It was the smell of smoke, sweet and pungent with herbs and roasting meat, that drew the crowd towards the usually empty lot on Alveo Land’s latest development. For one night, Northern Living magazine’s Kulinaria at Portico convened friends, families, and loved ones to partake of good food and enjoy one more gathering before the height of the holidays.
The Sandstone at Portico was transformed into a dream-like fair with bright lights traversing lines from one end to the other, illuminating picnic tables corralled in by the pitched tents housing goods and grubs. Handheld provisions like grilled meat on skewers, Skinita’s US angus beef, and delicious sandwiches in the form of Hachi Bao’s Japanese pork belly bao ruled the night with a long queue of patrons.
More grown-ups than kids lazed on mats making dominoes out of wooden blocks at the kids’ corner, indulging their inner child with ice pops from Icepop MNL—albeit in more mature flavors such as the Strawberry Mojito. Helping some guests check off more items from their long gift lists were arts and crafts booths Tienda Wabas with their handmade notebooks, Tala Scents offering an assortment of organic soap, and Space Garden and Succulents by Miguel Antonio with their potted plants.
Smooth tunes from the night’s performers, Paolo Mallari, Niki Colet, Olympia, and Somedaydream Red, mixed with the sounds of lively chatter drifting up towards the condominiums around the area. Not so far off, a beacon of light shined through the night at Alveo Land’s showroom where art works from Olivia D’Aboville, Nina Alagao, Jane Arrieta Ebarle, Veronica Ibarreta, Ciane Xavier, and Victoria Abad Kerblat are still on display.
Amidst the overflowing food and musical performances, an area was reserved for Haribon Foundation, the chosen charity of the night, who received a portion of the event’s profits. The non-profit organization was given the opportunity to orient the guests about their environmental conservation projects and events.
This event was brought to you by Northern Living magazine and Alveo Land with official media partners Inquirer.net, Inquirer Plus, Preen.ph, ClickTheCity, When in Manila.com, Scout, and Coconuts Manila.
by Renz Nollase | Photography by Eunice Sanchez
