New York City will always mean different things for a returning, visiting Filipino. My last time in Manhattan was two years ago, but that was in early March, for work, during a cold late-winter spell. This time it was glorious summer in late July, and for me, New York is primarily about the theater, the food and dining, the museums, and making new memories.

Filipinos are traditionally creatures of habit. Do you notice how when we visit Hong Kong, we’ll end up eating in the very same places we enjoyed in the past? It was tempting to head back to Peter Luger in Brooklyn for a steak dinner, and gravitate to Levain Bakery for their cookies, but we made the promise to try new dining places, explore the city, and carve out new "go-to's." So if you’re heading to Manhattan later in the year, feel free to head to any of the eating establishments and shows mentioned below. I’m picking out the best of our seven days there, and hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we did!

To make it easy, I’m also breaking them down into dinner and fine-dining places, current Broadway shows worth catching, casual brunch and lunch options, bakeries and dessert choices, and cultural and museum spots. And I’m breaking the recommendations into Parts 1 and 2 to lessen possible information overload.

La Mercerie: Located on the corner of Mercer and Canal in Soho, La Mercerie is a French-inspired dining spot that’s conjoined to an interior design store, the Roman and Williams Guild, so you can imagine what the ambiance and table settings here are like. I had the Sole de Paris, which was their novel take on Sole Meunière, but served with button mushrooms and a white wine sauce. This was the perfect light dinner I had aspired for.

Issa ordered the Navarin D’Agneau, a lamb stew, with English peas, carrots, turnips, and asparagus. It was a hearty serving despite the size of the bowl, and Issa smartly asked that she take home what she couldn’t finish, and it was her breakfast the next morning. Her dessert was the superb Hazelnut Pecan Cake, and I’m told their chocolate chip cookie is to die for.

Lola’s: This is the bastion of chef Suzanne Cupps, who, with partner Nick Salinger, has made Lola’s cited for two years in a row in The New York Times 100 Best Restaurants in NYC. And the reason I lead this feature with chef Suzanne is because she’s proudly half-Filipina. Her dad is Cesar Paraiso, and the Lola her restaurant is named after is Cesar’s mother. Her distinctly Filipino wedding photo is found by the restaurant’s bar.

Vegetable-forward, and influenced by her Filipino, Asian, and South Carolina upbringing, there’s a wonderful inventiveness to the Lola’s menu. And it’s centrally located on W. 28th Street and Fifth Avenue, just across the 28th Street entrance of the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Her Crispy Chicken Thighs are accompanied by "suka," and you’ll love the waiter trying to pronounce "suka." We really loved the dishes here, and how among the zero-proof drinks, you’ll find a Suman Soda. It’s not Filipino cuisine per se, but just great food stamped with chef Suzanne’s own provenance and culinary history. Visit Lola’s and say hello to chef Suzanne, and ask if her Leche Flan is available that day.

'Schmigadoon': Taking home four Tony Awards in total this 2026, this is the Best Musical of the year, and you’ll immediately see why it won these awards. The acting, the singing, the dancing are all impeccable; the humor and laughter are non-stop, and the second act is just as strong as the first! In previous visits to New York, that was my personal gripe: how shows like "Hamilton" and even "The Book of Mormon" would start so strong, but flag in the second act, and I’d be wishing they’d come to the end of the book. If you have a single funny bone in your body, trust me and watch this crazy, heartfelt parody and tribute to Broadway musicals of the past.

'Stranger Things: The First Shadow': I was probably the only member of the audience who had never watched an episode of this limited series. But with Issa as spirit guide, I quickly got into this and appreciated how the stage design and special effects were so special, creating chilling suspense and drama as needed. It was a perfectly staged version of the TV show, and acted as a prequel that drew much appreciation from the audience. I understand one of the shows will be filmed to act as a Netflix special. Me, I was just transfixed and enjoyed it, so can imagine how that would be heightened if you or your children are fans.

Bubby’s: On Hudson Street in Tribeca, Bubby’s delivers classic, from-scratch American comfort food. It’s been around since the 1990s, and on the Monday morning, at 11:20, that we walked to Bubby’s, there was already a long line of people waiting to get a table. It’s most famous for its James Beard fluffy buttermilk pancakes. And be sure to try their Crab Cake Benedict, and seasonal desserts.

I was told the lines got even more dense after the JFK Jr. and Carolyn series aired last year, as this was their staple neighborhood hangout, since they lived just up the block. As it’s in Tribeca, where major local film offices are found, expect that crowd to regularly show up.

'Los Tacos No. 1 at Chelsea Market': A trip to Chelsea Market, W. 15th Street and Ninth Avenue, will always be a good idea when looking for affordable quality eats. It’s like what you’ll find in the Mercato in Florence, and what our own Mercato aspires to be. And when at Chelsea Market, expect the longest line to be at Los Tacos No. 1. My tip? The Chicken Quesadillas and the Taco Adobada, and choose the corn tortillas.

Dominique Ansel Bakery: Issa had gotten wind of a Pierre Hermé-Dominique Ansel collaboration, so we were there, waiting in line, before the shop even opened on a Thursday morning. Hermé is known worldwide for his intense, exotically flavored macarons, and Issa has been an ardent fan for a decade now. Ansel is credited with coming up with the first Cronut. So this was "dessert heaven pairing" as far as pastry fans were concerned. On Spring Street, in Soho.

The three special desserts of the collaboration were a flan, a biscuit, and a cronut. The chocolate flan was my favorite, and gets its photo highlighted. Also order Ansel’s Key Lime Pie éclair. Ansel also has a French-Asian bread place called Papa D’Amour (64 University Place, near NYU); Asian because his wife is from Taiwan. Worth checking out, and he said to try their egg tart.

Culture Espresso: I’m not a coffee person, so I dropped by this place just to get their chocolate chip cookie. Also ordered the corn cookie, and their oatmeal cranberry. It’s a favorite on social media, and I get it, as it’s crisp on the very first bite and edges, then becomes soft and gooey in the center. They’ve got this technique down pat, and I experienced this on all three cookie variants. I still prefer Levain, but could appreciate how this one is different and still good. There are several Culture Espresso locations all over the city.

Banksy Museum: On the corner of Canal and Broadway, this is really a tribute museum, an act of love from the fans of the anonymous graffiti street artist. The tour takes you from the very beginning of Banksy’s career in Bristol, and takes us through the 1990s, up to his more recent escapades in Ukraine and in London. His incendiary political work is cataloged and reproduced on the walls of this museum.

So that’s my first batch of recommendations, a mix of the highbrow and the ones with street cred. And for me, that’s the beauty of New York. It’s a (big) apple that can be sliced, diced, picked at, or nibbled. The important thing is to enjoy your time there, and come away with lasting experiences.