November 27, 2019, Wednesday
My meeting in UP Diliman ended at 5:15 pm. Perfect for my 6 pm dinner reservation at Van Gogh is Bipolar restaurant in Maginhawa Street, Quezon City
It’s my first time to wander in this area. The street is lined with dozens of home-grown restaurants, not franchises. This is a hub for young foodies.
I’ve always wanted to visit this restaurant but I always forget the name, and since it’s in a place where I don’t frequent, it seemed out of the way. And with drivers that turn right when I tell them to go straight, exploring deep into Quezon City would stress me out even with the help of Waze.
I now have a driver who knows the streets of Metro Manila so it’s an opportunity for me to explore other places. When I told him UP, he knew exactly the way. From UP, when I told him Maginhawa, I didn’t even have to repeat it, he knew. His former boss of 11 years apparently frequented the restaurants in the area.
I came to know about Jed Raphael’s sanctuary a few years ago while watching HGTV, my favorite cable channel. In between House Hunters International and other home renovation programs, they featured unusual homes in Asia and one of that was Jed’s.
What was originally his abode was transformed into a restaurant by demand from his friends.
We stopped twice to ask for directions because I couldn’t see any Van Gogh sign. I gave the restaurant a call to ask for landmarks.
It occupies the whole ground floor of an inner building. There’s a courtyard but we were asked to park alongside the road for lack of parking space inside.
There is no loud fascia board, no big signboard, no visible directional signs, and no impressive traditional door. I think this is intentional. It’s part of the packaging. They want to be subtle, low-key, hidden.
The aparador opens to another door, which is actually the main door to the restaurant. This heightens my anticipation of what awaits me inside.
Footwear is not allowed inside.
This ref serves as the shoe rack.
My tsinelas
The interior is exactly the way I expected it to be. It’s a congruence of abstract art, dried flowers, vintage furniture, colorful fabrics, and hundreds of little things that create a personality uniquely its own. Disarray of things, a miss and match, confusing, but blending together to create beauty, peace, serenity. And surprisingly, despite what look like chaos, one can find inner beauty and calmness. This could be a home.
Behind this built-in cabinet is the kitchen
Colorful fabrics drape old chairs
A bigger table that sits eight is separated by this curtain for privacy.
This photo doesn’t do justice to the place. In actual, the mixture of antiquities and vibrant hues create synchrony.
Abstract art adorns the ceiling
Suggestions are not necessary here. Van Gogh is Bipolar has created a sanctuary for people who want to fill their senses not only with good food but a total experience that will leave you with a deep sense of appreciation and empathy for people suffering from mental illness and depression.
Van Gogh is Bipolar
154 Maginhawa, Diliman,
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Next: What I ate
