MANILA -- (UPDATED) Check out some of the latest news in the local food scene.

DR. WINE OPENS ROOFTOP RESTAURANT

Chill out with a glass of wine while watching the sun set over the Makati cityscape at the new revamped rooftop area of French wine bistro Dr. Wine.

Vincent Landais, the founder of Dr. Wine, admitted that the pandemic brought much difficulties to the restaurants and bars of Poblacion. But with Metro Manila now on Alert Level 1, they have revamped and reopened the former Kartel Rooftop Bar into an extension of Dr. Wine. This was done as guests requested to upgrade the space into a full-blown restaurant with the same bistro menu, extensive wine list, and vintage rustic elegance as the main space downstairs.

Landais was excited to share that they have plans of expanding the rooftop area as well as opening the biggest Dr. Wine branch in Burgos Circle in the near future.

The Dr. Wine Rooftop can be found at 5921 Algier St., Poblacion, Makati and is open from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday to Thursday and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday to Sunday. Reservations recommended.

PINO OPENS TRINOMA BRANCH

UP Village favorite Pino opens a new branch at Ayala Trinoma in Quezon City.

Now under the stewardship of RT Heptagon Holdings, the group saved the beloved Filipino restaurant from being another business casualty of the pandemic.

The menu retains the favorites from Pino like the Bagnet Kare-Kare, as well as healthy fare from its sister vegetarian restaurant, Pipino. Also new on the menu are Filipino classics like Sinigang na Pakwan from Limbaga 77, another of the group's F&B ventures.

The new owners have plans for expansion and it won’t be a surprise to see Pino opening up a branch near you soon.

The Trinoma branch of Pino is located at the Garden Restaurants Area on the first Level and is open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

KARABELLA GELATO NOW AVAILABLE IN SUPERMARKETS

Social enterprise gelato Karabella Dairy is now available to more Ice cream lovers as pints and cups are now available at supermarkets in Metro Manila.

Started in 2015 as a Gawad Kalinga social enterprise, the carabao milk-based gelato makers have become a favorite of ice cream fanatics by winning awards in food fairs and festivals like the Ultimate Taste Test. Karabella sources its carabao milk from the Philippine Carabao Center in General Trias, Cavite and other ingredients from other social enterprises and SMEs.

Also new is their Boozy line of gelato where they infuse liqueurs from local distillers into their gelato, like the Chocoholic, which uses Don Papa Rum.

Karabella Dairy Gelato can be found on the chillers of selected Metro Mart and The Marketplace Metro Manila branches.

SEBASTIAN’S SAMPINIT COLLECTION

Sebastian’s Ice Cream features sampinit berries freshly harvested from the foot of Mount Cristobal in San Pablo, Laguna. The sampinit resembles raspberries and has a distinctively intense earthy tart flavor.

To highlight these indigenous local berries, Sebastian’s is offering Sampinit Ice Cream with a custom dairy base made with fresh sampinit berries, Sampinit Sorbet, and Sampinit Ice Pops.

The ice cream and sorbet are priced at P155 per scoop, and P465 per pint, while the ice pops are priced at P75 per piece. These are available at the Podium branch of Sebastian’s Ice Cream and for delivery at sebastiansicecream.com.

AFTERNOON TEA AT NEW WORLD MAKATI HOTEL

The Lounge at New World Makati Hotel now offers a special afternoon tea set with sweet items such as Strawberry cream cheese macaroons, Hazelnut strawberry eclairs, Strawberry Breton tarts, and Scones with jam and cream, and savory items such as Smoked salmon with strawberry cream cheese in wheat bread, Mini quiche with salami and strawberry filling, and Chicken salad in rye bread.

The set comes along with two rounds of tea or coffee with an option to upgrade to sparkling wine.

The afternoon tea set is priced at P1,300 nett for two persons, available daily from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

KOOMI PURPLE RICE SERIES AND KOOMILECT

Australian yogurt brand Koomi introduces its limited-edition Purple Rice Series. Choose from Strawberry, Taro, Coconut, Red Bean, and Mango. Each drink is made from fresh natural drinking yogurt, blended with purple rice.

Aside from this, the yogurt brand is also putting some levity into the election season through their Koomilect: The Koomimoji Election campaign. Customers get to vote for their choice of Koomimojis -- there’s Pretty in Pink, Flavors of Unity, When in Manila, Great Jab, and Cop This Deal -- when they order their drink. Each Koomimoji has corresponding offers that will be implemented if they win.

The Purple Rice series and the Koomilect are available at Koomi’s 80 branches nationwide.