Posh SM Aura in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, is home to SM Supermarket’s new Urban Market concept
A LOT of big things happened this week, starting with the Senatorial and Local Elections last Monday (May 13, 2013), the American Idol finale, Hollywood star Vin Diesel in Manila… One of the biggest events that took place tthis week was the opening of SM Aura Premier, the posh mall in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, to the public yesterday (May 17, 2013).
Doing the ceremonial ribbon-cutting honors for SM Supermarket Aura, from left: Chef Bruce Lim, Dingdong Dantes, Tessa Prieto Valdes, SM founder Henry Sy Sr., Mrs. Felicidad Sy, Bishop Milo Vergara, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano and SM Supermarket president Herbert Sy
The formal opening and ribbon-cutting ceremonies actually took place the other afternoon (May 16, 2013), with the simultaneous opening rites of the mall itself, SM Supermarket, SM Department Store, Ace Hardware and some of the mall tenants. No, I didn’t catch a glimpse of Sarah Jessica Parker, but it didn’t really matter. I wanted to check out the mall, which houses a number of stores that you cannot find anywhere else, and even well-known brands have a different look at SM Aura.
SM Supermarket Aura’s spacious display area for fresh fruits and vegetables
The Asian foods aisle
Dry goods section
One of the places you must really check out at SM Aura is SM Supermarket at the lower ground floor. SM Supermarket introduces a new urban market concept in this store, which sports a totally different ‘gourmet market’ look. It has a contemporary design and architecture inspired by the best supermarkets around the world and train stations in the West that have been transformed into supermarkets. New York-based retail design firm, Point Design Inc., divided the sprawling 9,300 square meters of floor space into different “worlds” for each section. There’s a unique vibe for each section, including the fresh, dry goods and international products aisles but, although divided into different sub-environments, the whole store interior shows that it follows a cohesive concept that ties everything together. As a whole, the store is painted in lovely subtle colors, has relaxing soft lighting and comforting wooden accents, boasts of spacious aisles that make shopping easier and more confortable, has clean and neat product displays with signage that make it easier for shoppers to find what they’re looking for. Every single detail has been taken to make shoppers feel very welcome and inviting while shopping in a luxurious environment.
Huge lobster and lapu-lapu
Fresh fish and seafood are now protected by an enclosed glass panel with sneeze guard
My favorite part of SM Supermarket Aura is the Fresh section. That means the fruits and vegetables, fish and seafood, poultry and meats section. Really cool! A lot of care has been put into not just making the displays really inviting to shoppers but also making everything easy to find. It’s a lot of help for shoppers who have very little spare time to do the grocery. I particularly liked the fish and seafood section, which I frequent in supermarkets. Instead of the usual open display of fresh fish and seafood on beds of ice, SM Supermarket Aura has them enclosed in sneeze-guard glass displays that allow you to take a good look at them, and the glass panel doors up front also make them easy to get to. The controlled environment makes it more hygienic and keeps the fish and seafood – including huge lobsters and beautiful prawns! – fresh longer. Also noticeable is that all food handlers wear spit guards while on duty.
Hard-to-find imported herbs and veggies, clockwise from top left: artichokes, Good Life salad greens, broccolini, fresh mushrooms and fennel
Luscious red plums
Salad bar
Fruit carving on watermelon renders SM Aura in miniature form
It was also in the Fresh section that I found some merchandise that you don’t find in other places. I found some really nice fresh cherries and black and red plums, various kinds of fresh mushrooms, organic vegetables, imported herbs and vegetables such as fennel, artichokes and broccolini, plus imported brands of salad greens.
Also found some fruit carving in the Fresh section, with floral patterns, abstracts and even an image of SM Aura on papayas, pumpkins and watermelons. SM Supermarket Aura, it turns out, has this fruit carving station as a permanent feature.
Frozen Angus beef
The selections of frozen seafood and meats aren’t wanting, either, especially with the arrival of SM Supermarket’s Angus Beef, which makes really good gourmet meat – tenderloins, short ribs, rib eyes and striploins – readily available to consumers.
Also in the freezer and chiller shelves are unique finds such as Sara Lee ice cream and Farmer’s Union Natural Greek Yogurt.
Chateau de France carries a whole range of freshly baked breads, pastries, cheeses and delis
Chateau de France’s freshly baked breads, clockwise from left: Mini croissants, Mini Raisin Rolls and Mini Pain Chocolat
Another feature of SM Supermarket Aura that I think is cool is the availability of ready-to-eat food items. Occupying a prominent corner of the supermarket is Chateau de France, which only uses ingredients from France in its freshly baked baguettes, croissants, quiches, pain choco and French macarons. Chateau also has a wide selection of cheeses and deli products, and makes fresh sandwiches a la minute.
But the coolest news about SM Supermarket Aura is its enhanced system of Queue Busters that reduce the problem of long lines at the cashier by scanning picked-up items even before you reach the counter. Customers only fall in one line (S-line), which is handled by multiple cashiers to avoid line stoppage due to petty delays.
HAD a great lunch at Diamond Hotel Philippines’ Corniche Restaurant today (May 15, 2013), where a Filipino food festival featuring the delectable Filipino cuisine with a modern twist of celebrity chef Bruce Lim of Chef’s Lab. Cocina Filipina: A Philippine Food Festival, which is ongoing at Corniche until May 25, 2013, highlights the country’s local dishes infused with international flavors as only Filipino chefs of Chef Bruce’s caliber can do. The flavors are very familiar and comforting, and yet there’s something contemporary – in terms of ingredients and/or dish presentation – incorporated into them. Which makes each dish both classic and contemporary, traditional and new, at the same time. Difficult to define, really, but totally delightful to the palate.
Lumpiang Sariwa with Soy Garlic Jelly
Chilled Roasted Beet Soup with Seared Scallops and Mangoes
For the first course, my husband Raff and I went for appetizers such as Lumpiang Sariwa with Soy Garlic Jelly (classic lumpiang ubod wrapped in herbed crepe and served with soy garlic sauce in jelly form), Tuna Tartare with Pako Salad and Aratilis (tuna tartare with shallots, red radish, pako or fiddlehead fern and aratilis berries), Cold Pancit (sotanghon noodles with soy-sesame dressing served cold), and Chilled Roasted Beet Soup with Seared Scallops and Mangoes (cold red beet soup served in shot glasses on the buffet spread). The aratilis berries, whose scientific name is Muntingia calabura and also goes by the more common names Jamaican Cherry or Panama Berry, sort of brought back childhood memories of when my sisters and I used to enjoy the red, ripe, sweet berries from a tree. I don’t remember whether it was in our childhood home in Sta. Ana, Manila, or when we were spending summer vacations in our maternal grandparents’ home in Tayug, Pangasinan, but I certainly have fond memories of aratilis berries, and I still know the taste by heart.
Chef Bruce Lim holding up the platter of Lobster Palabok he whipped up for the demo
After the appetizers, we took a break to watch Chef Bruce Lim conduct a short cooking demo, where he whipped up a huge platter of Lobster Palabok. Yes, Lobster Palabok! He elevated our classic comfort food, Pancit Palabok, to gourmet status by using lobster meat instead of the usual small shrimps – and his lobster meat chunks were huge!
After Chef Bruce’s demo, we proceeded with lunch and had our main course. I had a platter of all fish, seafood and vegetables, and no rice: Baked Salmon, Oyster Rockefeller Pinoy Style (where Chef Bruce used kangkong instead of the usual spinach, topped it with grated queso de bola and baked it to golden perfection), Tortang Talong with Roasted Tomatoes, and Pinaputok na Isda with Lemongrass Tomato Concasse.
Oyster Rockefeller Pinoy Style
Sinigang na Batuan with Grilled Pork Belly
Kalderetang Itik with Chili Sauce
Also available were Sinigang na Batuan with Grilled Pork Belly, Kalderetang Itik with Chili Sauce, Roasted Pork Belly and Pinangat na Liempo with Aligue Cream Sauce.
Depending on the menu cycle, the food festival will also be offering Sisig Pasta, Kare-Kare, Char-grilled Tuna Belly, and Stuffed Ampalaya with Salted Eggs and Prawns, among others.
Desserts galore, from front row: Barako Coffee Profiteroles, Mango Sago Timbals, Queso de Bola Cheesecake, Buko Crème Brulée and Calamansi Meringue Pie
Queso de Bola Cheesecake!
Finally comes my favorite part of the meal – dessert! Aside from the usual variety of desserts that Diamond Hotel’s Corniche already has, Chef Bruce spruces up the dessert buffet even more with such irresistible sweet treats as Queso de Bola Cheesecake, Calamansi Meringue Pie, Buko Crème Brulée, Mango Sago Timbals, Barako Coffee Profiteroles, Rum Raisin Turon, Palitaw Rolls, and Chocolate Tablea and Barako Coffee Mousse. My favorite is the Queso de Bola Cheesecake.
The Cocina Filipina buffet is priced at Php1,680 nett per person. Diners can also enjoy the buffet with free flowing tropical juices at Php1,888 nett per person. As a bonus, guests availing of the buffet will get a chance to win roundtrip tickets to Cebu with accommodations, plus other exciting prizes, which includes an overnight stay at Diamond Hotel.
For inquiries or reservations, call 528-3000 local 1121.
(Diamond Hotel Philippines is located at Roxas Blvd. cor. Dr. J. Quintos St., Manila.)
THE difference between a delicious, succulent and flavorful piece of steak and a dry, tough and so-so steak is a good piece of top-quality meat. If you’ve got a piece of ‘certified’ Angus Beef, all you need is salt and pepper to season it with, then slap it on a hot grill, cook it to perfect medium rare doneness, let it rest for a few minutes, then cut away and enjoy. Even without sauce, it should turn out to be divine.
The good news is that, now, you don’t have to visit your favorite restaurant every time you crave for a good steak dinner and pay a premium price for it. You can now get a good piece of Angus beef from the supermarket, take it home, cook it, and enjoy an awesome steak in the comfort of your own home.
SM Supermarket has made this possible when it recently beefed up its meat selection by offering one of the best-tasting meats, the Angus beef, in selected SM Supermarket branches, specifically Makati, Megamall A and B, and Naga.
Every steak lover loves Angus beef because it guarantees a fully satisfying meal. It is tender, juicy and flavorful, and you can taste this with every bite of your steak. Angus beef, after all, is premium meat that comes from a type of hornless cattle that’s native to Angus and Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is tender, juicy and flavorful because of the beautiful marbling of its meat. This means that nice, thin layers of fat are naturally embedded in the meat, making each cut, each slice, soft and tender, juicy and superior in taste.
Chef Kenneth Cacho of ISCAHM conducting a cooking demo of Angus beef preparations during the official launch at SM Supermarket Angus Beef at the Concourse of SM Makati recently
SM Supermarket’s Angus Beef was formally launched at the Concourse of SM Makati last April 16, 2013, and top officials of the supermarket chain were in attendance. And to showcase the versatility of Angus Beef in terms of what creative dishes you can do with it at home, the International School for Culinary Arts & Hotel Management (ISCAHM)’s Chef Kenneth Cacho conducted a cooking demonstration that featured five sumptuous Angus beef preparations: Brochettes of U.S. Beef with Peppers, Red Onion, Mushrooms and Bacon; Grilled U.S. Rib-eye Steak with Sautéed Onion and Mushrooms; Braised U.S. Shortribs with Rosemary and Port Wine Glaze; Herb and Mustard Seasoned U.S. Sirloin Roast with Red Wine-Horseradish Sauce; and Peppered U.S. Tenderloin Steak with Creamy Cognac Sauce.
Delicious Angus beef recipes all, clockwise from top left: Grilled U.S. Rib-eye Steak with Sautéed Onion and Mushrooms; Peppered U.S. Tenderloin Steak with Creamy Cognac Sauce; and Brochettes of U.S. Beef with Peppers, Red Onion, Mushrooms and Bacon
Here, we share with you the recipe of Braised U.S. Shortribs with Rosemary and Port Wine Glaze.
2 kgs. U.S. Shortribs
salt and pepper to taste
50 grams carrots
50 grams celery
50 grams leeks
50 grams onions
250 ml. red wine
water
1 pc. bay leaf
4 sprigs fresh thyme
100 ml. Port Wine
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1. In a pan, season shortribs with salt and pepper to taste, and sear until all sides are golden brown. Remove and set aside.
2. Using a braising pot, sauté carrots, celery, leeks and onions, and add red wine. Reduce until wine turns syrupy.
3. Place seared shortribs in the braising pot and cover with water. Add bay leaf and thyme, and braise, covered, in a 350ºF oven for 3 hours, adding water to cover from time to time to avoid burning.
4. Remove shortribs and strain the braising liquid.
5. In a separate pan, add Port Wine and rosemary sprigs. Reduce to a glaze. Add the braising juices and reduce further until syrupy. Add the shortribs and glaze. Serve.
I LOVE cupcakes. They are, to me, dainty little cakes with lovely swirls of icing that taste as good as they look. They are tiny works of pastry art that deserve all the attention that they’re getting now – thanks to the cupcake genius that is Chef Sonja Ocampo. She made gourmet cupcakes fashionable in the metro so much so that people literally queued up for her cupcakes when she opened her first cupcake store, aptly named Cupcakes by Sonja, in Serendra (Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City) in September of 2006. Before Cupcakes by Sonja, bakeshops sold cakes, refrigerated cakes, pies, cookies, pastries and, oh, cupcakes, too. But Sonja made cupcakes the star of the show, even interpreting cakes, cheesecakes and refrigerated desserts in cupcakes.
Now, after eight successful years in Serendra, Sonja opens a second branch of Cupcakes by Sonja on the Bridgeway, Second Level, of the newly refurbished and opened Glorietta 2 in Ayala Center, Makati. This new branch, which soft-opened last month (April 2013), is more of the open-air, coffee shop around the corner type. No walls around the store. The display counter even fronts the walkway, so passers-by can feel free to take a peek at the cupcakes available and maybe pick one, on the spot, and enjoy it with a glass of homemade iced tea or milk shake as a shopping breather or perhaps meet up with a friend and catch up on each other’s lives.
Red Velvet Vixen and Pistachio Berries n’ Cream
The small dining areas on either side of the cupcake counter are cozy, whimsical and playful. You can choose to dine on a pristine white round table with matching white chairs, or on a playfully tiled one matched with bolder colored chairs. It’s typical to see diners with iPads and laptops enjoying bites of Red Velvet Vixen cupcakes and sipping iced tea.
The new Cupcakes by Sonja store that recently opened at Glorietta 2
Like its mother branch in Serendra, Cupcakes by Sonja at Glorietta 2 offers some 30 to 34 varieties of refrigerated and non-refrigerated cupcakes. While the Serendra store keeps the refrigerated cupcakes in a separate display counter from the non-refrigerated ones, the Glorietta 2 store puts them side by side. Sonja, the brains behind the cupcake business, has also noticed a difference in the client profile of the two stores. While the Serendra store attracts more of the late-night crowd with its outdoor plaza-type dining area and is heavy on takeouts, the Glorietta store, which observes mall hours, attracts more of the sitdown crowd, who enjoys dining on cupcakes with a drink on hand while taking a break, waiting for someone or meeting up with a friend.
After eight years of consciously resisting expansion despite the clamor, Sonja finally gave in and opened a second store – much to the delight of both her regular customers and those who have ‘discovered’ her heavenly cupcakes for the very first time.
“A lot of people have been asking for us to expand, and my employees had such big dreams for the store, it would be selfish of me to continue insisting on just focusing on one store,” says Sonja.
She adds: “With the new store in Glorietta 2, more people can enjoy our cupcakes.”
Vanilla Sunshine cupcakes in blue, pink and lilac vanilla buttercream frosting; and Lemon Drop cupcakes with tangy lemon buttercream frosting
The new store has also inspired Sonja to try new things and offer new flavors on a regular basis. While Vanilla Sunshine (classic and fluffy yellow cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream in different attractive colors), Lemon Drop (vanilla cupcake smothered with tany lemon buttercream frosting), Red Velvet Vixen (traditional Southern red velvet cupcake made with Belgian cocoa and topped with cream cheese icing) and Peanut Butter Nutella (peanut butter cupcake with creamy Nutella center and Nutella buttercream frosting) continue to be among the top all-time favorites, Sonja never stops experimenting.
Decadent Valrhona Chocolate Cupcake
Cupcakes galore, clockwise from front center: Choco Cream Pie, Bunny Hugger Carrot Cupcake, Banana Custard, and Berries n’ Cream
Berry Delight Strawberry Cheesecake
Among her refrigerated cupcakes, really popular are her Decadent Valrhona Chocolate Cupcake (dense Valrhona flourless chocolate with rich velvety texture), Choco Cream Pie (rich, luscious Blegian chocolate cream in Oreo crust generously topped with whipped cream and Oreo bits), and Berry Delight Strawberry Cheesecake (rich, creamy baked cheesecake with swirls of puréed strawberries and topped with slices of fresh berries and luscious strawberry sauce).
Peppermint Patty
Cookie Monster
The secret of Sonja’s cupcakes is that they are made fresh daily, using the best possible ingredients and without preservatives or artificial additives. This is why people who know their cupcakes do not mind paying a premium prize for a cupcake by Sonja (ranging from Php65 for the simplest Vanilla Sunshine to Php120 for the Pistachio Berries n’ Cream. The non-refrigerated cupcakes are soft, moist and rounded in flavor when you bite into them, while the refrigerated cupcakes are excellent mini versions of the best-tasting premium cakes in town.
The high-ceilinged Lush Bar and Restaurant at the lobby of Luxent hotel in Timog, Quezon City
THE new name of luxury in the Timog area of Quezon City is Luxent Hotel – and I thought that Makati, Ortigas Center and Alabang had dominion over luxury hotels! I’ve also always simply associated Timog Ave. and the nearby Tomas Morato Ave. as restaurant rows and nothing more. Well, last month (April 2013), I ‘discovered’ Luxent Hotel, a modern, contemporary 16-storey hotel tucked in a corner of Timog Ave. in the South Triangle area of Quezon City, just a stone’s throw away from the Timog Rotonda. It’s like a modern oasis in a concrete jungle lined by restaurants, bars, clubs and night spots.
Compact infinity pool with a transparent glass wall
Gym/fitness center
Opened in July 2012, the hotel houses 117 guest rooms, a small but visually breath-taking infinity pool with a transparent glass wall, a kiddie pool and a fully-equipped fitness center, two café-restaurants on the ground floor, and four function rooms – aptly named Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn – that can individually accommodate 50 guests and collectively seat 300 in a ballroom-style setting.
Parking, too, always presented itself as a problem whenever we had coverage or shoots in the Timog area of Quezon City, but it’s not a problem for Luxent Hotel guests because , apart from its already sizable parking area fronting the beautiful glass-walled hotel, it also has a secured multi-level indoor parking area so guests are assured of their – and their vehicles’ – safety..
Master’s Bedroom of the Presidential Suite
The suite also boasts of a dining room and an adjacent living room
A cozy and comfy Deluxe Room
LUXURIOUS ACCOMMODATIONS
Guest rooms at Luxent Hotel come in Superior Rooms (with two Queen-sized beds that can accommodate a maximum of three adults and one kid), Deluxe Rooms (with one King-sized bed), Executive Suite (with one King-sized bed and a bathtub), and a Presidential Suite complete with a master’s bedroom, a living room and a dining area plus a Jacuzzi tub.
All rooms are equipped with LCD flat-screen TVs with cable and DVD player and WiFi Internet connection.
Very particular with the bathrooms of hotels where I stay, I particularly like Luxent Hotel’s Superior Room because it has a spacious enclosed shower room, unlike the bathrooms of a few other hotels which have a shower above its bathtub. I don’t mind not having a bathtub, which is rarely used anyway unless you have all the time in the world to spend dipping in the bathtub, but I’m not so fond of having the shower above the bathtub because you have to hop into the bathtub before you can access the shower, and usually the bathtub cum shower is separated from the rest of the bathroom only by a shower curtain. If the shower curtain is positioned in a slightly wrong way, you end up getting water from the shower dripping all over the bathroom floor, and it can get messy. With an enclosed shower room, the chances of getting the rest of the bathroom messy are significantly lower.
Lush Bar serves an extensive menu of a la carte dishes
LEISURELY DINING
Tomas Morato and Timog avenues are known as restaurant rows, where diners go to satisfy gastronomic cravings, but Luxent Hotel stands up to the challenge when it comes to dining because it boasts of two dining outlets. One is Lush Bar and Restaurant, which serves as the Lobby Lounge whose extensive a la carte menu is a lot more than just cocktail drinks and fingerfoods. The other is Garden Café, also on the ground floor, which serves buffet breakfast and dinner and, this month, will start offering buffet lunch as well.
Chef Jonathan ‘Boom’ Jota and F&B manager Maria Paz Melendrez behind a huge serving of Mega Halo-Halo
Menus of both dining outlets have been drawn up by Executive Chef Jonathan ‘Boom’ Jota, whose brings with him long years of experience in the restaurant industry. I met him a few years ago when he was corporate chef of a known group of restaurants which runs a number of concept restaurants, and we were happy to see each other last month in his new corporate home – Luxent Hotel.
For Lush, he has put together a very impressive and extensive menu that covers appetizers, soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches, flatbreads (read: pizzas!), pasta dishes, main courses, all-time Filipino merienda favorites and desserts.
Nacho Oh My
On the day my husband Raff and I had lunch with colleagues from Philippine Star, Manila Bulletin and Business Mirror at Luxent Hotel last month, Chef Boom laid out a feast. He got our appetites going with Nacho Oh My (Php350), a huge platter of yellow and blue corn nachos topped with chili beef, capsicum, Jalapeño, bacon bits, salsa, sour cream and cheese sauce. There were about 10 of us at the table, but we almost couldn’t finish it because it was a huge platter indeed. I liked it a lot, with the crunch of the nachos contrasting – but marrying well – with the tomato salsa, sour cream and cheese sauce.
SAM (Spinach, Artichoke and Mushroom Dip served with Tuscan Bread and Chips)
Also on the table was SAM (Php395), a spinach, artichoke and mushroom dip served with Tuscan bread and potato chips. The Tuscan bread slices went very fast so I had my spinach dip (which is more like a spread) with potato chips. Also whetting our appetites was Wrap Me (Php395), crispy lettuce, minced chicken, turnips, desiccated coconut, roasted nuts, water chestnuts, Hoisin sauce, Ranch garlic and chili garlic sauce. Its name fits it to a T, since diners get to make their own soft tortilla wraps with putting together what they like from the deconstructed ingredients.
Pier 21 (Creamy Clam Chowder in Bread Bowl)
Soup came in the form of Pier 21 (Php250), a generous serving of creamy clam chowder in a huge bread bowl. It’s definitely “to share.”
Oriental Mango Chicken Salad
We also tried Oriental Mango Chicken Salad (Php395), mixed lettuce and red cabbage with capsicum, cucumber, marinated grilled chicken, salad beansprouts, cilantro, mango, Mandarin orange and caramelized walnuts served with citrus lime and peanut dressing, topped with crispy wanton strips. It had a lot going in there when it comes to texture, flavors, aroma and mouthfeel. It came, not quite surprisingly, together harmoniously.
Sinfully
D Butcher
Then it was time for the main course, which consisted of Sinfully (Php540), seared salmon topped with garlic Parmesan dressing, steamed asparagus and battered potato; and D Butcher (Php475), Kurobuta Pork Belly braised in 12 spices and served with Oriental salad and garlic mashed potato.
Carbonara
Pancit Puti
Also on the table for tasting and sharing were Carbonara (Php375) and Seafood Cioppino (Php425), both House Specials among the pasta selections on the Lush menu, plus Lumpiang Ubod (Php195), heart of palm, cilantro, carrots, roasted garlic nuts, served with peanut caramel sauce; and Pancit Puti (Php195), bihon noodles stir-fried with wood ear mushrooms, egg, roasted garlic, chicken strips and chives.
Mega Halo-Halo
But the crowning glory, the shock factor, to our feast of a lunch was dessert: Mega Halo-Halo (Php275). It was HUGE! The giant cocktail glass was filled with 18 mixes of tropical fruits, carabao’s milk, dulce de leche, with mantecado, ube and mais ice cream scoops and toasted corn flakes. You definitely have to share this one!
With such a full lunch, it was beyond me how we got to have dinner later that day – so we delayed having dinner by first walking around and shooting the buffet setup, the dining area, and had some of the buffet items plated for shoot.
Garden Café
Buffet dinner at Garden Café is very reasonable at Php899 on weekdays and Php999 on weekends. For this summer, Luxent Hotel’s Food & Beverage manager Maria Paz Melendrez has slashed it even further by offering buffet dinner at Garden Café at Php599 net, Mondays to Thursdays, and Php699 net, Fridays to Sundays, while kids aged 6 to 12 pay only half the price.
Assorted sushis, sashimis, makis and temakis form part of the appetizer spread
Edamame (Soya Beans)
Spicy Tuna Sashimi
Cha Soba
For its price, the buffet dinner lays out a very impressive spread. The appetizer area offers a whole range of sushis, sashimis, makis and temakis presented on sushi boats, plus platters of Edamame (soy beans), Spicy Tuna Sashimi (tuna sashimi mix topped with crunchy tempura batter bits), Kani Salad (crabstick, mango and lettuce salad topped with tobiko or fish roe), Cha Soba and Assorted Tempura.
Hot dishes in chafing dishes for the dinner buffet spread of Garden Café
Baked Macaroni
Seafood Szechuan
Cakes on the dessert buffet
Hot dishes in the chafing dishes include Baked Macaroni, Seafood Gambas, Fish fingers with Honey Mustard Sauce, Pork Hawaiian, Beef Tenderloin with Asparagus, and Seafood Szechuan, plus Roast Chicken on the carvery and an interactive grill for meats and seafood. Cakes, pastries, a halo-halo bar and fresh fruits form part of the dessert spread.
Garden Café also serves buffet breakfast for in-house guests and walk-in diners, and the buffet breakfast, priced at Php399 (Mondays to Thursdays) and Php499 (Fridays to Sundays) also offers quite an extensive spread – a salad bar, appetizers, hot dishes on chafing dishes with rice, a full selection of breads, an egg station, cakes, cupcakes and fresh fruits.
THE NAME OF LUXURY
Luxent Hotel GM Melanie Pagkalinawan and sales and marketing director Mayette Delfin
With the summer vacation almost over and the new schoolyear almost here, it should be nice to take advantage of what’s remaining of the summer season by going on a luxurious staycation right in the heart of Quezon City’s bustling Timog area. Beat the heat and bask in the air-conditioned luxury of Luxent Hotel, enjoy its facilities like a good workout in the gym and a good swim in the pool, which takes on a different character during the evening – with a transparent glass wall and lighting that gives a cool underwater view, and dine leisurely on delicious but affordable gourmet food. Indulge. If you’ve been working hard, you ought to give yourself a much-deserved break.
(Luxent Hotel is located at 51 Timog Ave., South Triangle, Quezon City, with contact number 922-8888.)
