Hay naku. It is one of those things I say before I even realise I have switched languages. When the train is delayed, when something at work goes wrong, when someone I love is being ridiculous, or when I open another letter from the government and have to figure out what they want from me […]
“Do you own or rent?” Rent. “How long have you been at your current address?” Not very long. “And your previous address?” Another rental. It’s funny how a few questions on a form can suddenly remind you that you are starting from scratch. I looked at the keys in my hand the other day and […]
At around 12:30pm on April 19, I received a message from our front of house in Darlington. “Kuya, we’re still alive. I have to cut kitchen service by 12:45pm. We’re out of food.” I was in Flemington at the time, in the middle of Filofomo Fest with Kariton Gelato. Vinny and I were talking to […]
There’s a particular kind of loneliness in building something that later gets retold without you. Not erased aggressively. Not denied outright. Just… simplified. The story becomes cleaner that way. Easier to carry. One person, one struggle, one triumph. The rough edges are smoothed out, the shared weight redistributed, until what was once held by many […]
It’s 5:30 in the morning. The café is still quiet, the street outside barely awake. I’m in the small bakery corner of Taguan, shaping dough into small rounds, lining them up carefully so they’re ready for the morning bake. The smell of yeast hangs in the air. There’s something calming about this part of the […]
A few weeks ago, we posted a video from one of our culture days for the cafe. People were dancing. Budots came on. Someone laughed too loudly. A group started moving in sync without really planning it. It was messy, joyful, a little chaotic. The kind of energy that doesn’t try to be cool. Then […]
A few days after the Bondi Beach shooting on December 14, 2025, I found myself in a quiet conversation with a Filipino friend here in Sydney. He was recounting how his Australian friends reacted to the news. How unsettled they were. How they kept refreshing the headlines, checking in with each other, holding their breaths […]
Last weekend, we attended the graduation of a young nephew here in Australia. A quiet milestone marked by ramen bowls and talk about life after school. No elaborate photo shoots, no loud celebrations, just a table, warm food, and a boy with no fear in his eyes. He knew, deep down, that whatever he chose […]
Surprise. We opened Taguan Sydney last year, 2024, in a small 12-seater on a quiet corner of Redfern. There was no grand opening. No streamers. No influencers or media lists. We barely announced it, really. Just quiet posts here, a soft launch there. No drama. Just coffee and food. That’s always been our way really. […]
I wasn’t alive when the 1986 People Power Revolution happened. Everything I know about those four days in February comes from history books, stories, documentaries, and the recollections of others. Yet, one undeniable fact shines through all those accounts: millions of ordinary Filipinos came together to end a tyranny. They flooded EDSA with prayers and […]