the historical exchange between the Philippines and Spain, featuring five galleries detailing the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, the Battle of Mactan, and the Manila Galleon trade.

Mactan Newtown Beach

Mactan Newtown Beach, formerly Portofino Beach Resort, was opened in 2020. With its magnificent view of the Hilutungan Strait, it offers a large, 1.5-m. (5-ft.) deep infinity swimming pool (with a covered wading area and a pool bar), private thatched-roof lounging cabanas and shaded lounge chairs situated along the poolside and the 75-m. wide, white sand beach, meticulously landscaped gardens, shops, and a state-of-the-art fitness station and a small, picturesque pier. A variety of water sports activities such as banana boat rides, jet skiing, and parasailing are available. The adjacent boardwalk also serves as a departure point for island-hopping trips to the nearby islands.

Infinity swimming pool and pool bar

Day-use packages typically range from ₱1,088 to ₱1,288, covering beach and pool access, use of cabanas, and a lunch buffet. Guests staying at the Mercure Hotel or Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown usually receive free beach and pool access. Open daily, from 6 AM to 10 PM, on weekends, and 6 AM to 8 PM on weekdays. Swimming is restricted during the later evening hours.

Ceremonial Garden

The oceanfront, 150-pax Ceremonial Garden, introduced in 2023, is a romantic outdoor event space facing the sea.  It is often used for destination beach weddings, vow renewals, and intimate gatherings and is frequently booked in conjunction with the the 150-pax capacity Grand Beach Tent and the 300-pax Glass Pavilion.

Glass Pavilion
Grand Beach Tent

Mactan Newtown has its own public terminal (Newtown Public Transport Terminal), located just outside the township, which caters to the Mactan Newton to Danao City, Danao City and IT Park routes and vice-versa.

Newtown Public Transport Terminal

Mactan Newtown: Newtown Blvd., Mactan Circumferential Rd., Lapu-Lapu City, 6015 Cebu.  Mobile numbers (sales and information): (0917) 634-2257or (0998) 312-6276.

Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown: Tel: +032 494-4000.  Mobile number: (0917) 868-6746 and (0917) 871-8007.  E-mail: reserve@savoymactan.com and info@savoymactan.com. Social Media Pages (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube): Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown | Facebook / @savoymactannewtown / Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown.

Mercure Mactan Cebu: Tel: +32 520-4100. Mobile number: (0917) 861-1019. E-mail: HC586@accor.com.  Website:Mercure Mactan Cebu ALL Accor.

Mactan Newtown Beach: Tel: (032) 316 2715. Mobile number: (0917) 704-4893.

Destileria Limtuaco Museum (City of Manila, Metro Manila)

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Destileria Limtuaco Museum

Destileria Limtuaco Museum, a two-storey wine museum by Destileria Limtuaco, the longest running existing distillery in the Philippines (founded in 1852), chronicles five generations of wine makers and preserves over a century of Filipino craftsmanship and innovation. This museum showcases the process and production of whiskeys and also features a collection of items and liquors dating back to the Spanish colonization.

It is housed in a bahay na bato (stone house), in Intramuros, which reeks of antiquity with its stone walls; baldoza tiles at the ground floor, hardwood plank flooring at the second floor and hardwood stairs.  The house was purchased, in 1979, by the Limtuaco family but was only developed, later on, as a museum dedicated to its history.  

Carabao-drawn dadapilan

The museum was conceptualized by Ms. Olivia “Olive” Limpe-Aw, a fifth-generation master distiller, after a visit to a wine museum in Germany where she realized the rich heritage of her family that could be of interest to the public through the museum. In 2020, she was named among Forbes Asia’s Power Businesswomen, praised for expanding the brand internationally while preserving its 170-year legacy. More recently, in 2024, she received the Outstanding ASEAN Women Entrepreneur (AWEN) Award, acknowledging her contributions to regional business excellence.

Our Roots…. Gallery (The Sioktong Story)

Opened on February 6, 2018, the museum is divided into a number of galleries. At the ground floor is How It Was Before…. Gallery, Our Roots…. Gallery, Our Mini Distillery ….Gallery, Our Process for Making Rum …. Gallery, Our Process for Making Whiskey …. Gallery, Ageing Matters…. Gallery, Signed … Sealed… Delivered…. Gallery, Home is Where the Heart Is … Gallery, Remember This… Gallery, A Matter of Time…. Gallery, Best Foot Forward …. Gallery and Mark It …. Market…. Gallery.

Ground floor galleries

At the second floor is the So They Say…. Gallery, Generational Vibe …. Gallery, Product of Evolution …. Gallery, And the Award Goes To …. Gallery. At the stair landing is The Gallery displaying portraits of four generations of Limtuaco presidents.

Second floor galleries

The ground floor showcases the traditional distilling process and displays memorabilia steeped in history showing, not only the various products of Destileria Limtuaco; but also a collection of bottles throughout the years; vintage, traditional oak barrels and imported white oak; and the machines they used to produce various spirits (including damajuanas).

Bonifacio Limtuaco
Portraits of four generations of Limtuaco presidents at The Gallery

The second floor exhibits company permits throughout the years and even their old cashier, dial-up phones, cameras, cash registers, typewriters and family memorabilia such as old photos; newspaper clippings; furniture (office desk, rocking chair, the wooden dresser of Teh Siu Yong Limpe, grandfather clock, etc.); the paintings of Julius Limpe, Olive’s father; brand evolution booklets (tracing label changes over 166 years); and awards of her lawyer-mother Ms. Lily Cheng-Limpe.

The Mini Distillery Gallery

On display outside the house is a dadapilan, a traditional carabao-drawn sugar cane crusher used in the early days of Philippine spirit production. Upon entering the museum, a dedicated corner will introduce you to Tiok Tong (Siok Hoc Tong), the distillery’s flagship product. Introduced, in 1852, by Chinese immigrant Lim Tua Co (who adopted the Christian name Bonifacio Limtuaco), this traditional, bittersweet, medicinal herbal wine, which built the company’s foundation, is popularly known, throughout the country, as Sioktong. Within the display are historical bottles and original brewing herbs.

The Rum Making Process
The Whiskey Making Process

Visitors can also explore the intricate process of liquor-making and discover the stories, traditions, and people behind its well-loved products. On display are vintage distillation equipment such as mini tanks for fermenting molasses and corn; working distillators and displays on the production processes for rum and whiskey.

Oak Barrels

You will learn that the concept of the iconic commercial of White Castle Whiskey, one of the most famous brands of Destileria Limtuaco, of a model, traditionally wearing red bikinis, riding on a horse on the beach, which became famous throughout the decades, came to Julius Limpe in a dream and, upon waking, he sketched it and this became the inspiration for the brand’s storyboard.

White Castle Calendar Girls

On display are some of the White Castle Whisky calendars, an iconic Philippine promotional campaign produced by Destileria Limtuaco), that started in 1974.  Past models include Evangeline Pascual (1974), Carmi Martin (1984), Maria Isabel Lopez (1988), Lorna Tolentino, Cristina Gonzalez (1990) and Glydel Mercado (1998) while recent models include Ninong Ry (the first male calendar model) in 2021, Sassa Gurl in 2022, Ria Atayde (actress) in 2023, Angelie “Pench” Andanar (a tattoo advocate and model) in 2025, Ashley Rivera (aka internet personality Petra Mahalimuyak) in 2026.

Antique cameras

Personally, Olive has also developed her own brands that includes Julius James, a whiskey made purely from corn dedicated to her grandfather and father; as well as liqueurs such as Manille Liqueur Calamansi, Manille Liqueur Dalandan and Amadeo Coffee Liqueur. Today, Clifford, Aaron and Brandon, Olive’s sons, are also helping out as the sixth generation of master distillers, and it’s great that they have this museum, not only to remember, but also to continue sharing with the public the journey of all these iconic Filipino brands.

Some of Destileria Limtuaco’s 40 labels

At the ground floor, you can also have a private dinner for as many as 20 pax, with food paired or even cooked with Destileria Limtuaco spirits.  Aside from the rich family history, another thing that makes this museum distinct is that it is interactive. After your tour, visitors can opt for an optional tasting (you have to be over 18 years old), for an additional fee, of a flight of the company’s craft spirits at the Tasting Bar, including unique offerings like sugarcane wine, coconut vodka, premium lambanog infused with regional ingredients as well as the various drinks produced by Destileria Limtuaco (over 40 labels). Aside from White Castle Whisky, they also have Palawan Blanco Rum, Empire Vodka, Empire Gin, Napoleon VSOP Brandy, Maria Clara Sangria and Vigan Basi, among many others in an extensive list.

Tasting Bar

The company’s spirits have won many awards.  At the prestigious World Drinks Awards held in London last June 4, 2025, Destileria Limtuaco was celebrated among the Global Taste and Design winners, with multiple products lauded for their exceptional flavor profiles and packaging that evoke Philippine heritage.

Signed…, Sealed…, Delivered … Gallery

At the same event, the Intramuros Liqueur de Cacao (an all-natural spirit made, with 100% roasted cacao and a rich, velvety chocolate flavor) won the title “World’s Best Chocolate Liqueur;” the Manille Liqueur de Calamansi )an all-natural liqueur made by steeping calamansi rinds in a neutral spirit base with added sugar and no artificial flavors) was a gold winner as “Country Best Fruit Liqueur;” and the famous Amadeo Coffee Liqueur (made with locally sourced barako coffee, it blends four local Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa coffee varieties in a rum base), won the title “Best Coffee Liqueur.” The Cocohogo Coconut Cream Liqueur, a tropical and creamy liqueur which celebrates the flavors of coconut, won a Bronze Award, in the Vegan Alternative Category.

The Destileria Limtuaco logo

Today, Destileria Limtuaco operates three bottling, processing, and aging plants plus warehouses in Metro Manila, headquartered at 1830 E. Delos Santos Avenue, Quezon City. Now, instead of using traditional full-sized oak barrels, they use a specialized stainless steel vat equipped with submerged oak wood. This technique provides the necessary wood interaction to flavor the spirit while virtually eliminating the natural “angel’s share” (the evaporation loss that occurs with porous oak barrels) in the tropical climate.

Specialized stainless steel vat equipped with submerged oak wood

Destileria Limtuaco Museum: 481 San Juan de Letran (near Lyceum of the Philippines and Colegio de San Juan de Letran), Intramuros, Manila, 1002 Metro Manila.  Tel: (083) 485 9621 Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM to 5 PM.  Admission:  Regular – ₱100 (regular), ₱50 (students and senior citizens) and ₱200 (Premium, with liquor tasting). This museum can now be visited as one of the five museums that are part of the Intramuros Day Pass, along with Fort Santiago, Baluarte de Santiago Gardens, Casa Manila Museum and Museo de Intramuros.