Or why everyone new in town must meet this creative to unlock the secrets of an insider city like Manila
When you hang out with creative consultant and brand strategist Monique Madsen, founder and creative director at Modeme, it’s like you’re hanging out with the world. She has a special skill that makes you feel at home and that’s probably why she’s the go-to person for every new expat in town who wants to be shown around.
Monique just turned 40. “Initially I really just wanted to have an intimate dinner with a few,” she says. “I feel like my life, except during lockdown of course, had always been about organizing dinners and get-togethers, so the last thing I wanted for my birthday was to organize another event.” But her friends said no-no, especially not Jessica Shields, Tricia Centenera, Ria Prieto, and Rocio Olbes-Ressano, who took it in their hands to put together a bash big enough for their extremely sociable friend.
“After all, I was only turning 40 once and I had had a pretty dominant social life it would be hard to turn 40 quietly if I were doing it in Manila,” says Monique of how her friends convinced her to throw a party. To make it easier, Singaporean Ambassador Gerard Ho, another good friend, offered his residence as a venue.
What was originally planned as a dinner for 40 turned out to be a party for 50 or so that lasted ‘til late.
Happy Ongpauco Tiu and her team happily prepared a spread worthy of such a milestone, replete with a grazing table groaning under the weight of soft and hard cheeses, flavored cream cheese, truffle honey, and chorizo and jamón for starters.
Among the mains was a beautiful paella Valenciana topped with torched honey-glazed shrimps, crab fat butter, grape tartare, and microgreens. There was sofrito of 16-hour braised beef, mushroom confit, roasted garlic jus, red wine juice, smoked potato purée, and chimichurri oil. There was also chicken tagine with saffron dust, almond chips, and couscous, and herb essence, along with a modern take on mousaka in the form of eggplant galette croquettes with cream cheese potato mousse, and
torched béchamel.
Also on the menu were hummus shots, garlic oil essence, pinenuts, toasted pita with babaganoush mousse, feta crumbs, and olive focaccia toasts, as well as briouats and cream cheese mousse, olive tapenade, and herbs de Provence in golden pastry.
“I had a mix of Spanish and Mediterranean menu because some of my guests are vegan,” says Monique, as she took me to the bar, also set up by Happy’s team with no less than Bobby Tenchavez and Carlo Calma Lorenzana, the two men behind Boca Juan Filipinas, making sure all the wines paired perfectly with the evening’s spread.
It didn’t take long before everybody started dancing, even while others were only arriving or helping themselves to the buffet, and that’s thanks to DJ Skratchmark, a Manila-based deejay from northern California, pumping up the scene. To Monique, as her guests started hanging loose, letting down their hair, and dancing to the beat, it was the proof of the pudding that the party was a success.
To me, however, what made Monique’s birthday bash one to remember was the guests. It was an odd mix of nationalities that would rival even a diplomatic affair. On her guest list was everyone who had been a part of her life over the last seven years when she moved back home to Manila after a stint in Shanghai. “These are my friends and people I worked with who have all become my friends,” says Monique. “Even when some business ventures didn’t work out, I have maintained a great friendship with them.
One of the guests, a German, told me that when he was new in Manila, somebody told him he should meet Monique. He was glad he did. That’s a role Monique has come to play. She is a connector. She connects like-minded people and, fortunately for this German guest, she has a good circle of expat friends. “I have moved around quite a bit myself since 2007,” says Monique, who has spent many years in Copenhagen and Shanghai, where, as she put it, she once lived the “trailing spouse life,” so she understands what’s it like to be a stranger in a city as big and as chaotic as Manila. “I sympathize. It can be hard uprooting yourself, moving to a new city, and trying to make new friends,” she says. “I’m glad to show people around.”
‘I have moved around quite a bit myself since 2007. I understand. It can
be hard uprooting yourself, moving to a new city, and trying to make new friends.’
But the Manila Monique shows her friends is one that’s charming and welcoming to foreigners. “It’s definitely a lot easier to integrate and make friends in Manila, compared to, say, other cities I’ve lived in,” she says. “First off, everyone speaks English here and I find that we are a lot more open to foreigners in general.”
But let’s hear it from some of her guests.
Jessica Shields, vice president for global services at Dexcom, came to Manila when she was 23. “I quickly fell in love with the vibrancy of the Philippines, the lust for life and warmth,” she says. “I can safely say, after 12 years of living here, I’m more Pinay than Australian! Monique is more a sister than a friend and her party was a reflection of everything I love about this country, and Monique!”
Alexander Grenz, president and CEO at Allianz PNB Life, has lived in Manila for almost seven years. “By now I can clearly say that the country grows on you year on year,” he says. “It’s especially the warmth and humbleness of the people here who make it easy to feel at home, besides the archipelago’s pristine beaches and diverse marine life.”
Asked what she loves about Manila, Sophie Simpson, founder of Atteline PR Dubai, gushes, “The people! The warm and vibrant culture!”
Daniel Obradó, CEO at Keralty Philippines, arrived in Manila in July of 2019. “After living in Asia for several years, I was surprised by the warmness of Filipinos,” he says. “They really love to socialize and always make you feel at home. Manila is a very vibrant city and there are always reasons to celebrate with friends.”
No wonder, the Philippines is often on top of the lists of places for expats, ranking eighth, for instance, among the top 15 friendliest countries on HSBC’s Expat Explorer Survey in 2012. More recently, in 2022, Expat Insider ranked the Philippines third on its list of countries cited for its “Ease of Settling In” index, doing “especially well with regard to finding friends.”
I’ve always considered Manila an insider city. And that’s why it’s always good to have someone like Monique to unlock its many secrets, even for a Filipino like me.