Travel Meets Food at The Wander Space

I've always dreamed of a space where I could celebrate my passion for traveling; a small nook where I could be transported to a happy place, surrounded with my personal travel mementos and knick-knacks, like a sanctuary of sort. Even just a little corner would do, I'd be happy with that. And as they say, you should visualize more of what you want in life and in happenstance, and I discovered a place that fulfilled just that; The Wander Space.

It was seven in the evening when the group got back to Manila after a three-day staycation at one of the premier hotels in Tagaytay City. The cool breeze of the Yuletide season was starting to fill the air. It was the second day of September and being the country to have the longest Christmastime in the world, the "ber" months definitely touches any Filipino's heart.

Wander Space Store + Cafe located on the third level

The group was invited to check out a relatively new shop, The Wander Space, along the booming Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. Just the name of this concept store and café made us all excited.

Tugging our weekend backpacks, we climbed up the stairwell and landed on the third level of a seemingly new building which houses unique restaurants and shops. We found our hangout place that night we were welcomed by its young owners and ushered to the sitting area.

Teepee for sale! Cute eh?

The Wander Space is a unique store and café that targets modern day travelers and art enthusiasts. It was just the perfect place for us.

The moment we all set foot at The Wander Space, we were transported into a happy wanderland. There were paper planes and dream catchers dangling from the ceiling, and a corner decorated with a teepee (that you could actually buy or have custom-made). There’s also a wall dedicated to, I think, the owners' personal travel photos along with other travel memorabilia; these guys are hardcore travelers themselves.

A haven for travel and art enthusiasts

The travel store is filled with unique leisure  items; handmade accessories, unique pots made from Mt. Pinatubo's ashes, beach mats and apparels, world maps, crafting stuff, travel gear, aromatic oils and sprays, and more. 

What I love about Wander Space the most is that majority of the items (or if not, everything) are locally sourced. Somehow, it has now become my quest (as inspired by my buddy) to support local products to help the country's tourism industry. It took me almost an hour to inspect each and every item at the store (forgetting about my buddies who were also busy hoarding stuff).

Pots made from Mt. Pinatubo's ashes

Unique drinking glasses

Handmade ornaments

My personal loot include a Baybayin shirt (₱225 each after discount) with an aqua blue singlet, a beach mat (₱999) that has been on my wish list for the longest time, woven cord keepers, cutesy stickers, memo pads, ref magnets, cord bracelet, a linen spray, and a hand-painted postcard. 

Took advantage of the current discounts on some of the items at The Wander Space and went home with this loot. Woot! 🤘 @thewanderspaceph (Open from Tuesdays to Sundays / 1:00pm to 10:00pm) 💙 #thewanderspace #thewanderspacecafe

A post shared by blissfulguro (@blissfulguro) on Sep 5, 2017 at 3:02am PDT

We were teasing each other as we gathered at the table, inspecting each other's purchases. Stories of future trips and whatnots soon filled the room while we sampled some of the foodstuff at the café.  

Wander Space Cafe at the far end of the shop

Their menu was simple and very straightforward. We had Reggiano Sticky Bun, Solo Pizza, Classic Lasagna and Iced Dark Chocolate.

The Classic Lasagna was creamy and meaty while the Reggiano Sticky Bun was so good that we were lost for words the moment we took a bite. The Solo Pizza was crisped to perfection while the Iced Dark Chocolate was deliciously sinful. 

Iced Dark Chocolate  (P179)
Rich dark chocolate infused with fresh milk topped with whipped cream, marshmallow and chocolate syrup
Deliciously sinful!

Classic Lasagna (P250 with Iced Cacao Tea)
Layered lasagna noodles filled with meaty sauce topped with cheese, bechamel sauce and herbs
Available from Friday to Sunday only
Creamy. Meaty. Yummy.

Reggiano Sticky Bun (P130)
Sweet bun baked upside down in reggiano sticky sauce topped with parmigiano reggiano shavings
Cheese bread redefined! This is perfect with hot black coffee.

Solo Pizza (P210 with Iced Cacao Tea)
6-inch thin crust pizza with homemade marinara sauce topped with ground beef,
ham, bell pepper, tomato, white onion and cheddar cheese
Crunchy. Tasty. Cheesy.

Laughter filled the room as we carried on with our travel stories and future plans. Our three-hour chill out session felt fleeting as we called it a day. We had fun time going around the store (rummaging through bins like we were kids on a candy store) and enjoyed each food item that was served.

I'ma have this kind of wall in my future house

Unleash the inner wanderlust in you

We went our separate ways, half of the group deciding to have one round of beer somewhere before going home. We ended up on a friend's flat and continued our stories about, well, anything and everything. 

It's a good feeling to find what you truly love doing. They say that work-life balance is important to keep your sanity in this world. But then, as I sat with my friends, listening to more travel stories, I realized that I was surrounded with adventurers who created their lives from traveling (and earning from it as well). I really admire passionate young people who follow their passion and dreams, just like the proprietors of The Wander Space. Just by looking at the store and the café, you'd definitely feel that they love what they're doing, coming up with a cool store like that.

Live. Laugh. Love.

More than the cutesy trinkets and knick-knacks they sell, and much more than the yummy food they serve, The Wander Space serves as an inspiration for me to pursue my dreams and passion in life, that is, to live and to love by teaching and traveling.

The Wander Space Store + Café

Unit 3B, 80 Maginhawa Street, Building #80, 
Teachers Village East, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101

Email Address: thewanderspace@gmail.com

Store Hours: 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm | Tuesdays to Sundays
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