For sake's sake

Another hip and hot night spot in the metro opened its doors in Makati. Izakaya (sushi, sake and speakeasy) is located in the space formerly occupied by Temple Bar in Greenbelt 2. It’s a chic bar with a sumptuous selection of over 15 different types of sake from dry to sweet, unfiltered to sparkling.

Owned by nightlife staples, Marco De Guzman, Raj Sadhwani of Distillery, Ivan Zalameda of Global One, DJ Manolet Dario and Encore/Member’s Only’s Erik Cua and GP Reyes, the place was packed on opening night.

The bar’s interiors and al fresco area were filled to capacity as guests danced to the tunes of DJ Bombi Balquiedra and sampled refreshing sake mixers like lemon grass sake, cucumber lychee, watermelon mint, sangria sake and its signature drink, the Izakaya martini.

The very relaxing atmosphere is detailed with Japanese roof tiles, tatami mats and woven rope to give it a Japanese feel. It also has two private rooms, one of which is a karaoke room. The focal point is a dragon mural painted by Japanese artist Seiko Katayama.

Some exciting concepts Izakaya is set to introduce are GP Reyes’ Izakaya Dojo, a DJ Jam Session every Wednesday; Manolet Dario’s themed night Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on Thursdays; Moshi Moshi Mondays and Industry night by Global One’s Ivan Zalameda; and JUKE BOX nights where guests are given the freedom to choose songs from a vast collection. Also, every day from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. are Izakaya sunset specials: a 30-percent discount on selected bottles and pitchers and P250 per bucket of six beer bottles.

Check it out at the ground floor of Greenbelt 2!

The 7th Enrique Zobel Cup

Guests who arrived in chic Sunday attire at the Manila Polo Club were treated to an exciting spectacle — the Enrique Zobel Memorial Polo Cup tournament, which was co-presented by PGA Cars and now in its seventh year.

Porsche’s revolutionary four-seater GT, the new Panamera, the Audi A5 coupe, Audi’s R8, Q5 and A4 were on display and event partners BDO and American Express were also on hand to facilitate lines of credit for interested car buyers.

This event began with the opening ceremonies and low goal match between Team Porsche Whites versus Team Porsche Blacks. It was a closely-fought game with the Porsche Whites prevailing on account of Manot Montilla’s 4 goals to the Porsche Blacks’ 3.

The high goal match between the Audi Reds and the Audi Grays saw Iñigo Zobel give an inspired and powerful performance. Zobel lead his team to an early lead and ended up scoring the most goals of the tournament, six goals, to give his team, the Audi Reds a convincing 11-6 victory over the Audi Grays. Other goal scorers included Cole Aguirre (2), Santi Laborde and Santi Elizalde of Zobel’s Audi Reds team, and Alejo Taranco (3), Anthony Filamor (2) and Adrian Garcia of Team Audi Gray.

As soon as the array of PGA cars finished lining up, a troupe of Manila Polo Club staff marched in with food from sponsor San Miguel Corp. and while waiters served wine and champagne from Wine Depot. DJ Bombi Balquiedra kept the party going until well after twilight.