The Intercon

I remember The Bahia restaurant at the top floor of the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati.  Together with the other icon outlets of the hotel, namely the fashionable Where Else discotheque, the fun-and-almost-rowdy Boulevardier (where I spent many nights in tipsy bliss), the newmen's watering hole Jeepney Cafe, and the very elegant Prince Albert Rotisserie, this restaurant was where the Intercon boys laid out a grand buffet spread which was quite the in place for power lunches in the late seventies and early eighties.  The view of the Makati Commercial Center was relaxing, and I recall their lechon was very good!  The hotel was built in the mid-sixties and served as the cornerstone for the Makati Commercial Center, a then ambitious development project conceptualized by the Ayala family in the mid-fifties.  I was invited to the annual dinner given by the Manila Overseas Press Club for the Philippine National Police this week and was surprised as I was ushered into the Bahia--now as a function room and no longer a restaurant!  The Jeepney Cafe now handles the buffets; apparently most of the younger set are no longer accustomed to riding an elevator to dine!  Well, times change and sadly, things move so fast; I was looking out the window and noticed that the Makati skyline was all so different now, and what used to be the top floor, now seemed to be merely the mezzanine level.  In all, the food was alright, and the interiors were remodeled with a plush look, but I heaved a heartfelt sigh as I left the hotel...