Ube conquered the Emirates

Is ube the new matcha? How this purple Filipino ingredient is taking over UAE

Sweet yam has become cafe staple for its distinctive flavour and striking colour

Hala Nasar
The National News (United Arab Emirates)
September 26, 2026

What goes into the making of a viral food trend? Is it the colour? Texture? Its versatility as an ingredient? Or is it a memorable flavour?

And what makes ube, a starchy yam root vegetable native to the Philippines, fit these criteria?

Ube, a starchy yam root vegetable native to the Philippines

Its vibrant purple shade is an obvious reason, but ube's popularity is also owing to its velvety texture and sweet flavour. Much like how matcha has made its way into practically every coffee shop and cafe in the UAE over the last few years, ube is now the ingredient being incorporated into every sweet treat recipe and hot drink order.

As a matcha lover, I set out to put its rival to the test, speaking to chefs behind the bakes. Here are some ways UAE eateries are incorporating ube into their menus – and my verdict.

Nina's Bakes

Christina Tamayo, the Filipina owner of Nina's Bakes, says the purple yam is connected to some of her best childhood memories.

“We put it in all our desserts, such as halo-halo, ice cream, leche flan and cakes. Everyone in our village planted them in their backyards.”

As its use becomes more prevalent in the UAE, Tamayo has folded it into her recipes, creating an ube and white chocolate chip cookie (Dh25).

Tamayo began by taking ube roots to make ube halaya, which has a jelly-like consistency. After boiling and mashing the yam, it takes about an hour of stirring to turn it into a smooth jam for filling.

The heart of the bright purple cookie is creamy – a blend of sweet and savoury that jumps between the distinct flavour of the yam and the sweet vanilla. The white chocolate chips are a pleasant addition.

“It’s pretty safe to say that the ube’s popularity is due in large part to its photogenic nature,” Tamayo says.

I love the rich and gooey texture of Nina's Bake's indulgent cookies, and the uber-jam centre is moreish.

Available for order through Zomato and Talabat in Abu Dhabi

Nette

Not satisfied with one viral food trend, Nette in Dubai has created an ube matcha drink (Dh36) in a colour combination straight out of Beetlejuice.

It's an unexpected duo, but I find it strangely comforting. The ube adds a sweetness, but that earthy taste remains, with neither feeling overpowering.

The French-Japanese restaurant also lists cloud ube (Dh36) on its drinks menu – adapted from the popular cloud matcha – which consists of coconut water topped with an ube and oat milk mixture to form a smooth cream. This is milder, more refreshing intro to the ube flavour.

Nette also offers two dessert options. First, its crinkle cookies with coconut cream cheese filling (Dh30). I appreciate the perfect cookie-to-cream ratio, although the creamy flavour overpowers the ube essence. It's enjoyable nonetheless and a great sharing option.

As its use becomes more prevalent in the UAE, Tamayo has folded it into her recipes, creating an ube and white chocolate chip cookie (Dh25).

The vibrant burnt Basque ube cheesecake (Dh50) feels smooth and melts in the mouth. The ube's flavour pairs really well with the coconut vanilla Chantilly cream, miso butterscotch sauce and toasted coconut flakes, making it one of my favourite ube-inspired dishes so far.

Nette's culinary director Craig Small says he saw ube becoming a popular trend long ago.

“To me, ube is purple gold – it has an incredible natural colour and flavour, but it also naturally contains anthocyanins – powerful plant pigments known for their antioxidant properties, along with fibre and other beneficial plant compounds,” Small says. “It has heritage, versatility and real nutritional value, and I think we’re going to see ube become a much bigger ingredient across the UAE.”

Al Barari, Dubai

Jun's

“It’s easy to use ube in simple desserts and drinks, but it can also be a little finicky,” says award-winning Chinese-Canadian chef Kelvin Cheung. “If you’re working with artificial ube flavouring or essence, it can be very powerful, so you have to use it carefully to ensure it doesn’t overpower the palate.”

Cheung, whose food is rooted in “third-culture cuisine”, prioritises collaborating with his Filipino team members “to create dishes that celebrate their culture, food and heritage” at his restaurant, Jun's, which has been ranked eighth among the Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Jun's ube menu includes an ube calamansi spritz, a gluten-free coconut ube pie, the signature Ube Kelvin cake made with brown-butter taro root spread, and ube flan cookies. After sampling several of those items, I notice that Cheung uses ube to magnify and complement each dish with a subtle rather than overpowering flavour.

The coconut ube pie (Dh55) offers comfort with familiar textures and memorable flavour combinations. The pie crust is not too thin nor too thick and the layers come together in harmony. The creamy coconut mousse hits first, followed by the toasted meringue, while the ube mousse is smooth and airy.

The ube calamansi spritz (Dh35) is a cool, refreshing summer drink. Both ube and calamansi oranges are native to the Philippines and they create a sweet and sour blend.

Lastly, the soft ube flan cookies (Dh30) are a sweet treat, combining chocolate and ube in every warm bite.

Cheung believes ube could become popular just like matcha on a global scale, especially as a caffeine-free drinks option.

“The region is always excited to embrace new flavours and dessert trends, and cafe culture is such a big part of life here. With its vibrant colour and unique taste, ube is the perfect ingredient to take over right now,” he says.

Cheung also highlights that beyond driving creativity and visually appealing dishes, viral ingredients can foster a new appreciation for culinary traditions.

“I only see positives when an ingredient rooted in a particular culture is given a global spotlight, because it encourages people to discover more about the cuisine it comes from,” he says.

Alex Eala is the WTA Star of the Hard-Court Swing

Alex Eala voted WTA's star of the hard-court swing

Niel Victor C. Masoy 
The Manila Times
26 September 2026

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala was voted as the WTA Star of the Hard-Court Swing.

The WTA released the poll results on Friday, showing Eala as the landslide winner with 78 percent of the votes.

World No. 18 Eala, the Mubadala D.C. Open titlist, defeated US Open champion and world No. 1 Elena Rybakina as well as Canadian Open winner and world No. 9 Iga Swiatek in the poll.

Rybakina took 16 percent of the votes while Swiatek claimed three percent.

Eala thus went back-to-back after winning the Star of the Grass-Court Swing poll last July following her fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon.   

Philippines' soft power

Is the Philippines finally having its soft power moment?

Ally De Leon
Inquirer.net
26 September 2026

In 2026, we’re reaching a point where Pinoy Pride no longer feels forced onto anyone with a drop of Filipino blood. Alex Eala’s been making tennis history, Olivia Rodrigo’s cemented her pop princess status, while Sophia Laforteza of Katseye and the members of Bini have been soaring to new career heights after their Coachella sets—and yes, ube’s the new matcha.

Olivia Rodrigo

For a nation whose global news headlines usually revolve around natural disasters and political corruption, these wins are quite the comforting distraction. They also beg the question: Is the Philippines finally developing its own soft power?

Soft power equals cool

Soft power is a term that refers to a country’s ability to influence and persuade people without the use of military or other coercive means. For countries like ours that don’t necessarily have or need strong militant forces, we can consider soft power as a culture of coolness.

Soft power brings in new tourists, TikTok vlogs that romanticize what you may consider mundane about your country, and the priceless recognition of your nation and culture as something “cool.”

All thanks to soft power, Japan exceptionally rebuilt its image after World War II, and South Korea became a global force to be reckoned with through the Hallyu wave after experiencing financial crises. Everyone being in a “very Chinese time of their lives” is another form of soft power—albeit a bit more unserious.

Soft power is more than capable of becoming a launchpad for countries that would otherwise be overlooked or overshadowed. For a country as multicultural as the Philippines, the development of tangible soft power could spell wonders for our already exceptional creative industries—as well as a solidified identity that no longer gets conflated with Latin American or Pacific Islander cultures.

Bini 

Everybody gets more Filipino now

There’s an apartment in Monaco that’s probably blasting Rodrigo’s newest album as we speak. That flat is probably owned by Anya Granados, the only Filipina journalist who’s accredited to cover Formula 1, Formula 2, and Formula E.

Anya Granados

Like the newly crowned pop princess, Granados is also a mixed Filipina working to put the Philippines on the map in industries that have traditionally leaned Western. From mainstream pop music to motorsport, it’s initially been rare to see Asian voices at the forefront, but recent years are turning the tide there.

“Olivia has reached a point where her Filipino identity doesn’t have to be introduced to a Western audience as a novelty or an educational footnote,” Granados shares. “It simply exists within the global cultural picture she occupies. She is Filipina American, but she is also one of the biggest young artists in the world.”

“When she brings Filipino elements into that world, millions of people encounter them without being told, ‘here is a Filipino person you should know.’ They are simply encountering her,” she adds.

The world has been consuming Filipino culture for years

This distinction is of particular importance: for Granados, the world has been consuming Filipino culture for years. It just wasn’t paying attention to what was Filipino. In the early 2000s, we already had stars like Enrique Iglesias, Shay Mitchell, Nicole Scherzinger, and Vanessa Hudgens who had Filipino heritage, one way or another.

“There was a real pressure to assimilate, sometimes even to distance yourself from being Filipino,” as per Granados. 

That pressure is a natural side effect of centuries’ worth of colonial mentality, despite an overwhelming Filipino presence scattered across the globe through our diaspora, and the “unusual amount of raw material” we have in music, fashion, beauty, food, film, literature, design, and sport. Raw materials like capiz shells and ylang-ylang, for example, are often associated with luxury and opulence first (see Ibiza-style dresses and Chanel No. 5), and their Filipino-ness second.

Sophia Laforteza of Katseye

Anchored in their Filipina identity

What makes Rodrigo and Eala’s ascents to superstardom extra admirable is the visceral shift from that urge to distance oneself. Rodrigo and Eala are consistently anchoring their Filipina identity when they’re making their press rounds.

(Unless one lives under a rock, they’re bound to know about the aforementioned stars’ Filipino roots because they make where they hail from crystal clear.)

By doing so, they and their successes become instrumental in developing a more positive and nuanced view of Filipino people, which is important when the Western world still tends to associate Filipinos with the stereotypical roles of caregivers, nurses, and service workers. 

Granados describes this unsettling, cognitively dissonant reality as something “almost surreal.” As she attends afterparties and makes connections, she can’t help but be conscious of the Filipino workers serving the food, clearing the tables, and picking up the rubbish, whom everyone else at the party renders completely invisible.

Crab islands

What do Liza Soberano and Eala have in common, aside from being Filipinas making waves across the globe? They both prove how the Philippines is a country that loves to celebrate winners but cannot get itself to celebrate the process that makes them winners. 

“Once there is a medal, a championship, a ranking, a record, suddenly everyone wants to claim them. But the years of development that came before the victory: the money, coaching, travel, sacrifices, and uncertainty, are much less glamorous and therefore much harder to get people excited about,” shares Granados. 

Sports like tennis, gymnastics, and weightlifting only started to become palatable to a Filipino audience when Eala, Carlos Yulo, and Hidilyn Diaz started winning internationally. Prior to that (and honestly, even after that), we as a society only cared about basketball.

Similarly, before “Forgotten Island” became the highest-rated DreamWorks film at debut, people were too busy calling Liza Soberano an ungrateful woman for burning bridges in the Philippines.

These are just a few examples of the crab mentality that pervades the Filipino people. Generations raised on “hiya” and “utang na loob” make up a volatile Molotov cocktail that teaches us to look down on people trying to make a better life for themselves.

That’s why it’s easy to call people social climbers, ingrates, and other insulting terms: Filipino crab mentality tells us that if we can’t have something, other people can’t and shouldn’t either.

In Granados’ pursuit of sponsorship and support in her motorsport career, she has also encountered naysayers who unfortunately happened to be her own kababayans. According to burner accounts, she doesn’t seem famous enough to humbly ask for sponsorship—despite her growing repertoire of work.

“Sometimes we demand that Filipinos prove they have already succeeded before we’re willing to invest in them,” she shares. “But you cannot develop talent that way. If we only support people once they have become successful, then we’re not really supporting development. We’re rewarding the finished product.” 

In a very Filipino time of our lives

Filipinos will only continue to make waves across different industries globally from here on out. For Granados, she fears that as we develop stronger cultural exports, the culture takes off before the people do. That is to say, you’d find ube and Jollibee in an isolated Spanish town before you find a fellow Filipino, based on her own experience.

“Something so specifically Filipino has traveled far enough to become commercially desirable in a place where Filipinos themselves are barely present,” she says as she recounts that irony.

While a development of soft power is mostly ideal and desirable, we have to exercise caution because we might end up exporting our problems alongside our culture.

A timeless example of this would be the distinctly Filipino value of resilience. Yes, there’s something beautiful about it, but there’s also something disconcerting about the concept of celebrating an ability to survive unsurvivable conditions.

Celebrating global success versus seeking validation from the West

Granados also thinks that we ought to strike a balance between celebrating global Filipino success and treating Western recognition as a final stamp of legitimacy on our culture.

“I hope we learn to support every kind of Filipino—not just the well-spoken, half-white person who wins a beauty pageant crown, the middle- and upper-class athlete who makes it into an elite sporting system, or the actor whose Filipino heritage we discover only after they’ve become famous abroad,” she says.

“Because if we only support something once it is aspirational, we never give ordinary people the opportunity to become extraordinary,” she adds.

As the world enters a very Filipino time of their lives, Granados thinks we can benefit from exporting the value of bayanihan, especially as “the idea that somebody else’s success or survival can be a collective responsibility.”

That said, the true power lies in learning how to celebrate and build bridges for the wins of our people while simultaneously unlearning the urge to tear people down for exercising some form of upward mobility.

“I’d rather the Filipino value we export be: your success doesn’t diminish mine, and my success doesn’t have to come at your expense,” she ends.

Philippines and European Union struck a free trade deal

 All eyes on PH following landmark EU trade deal

Allen Limos 
The Manila Times
26 September 2026

THE signing of the free trade deal between the Philippines and the European Union has attracted the attention of Belgian commercial interests, the ambassador of Belgium to Manila said Friday.

Ambassador Vladislava lordanova told a press briefing the Philippines has become a priority market for Belgium, particularly for businesses connected to the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Europe’s second-largest port.

“All eyes are on the Philippines,” Iordanova said.

She noted that maritime transport remains a primary pillar of Belgium’s economic engagement with Manila, backed by a collaborative ecosystem of port operators, dredging firms, and logistics providers.

To pave the way for new business ventures, Maartje Driessens, business development head of Port of Antwerp Bruges International (PoABI), the consulting and investment arm of Europe’s second-largest port authority, said that port infrastructure must rapidly scale up to handle expanding trade volumes.

“The free trade agreement is a great momentum... but we need to prepare for that,” Driessens said.

“If we want to ensure a smooth supply chain, it’s important that goods can easily get from A to B. Ports have to be increased in terms of capacity,” she said.

Driessens warned that failure to modernize port facilities, digitize customs processes, and expand regional feeder connections could lead to severe logistics bottlenecks as import and export flows accelerate.

She outlined key priority areas for collaboration, including decongesting the Port of Manila by developing alternative regional gateways and boosting domestic links to agricultural producers in Visayas and Mindanao with major urban centers and export hubs.

To capitalize on the anticipated surge in trade, PoABI has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

The expanded agreement establishes an official framework to modernize Philippine port infrastructure, build institutional capacity, and streamline maritime supply chains.

Training initiatives were also part of the MOU and will be delivered in partnership with the APEC-Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center, focusing on both white-collar administrative expertise and blue-collar operational capabilities.

The agreement also lays the groundwork for potential Belgian long-term capital investments in Philippine port facilities.

Philippines emerged as one of the world’s fastest-improving tourism markets

Philippines jumps eight spots to 57th out of 110, ranks among world's fastest tourism improvers—WEF

Manila Bulletin Newsroom
Sep 25, 2026

The Philippines emerged as one of the world’s fastest-improving tourism markets, climbing eight places in a global ranking of conditions supporting travel and tourism (T&T) development, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

In its Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026 Insight Report published on Friday, Sept. 25, the Geneva-based WEF ranked the Philippines 57th out of 110 economies, with an overall score of 4.08.

The country’s TTDI score improved by 5.5 percent between 2024 and 2026, making the Philippines tied with Morocco for seventh among the fastest-improving economies covered by the index.

Compared with the recalculated 2019 baseline, the Philippines climbed 12 places while improving its overall score by 9.6 percent.

The gains came as Asia-Pacific led the global improvement in tourism development conditions, with its average TTDI score rising by 3.6 percent between 2024 and 2026 as the region continued to recover from its delayed post-pandemic reopening.

Seven of the 10 fastest-improving economies were developing countries in Asia-Pacific, with the Philippines joining Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, and India among the region’s strongest improvers.

Albania recorded the largest improvement globally between 2024 and 2026, raising its score by seven percent.

WEF also classified the Philippines among the world’s 10 largest non-high-income T&T economies by direct T&T gross domestic product (GDP), alongside China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Türkiye, Mexico, and Brazil.

Together, these emerging tourism economies account for more than 28 percent of global direct T&T GDP, with their share projected to rise to 35 percent by 2035.

Their average TTDI score has improved faster than those of the world’s leading tourism destinations. Since 2019, the group’s average score increased by 4.7 percent, compared with 2.9 percent for all economies covered by the index and 1.9 percent for the top 20.

As a group, the 10 emerging tourism economies outperform the top 20 in price competitiveness, natural resources, T&T demand sustainability, and cultural resources, reflecting their combination of natural assets, cultural heritage, and competitive pricing.

However, WEF said significant development gaps remain between these emerging markets (EMs) and the world’s tourism leaders.

Tourist services and infrastructure showed the largest gap, pointing to the need for greater investment in accommodation, visitor services, and supporting infrastructure.

EMs also lagged in business environment and human resources (HR) and labor market, reflecting challenges such as access to financing, regulatory barriers, and workforce capabilities.

Environmental sustainability remains another challenge, potentially putting at risk the natural resources that help attract tourists to these economies.

WEF said narrowing these gaps would require stronger infrastructure and services as well as improvements in the conditions that allow tourism businesses to operate and expand.

Globally, tourism development conditions improved across 101, or 92 percent, of the 110 economies between 2024 and 2026, while the average TTDI score increased by 2.1 percent—the fastest pace of improvement since 2019.

Japan topped the 2026 index, followed by the United States (US), Spain, Australia, and France. Advanced economies occupied nine of the top 10 positions, with China the only exception.

TTDI measures the factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of travel and tourism rather than tourism performance itself, such as visitor arrivals, spending, or revenues. The 2026 index comprises 17 pillars and 102 indicators, with the latest available data collected as of May 2026. - with reporting from Danielle T. Bayani

Australia bets on PHL grants PhP2-Billion to expand jobs and investment

PH secures PhP2-Billion Australia grant to expand jobs and investment

Philippine Information Agency
September 25, 2026

The Governments of the Philippines and Australia are stepping up efforts to create more economic opportunities for Filipinos through the AUD45-million (around PhP2 billion) Promoting Growth, Resilience, Economic Stability, and Sustainability in the Philippines (PROGRESS) Subsidiary Arrangement Program. 

The program will support reforms that make it easier to do business, attract investments, and strengthen the government’s capacity to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth.

“This grant reflects Australia’s continued commitment to our development priorities,” Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said during the launch of the PROGRESS subsidiary arrangement program.

PROGRESS will support initiatives to reduce unnecessary barriers, improve regulatory predictability, lower the cost of doing business, and implement reforms in strategic areas such as clean energy and critical minerals.

It will also support the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) through project preparation, streamlined approvals, public-private partnerships, and blended finance.

These interventions will help move priority projects from the pipeline to implementation, strengthen the Philippines’ competitiveness and energy security, and deepen regional supply chains—creating more opportunities for investments, businesses, and jobs.

PROGRESS will also build on the Philippines’ ongoing reform agenda, including the CREATE MORE Act, Green Lanes for Strategic Investments, PPP Code, land and right-of-way reforms, and the continuing digitalization of government processes.

The launch puts into action the shared commitment established through the signing of the PROGRESS Subsidiary Arrangement in March. It brings together partner agencies and stakeholders to translate the program’s objectives into concrete interventions, shared ownership, and measurable results.

The Philippines and Australia have maintained more than 80 years of bilateral relations and five decades of development cooperation. PROGRESS further strengthens this partnership in support of the Philippines’ development priorities.

“The Department of Finance is committed to working closely with Australia and all our partners. We want to have tangible results immediately. Together, let us deliver PROGRESS as fast as possible for Filipinos,” Sec. Frederick Go said.

Carlos Yulo wins first PH gold in Asian Games 2026

Carlos Yulo wins PH's first gold in 2026 Asian Games after ruling floor exercise finals

GMA News 
24 September 2026

Carlos Yulo captured an elusive gold medal in the Asian Games — and delivered the country's first gold in the current edition of the games — after ruling the men's floor exercise finals on Thursday at the Nagoya General Gymnasium in Japan.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist scored a whopping 14.666 anchored on 8.966 in execution and 5.7 in difficulty to rule the eight-man field that also featured his younger brother Eldrew.

It was the first gold medal for the Philippines in this edition of the games, pushing the country's medal haul up to one gold, one silver, and four bronze medals.

Yulo will have an opportunity to shoot for more medals in the finals of the vault and parallel bars events.

Yulo surpassed his qualifying mark of 14.600 to win his maiden Asian Games gold medal, completing his collection of titles that include golds in SEA Games, Asian Championship, World Championships, and the Olympics.

To deliver the gold, the 26-year-old Yulo won by just 0.066 against his closest pursuer in Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who performed last and garnered an impressive score of 14.600 to seize the silver medal.

Shoma Tsukiyama of Japan put together 14.566 to settle for the bronze in front of his home crowd while Eldrew finished seventh after posting 12.233 points.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News