Welcome to the Rolling Stone Philippines Staff Picks. Every other week, our editors and writers share their favorites from what the city and beyond have to offer. From the best restaurants, bars, new product releases, and anything worth your money, this list is a list of everything that’s gotten our attention.
Aspiring filmmakers and authors now have a new manual to rely on. National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee’s Quiapo Ilalim: Pagsusulat ng Iba’t Ibang Daan, his much-anticipated follow-up to the highly influential scriptwriting manual Trip to Quiapo, comes out August 14 during Cinemalaya. Nearly three decades after the release of the original manual, the new book is being published by the Film Academy of the Philippines in partnership with Ricky Lee Writing Services. “Kung ang pagsusulat ay rewriting, gano’n din ang pagtuturo nito,” Lee wrote in an excerpt from the book. “Hindi natatapos sa isang draft. Pareho silang proseso, hindi destinasyon.” —Elijah Pareño
Pre-orders for the manual are now available via Shopee.
I was a physical book girly for years, but I’ve recently understood the hype about Kindle after being gifted one. Kindles are pocket-sized devices designed to be an e-reader, but they now offer larger, tablet-sized options. Nothing could still beat the feeling of holding an actual book for me, but I understand why people would prefer the convenience a Kindle brings, especially now that there are updated models. In late 2025, Amazon released the third edition of its Kindle Scribe, a 10.2-inch- or 11-inch-thin e-reader and digital notebook in one. It has the soft light of previous editions, yet now provides stylus support for annotating, note-taking, and sketching. As its tagline suggests, it’s for the love of reading and writing.
This June 2026, Amazon unveiled the new Scribe lineup, which included new colors and a variant without front light for a more paper-like feel. While Amazon does not offer direct shipping to the Philippines for these new editions, you can grab your Scribe from Lazada. —Reyza Ferranco
I spend so many nights either drinking in Big Fuzz or wishing I was drinking in Big Fuzz. The bar headed by Jim Bacarro, Ali Sangalang, and Kyle Quismundo serves up to my mind the best cocktails in the city. (See No Evil and Sticky Fingers being my top picks). And as if I wasn’t enough of a fan, their latest bar proves that the city’s nightlife is much better with them in it. Bar Ultramilk is their latest concept that celebrates the communality of the punch bowl. While the current choices are kept to a minimum, the idea of having a huge punch bowl of alcohol with your friends is enticing enough. The best recommendation I can give to Ultramilk is that it stays close to what makes Big Fuzz great. And I mean that in both the figurative and literal sense since Ultramilk is literally right across Big Fuzz. —Jonty Cruz
Ultramilk is located on the second floor of Creekside Mall, 2316 Amorsolo Street, Legazpi Village, Makati
Tracking your runs and other daily activities can be a chore when you’re too busy setting up your smartwatch or phone before or even in the middle of your workouts. But Garmin’s new CIRQA Smart Band is designed to help you monitor your health and activities without these distractions. Weighing at 20 g, the screen-free fabric band provides lightweight, comfortable wear and runs on 10 days of battery life, perfect for uninterrupted 24/7 use. I don’t like the extra work of optimizing and quantifying everything in my life, but as someone who’s still looking for a fuss-free way to watch their health, this smart band may be a good starting point. —Pie Gonzaga
The Garmin CIRQA Smart Band will be available beginning August 14, while pre-orders at Garmin stores and e-commerce platforms are open until August 13.
Since I started being a whey gay some years ago, I’ve gone through several shaker bottles. Once it slipped off my shaky hands, fatigued from arm day, and broke into many crisp pieces, protein shake all over my apartment. Another time, I hit it during tennis practice, my backhand burning a hole through it (which would have been impressive if it were the actual target). I’ve also lost a couple of small containers I use to store powder (my mistake, honestly. They were too small to keep an eye on).
So now, as with my many far too expensive purchases, I’m begging for the Stanley The Vitalize Shaker Bottle to change my life with its double-wall vacuum insulation, and most importantly, its detachable BPA-free base storage container. It’s a pity that Stanley Philippines doesn’t carry it in Dark Blossom or Cobalt Chartreuse colorways. —Christian San Jose
The Stanley The Vitalize Shaker Bottle is available via Shopee and TikTok Shop.
