MARCO Polo Ortigas Manila welcomes the Year of the Metal Rat with a grand Chinese New Year celebration that culminates this weekend.
To officially usher in the Year of the Metal Rat, a special blessing ceremony will be held at the Ground Floor lobby on Saturday, January 25, 2020, which is the first day of the Lunar New Year. Feng shui expert Master Hanz Cua shall lead the blessing at 11:00 a.m., with the traditional lion and dragon dance following immediately after.
Other than the official Chinese New Year rites, Marco Polo Ortigas also offers special set menus at the hotel’s award-winning authentic Cantonese restaurant, Lung Hin, as prepared by Executive Chef Ken Leung and his kitchen team. Available from January 24 to February 3, 2020, these special set menus fit dining parties of 5 or 10 persons. There are two choices: the Good Wealth set menu and the Good Fortune set menu.
Sautéed Tiger Prawns with Homemade Sweet Chili Sauce
The Good Wealth set menu consists of Lung Hin’s signature Sauteed Tiger Prawns with Homemade Chili Sauce, Steamed Fresh Garoupa with Superior Soya Sauce, and Crispy Roasted Baby Duck.
Baked Slipper Lobsters in Supreme Stock
The Good Fortune set menu includes Baked Slipper Lobster in Supreme Stock, Braised South African Abalone with Japanese Oysters and Vegetables, and Signature Salt-baked Chicken.
Inquiries and reservations may be coursed through (632) 7720-7720.
(Marco Polo Ortigas Manila is located at Meralco Ave. corner Sapphire Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.)
Richmonde Hotel Iloilo offers the ‘Hangover Buffet’ for ‘Dinagyang’ season in Iloilo
IT’S the fourth Sunday of January this Sunday (January26, 2020), and it’s the peak of the Dinagyang season, as Iloilo celebrates its annual Dinagyang Festival with street dancing, parades, fireworks and other activities this weekend. With Perfect Vision for 2020 as its theme, the much-anticipated festival that honors the Sto. Niño is expected to welcome a throng of visitors from Manila and other places around the country who fly all the way to Iloilo to experience the Dinagyang Festival, particularly its tribal dance competition.
Deluxe Twin Room
One-Bedroom Suite with Living and Dining areas
Ready for the influx of tourists, who would need a cozy and comfortable place to stay while in Iloilo, is Richmonde Hotel Iloilo. It looks forward to providing plush and spacious accommodations for guests to retire to after a long day of merry-making. With its convenient location within the modern township of Iloilo Business Park at the heart of Mandurriao, Richmonde provides easy access to the different venues of the Dinagyang activities around the city. Room rates from January 24 to 26, 2020, start at Php6,800nett for a Deluxe Room, Php7,300nett for a Premier Room, and Php12,800nett for a One-Bedroom Suite. These rates are valid for either single or double occupancy and include breakfast buffet for up to two adults and two children aged 5 and below, Wi-Fi access, and use of the hotel’s gym and swimming pool.
Aside from accommodations, Richmonde Hotel Iloilo’s The Granary lays out a sumptuous spread of Dinagyang Festival Dinner Buffets on January 24, 25 and 26, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. The starters, soups, salads, entrées, carvings, action stations and desserts consist of an appetizing mix of Filipino dishes and global fares to create a completely satisfying meal.
What’s more: The Granary will be on 24-hour operations every day from January 24 to 26. The filling breakfast buffet, available from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m., offers a variety of morning meal staples like freshly baked breads, fruits, cereals, bacon and eggs, including an assortment of viands and beverages.
The Granary’s extensive a la carte menu, available from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., provides a cornucopia of epicurean delights with something for everyone and for every craving—hearty soups, fresh salads, meaty and seafood entrées, pasta, paella, gourmet sandwiches and luscious desserts.
The Granary’s ‘Hangover Buffet’ includes delicious rice toppings
For those staying out late into the night, The Granary’s special Hangover Buffet, served from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., provides delicious recovery food in the form of yummy pairings of Arroz Caldo with Biscocho, Pancit Molo with Paborita, Batchoy with Puto Manapla, and Pata with Pandesal. There are rice topping choices of Pork Tocino with Garlic Rice, Chicken Inasal with Adobo Rice, and Karne Frita with Kalkag Fried Rice.
For inquiries and reservations, call Richmonde Hotel Iloilo at +63 33 328-7888 or +63 917-5809642 or send email to rhireservations@richmondehotel.com.ph. Those who book online get guaranteed best rates and instant confirmation at www.richmondehoteliloilo.com.ph.
(Richmonde Hotel Iloilo is located at Megaworld Blvd. corner Enterprise Road, Iloilo Business Park, Mandurriao, Iloilo City 5000.)
EVER tried pinakbet cooked in gata (coconut milk)? I grew up eating pinakbet because my late Gua-kong (maternal grandfather) settled in Tayug, Pangasinan, and we kids always spent our summer vacations there. Our late cook, Manang Huling, also hailed from there and therefore often cooked pinakbet for our meals. In the course of my career in the publishing industry, specializing in food, I would learn about the many variations of pinakbet—Ilocano pinakbet (ampalaya, squash, okra, eggplant, string beans and siling pansigang, cooked with bagoong na isda); Pinakbet Tagalog (vegetables cooked in bagoong alamang or shrimp paste, and topped with lechon or chicharon); Bulacan pinakbet; Pinakbet Bisaya, etc. But I have never encountered pinakbet cooked in coconut milk…
… until the other day, when my caregiving assistant Belen Carasaquit and I were discussing what other vegetable dishes she could prepare besides the Ginisang Ampalaya and Tortang Talong that I always ask her to make so I do not have to cook so often. She mentioned “pinakbet na may gata,” and my attention was totally caught.
So, this morning, after feeding my husband Raff and then having late breakfast, we finally made Guinataang Pinakbet—and here it is.
2 Tbsps. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pc. small onion, sliced
3 slices ginger, julienned
1 cup water
1 segment squash, peeled and cut into bite sizes
2 pcs. small eggplants, cut into bite sizes
5 pcs. string beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
10 pcs. okra, halved
1 pc. small ampalaya (bittergourd), halved, seeds scraped and sliced
1 cup gata (coconut milk)
4 pcs. dried flying fish (or other types of dried fish)
1. Heat oil in pan. Sauté garlic, onion and ginger.
2. Pour in water and let boil.
3. Add squash, eggplants, string beans and okra. Let boil.
4. Add ampalaya.
5. Pour in gata. Mix up vegetables.
6. Top with dried fish. Cover and allow to cook for a few minutes.
Fleur de Lys Patisserie’s best-sellers, clockwise from top left: Butter Walnut Cookies, Chocolate Florentines, Volcano Chocolate Crinkles, and Mini French Brownies
IF you’re looking for delicious pastries to gift family and friends with on special occasions or to simply enjoy with a cup of freshly brewed coffee or a tall glass of milk tea, check out what Fleur de Lys Patisserie has to offer.
Created by multi-talented pastry chef Jackie Ang Po, the impressive lineup includes soft and moist oval-shaped Mini French Brownies (Php218 for 15 pieces, and Php318 for 25 pieces), Butter Walnut Cookies (Php218 for 15 pieces, and Php318 for 25 pieces), thin and crisp Chocolate Florentines coated generously with chocolate on one side (Php228 for 15 pieces and Php328 for 25 pieces), and Volcano Chocolate Crinkles (Php258 for 1 dozen).
Mini French Brownies
Butter Walnut Cookies
Chocolate Florentines
Volcano Crinkles
These four were the patisserie’s best-sellers last Christmas.
Also available at Fleur de Lys Patisserie are crisp and light Ube Lengua de Gato (Php228 per container), Vintage Sylvannas (Php250 for 6 pieces, and Php500 for 12 pieces), and Butter Loaf (Php298 for plain Butter Loaf, Php338 for Butter Loaf with Queso de Bola, and Php338 for Ube Butter Loaf with Queso de Bola).
If you have not tried them, it might be time for you to do so.
(Fleur de Lys Patisserie by Chef Jackie Ang Po is located at 305 Tomas Morato Ave., Quezon City; with telephone number (02) 8372-0631.)
NOTHING beats the pleasure of eating a slice of moist chocolate cake with sips of coffee at a leisurely pace on a quiet Saturday afternoon. So, how about a slice of that Chocolate Caramel Cake from Cravings that you have been craving for?
A Cravings original since 1989, Chocolate Caramel Cake combines two awesome stuff—chocolate and caramel—in a two-layer moist dark chocolate cake smothered with caramel icing and piped with thin, swirling strokes of chocolate icing. Easy to slice through and not too sweet, it is a standard by which other chocolate cakes will be measured.
Enjoy a slice of Chocolate Caramel Cake with a cup of hot, strong coffee
Cravings’ Chocolate Caramel Cake was one of my birthday cakes last December (2019), courtesy of The Cravings Group and publicist Redge Jimenez-Lopez, and I loved having a slice with a cup of hot, strong coffee. It also impressed guests who came to the house to visit me and my husband Raff last Christmas season.
No matter how many different variations the chocolate cake has, a lot of which have even been formulated by some of the best pastry chefs in the country, Cravings’ Chocolate Caramel Cake is definitely one of the best!
