Ocean’s Harvest at Marriott Hotel Manila

Cooked seafood on ice

Fresh catch of the day

Marriott Hotel Manila is giving its guests a new dining experience: a seafood buffet every Friday and Saturday from 6:0o p.m. to 10:30 p.m. all year-round.

Called Ocean’s Harvest, this seafood buffet offers diners numerous fresh seafood and can even request the chef to have their choice seafood cooked their way. For only P2,300, guests can indulge in a sea of mouthwatering seafood dishes.

Sweet and sour crabs

We ordered first the sweet and sour crabs. The sauce of this dish is divine! It has the right amount of sweetness and sourness that coats well the crab meat and tickle the palate.

 Wizheart orderd this pampano with just the simple soy sauce.

This pampano dish is like a home-made dish made to taste gourmet-like. The fish is so tender and it tastes so good when eaten with the slightly caramelized garlic.

An assorted of seafood

We had a plate of grilled assorted seafood. The squid, the shells were so fresh that when grilled are to die for!

Lobster in garlic and butter sauce

This lobster in garlic and butter sauce is a must-try. The lobster is so tender and juicy and compliments really well with the garlic and butter.

 Seafood lasagna

Marriott Cafe’s seafood lasagna is another must-try. I just love the mixture of seafood and its sauce. Rich and cheesy!

M Cafe’s gelato

What a perfect way to cap the seafood dinner with a gelato. I had a mix of gianauja amara and Palawan walnut. It was just so delicious!

If I were you, I’d go and have your own Ocean’s Harvest experience at Marriott. You can start your dinner with a piping hot soup of shrimp gumbo in lemon grass cooked Tinola-style. Or you can have the steaming hot pot of sinigang in local miso or tamarind alongside talakitok, maya-maya, head prawn local clams. Whatever suits you.

The Ocean Surf Market Style Buffet Menu includes fresh salmon, tuna loin, local tanigue, pompano, talakitok, lapu-lapu, maya-maya, shellfish, jumbo prawns, half shell local scallop, local clams, jumbo squid, suahe shrimps, blue marlin, and local gindara. You can also have your fill of slippers lobsters, local blue sea crab, curacha crab, prawns, mussels, and white shells. All of these you can have cooked your way. Not to mention the friendly and very accommodating chefs at Marriott.

Here we are, happy about our simple grilled fish!

If that isn’t one awesome dining experience, I don’t know what is.

For inquiries and reservations, call (02) 988-9999.

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ABOUT MARRIOTT HOTEL MANILA

An inviting beacon set in the world-class casino entertainment complex of Resorts World Manila, Marriott Hotel Manila is the place to work and play. Ideally located in Newport City across Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, it is a convenient 15 minute drive from Makati Business District and Bonifacio Global City. Affording a splendid view of the adjoining 18-hole Villamor Golf Course, it boasts 342 exquisite guest accommodations that offers luxurious bedding, in-room safe, mini-bar, high-speed Internet, air conditioning, 40″ full high definition LCDs with IPTV, videos on demand and jack pack plug-and-play system. The hotel features excellent dining options such as Marriott Cafe, Cru Steakhouse, Java+ and Lobby Lounge. Leisure facilities include Quan Spa, Health Club, Salon and Newport Mall. With a Grand Ballroom and several meeting rooms, Marriott Hotel Manila is also the ultimate destination for meetings and events, from weddings to gala dinner celebrations.

Caribbean Footwear Launches the Urban Safari Collection

Last April 3rd, Caribbean Footwear launched its Urban Safari Collection at Red Mango, Greenbelt 3. Print and summer always go together well, you know.

Everyone was excited to see the new collection and we were not disappointed. The color, the design is again unique to Caribbean Footwear.

For the uninitiated, Caribbean Footwear is a local brand but with world-class quality. The brand invested in good research and technology to come up with a footwear that blends art and science. Three things that the brand is proud of are: comfort, durability and creativity.  Importantly, it has a no-slip technology.

Check out the Urban Safari collection here.

Decadent Graduation Cakes at Café 1771

It’s graduation time and with it comes plenty of celebrations. And what are celebrations without decadent desserts like those of  Café 1771.

 Café 1771 offers graduates and families its home-spun cake creations by Pastry Chef Arnold Bautista. These petite cakes are 6-inch round sizes good for 8 to 10 persons. They are perfect for gifts.

Upon seeing the Evasion cake (P270 net) (pictured above), you would want to dive into an evasive combo of white and dark chocolates with cream cheese  and fresh  strawberry  in a lightly crispy  feullentine at the center. It’s not too sweet  yet amazingly creamy.

For certified chocolate lovers, this Rose Noire (P250 net) is a delightful surprise. Lavish layers of Valrhona dark chocolate with hazel nut praline that sits on a crunchy crust, this chocolate-loaded creation also comes with a surprise at the center: a croquantine for some crunch and dark chocolate flavor with a distinct praline taste.

This Gianduja Truffle Mousse (P250 net) is light, pillowy, and comes with a nutty center combined with the dark and white chocolate praline flavors.  Structured with elements that will surprise the palate, its sweetness comes from the base made of chocolate sponge then followed by marshmallows with cashew nuts and topped off with chocolate mousse as a velvety finish.

Of course, you don’t want to miss the signature dessert sugar-free coffee pie (P220 net) of 1771 Group of Restaurants. This coffee pie is an epic recipe from the family of Executive Chef Vicky Rose-Pacheco for over twenty years. This addicting secret is in the crisp texture of the combined flavors of Dutch cocoa and coffee with cashew nuts. And with no bells and whistles or outré ingredients, this version is sweetened with coconut sugar and lightly dusted with cocoa for an awfully memorable dessert minus the guilt.

For advance orders, call 631-7340.

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Café 1771 is located at 1771 El Pueblo, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Operating hours from Monday to Saturday is 7am to 10pm while Sunday is 7am to 3pm. For inquiries, call 631-7340/470-6559/0917-8660442. Café 1771 is a member of the 1771 Group of Restaurants that include Chateau 1771 in Greenbelt 5, Sentro 1771 in Greenbelt 3, Sentro 1771 in Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, WB 1771 & Sidebar in El Pueblo Real de Manila, ADB Avenue cor. Julia Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

On the The 4th Philippine International PyroMusical Competition 2013

We caught the second to the last weekend of the 4th Philippine International PyroMusical Competition this year. It was more of a last-minute decision coming from the WorldBex in The World Trade Center.  I only had my trusty iPhone with  me, so pardon the grainy photo above. For much better photos, check out their SM MOA’s Facebook Page.

Anyhow, we went to SM  Mall of Asia with our P100-tickets purchased online by the husband’s colleague. I had a mixture of pleasant and unpleasant experiences during that Saturday.

Let me start with the pleasant ones:

• The entrance to the P100-ticket area was well-manned. It was not congested and crowded, as I was expecting. I thought since it was the general admission ticket, there would be pushing. But there was none.
• When we got inside, it was also not crowded. It was not humid. It was pleasant.

Now the unpleasant ones:

• The show didn’t start at 7PM as indicated in the ticket and in their banners. It started at 8PM.
• The sound system should also be heard (loud and clear) in all ticket areas, in fact better if the whole open area of SM MOA. It is an international show after all. We couldn’t figure out what the emcee was saying. The music was not clear in our area. Even if we got only the general admission ticket, we still went to see and paid for the show after all.
• The presentation interval was about 30, or was it 45 minutes. After the presentation of China, we had no choice but to wait for Australia’s presentation. The momentum and excitement would be better sustained if the presentations were done one after another. But, those I know who have gone to see the show before us,  had a different experience. They were saying that the presentations had only a 10- to 15-minute interval. I am just not sure what happened that weekend.

For those who are planning to catch the last group, Canada and Philippines, this weekend, here’s what I recommend.

• Choose a restaurant where you can get a good vantage point to see the show. It is still a better option for me than going to those viewing areas and had to wait long. At least in the resto, you’ll have food and good seating.
• Prepare for the deluge and crowd of people at SM MOA. From parking areas to the mall and back, you had to queue. We had to take the stairs from ground to the rooftop parking.
• This is an international show, let’s make it that—from sound system to venue arrangements.

Magical Easterland at Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila

Do you know that Easter is the most important occasion in the Catholic Faith? Today, then, is the best time to plan for Easter Sunday.

Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila has prepared for you an Easter celebration that will highlight a magical family adventure. From 11AM to 3PM on Sunday, March 31, Le Salon will transform into a magical enchanted garden where both children and adults can enjoy candy fairies, wizards and dwarves. For only PHP800 net for both children and adults, the experience will not only involve delightful magical characters but also sweet and savoury food choices personally hand-picked by Executive Chef Josef Miklavc and his team. Fruit Magic’s refreshing fruit shakes are also available featuring their most popular concoctions.

Some of the featured activities will be:

• face painting
• meringue egg decoration
• balloon twisting
• pin the magic wand
• magic hat
• eggs in a pot
• an exhilarating show by a wizard performing feats of magic and illusion

And of course, to stay true to the form of Easter, an Easter egg hunting will cap the afternoon activity. All children will get to “eggs plore” in the Mystery Egg Hunt, with carefully tucked-away incredible prizes, including an overnight stay in a guestroom with breakfast buffet for two at the Market Café.

Of course, no one is leaving the party empty handed. Prizes and surprises await all guests, which include Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, Sqwishland, ShellCore, Faber-Castell Philippines novelties and IFEX notebooks, ABS-CBN publishing’s Working Mom, Cars and Spider-man magazines, plus Worlds of Fun and Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila gift certificates.

For goodies and snacks, Fibisco Chocolate Chips cookies, Oishi, Chips Delight, Smileys, Egg Bites, Trolli Gummi Candies, Yakult, Selecta Moo chocolate and milk drink, Lucky Me Special, Monde Specials, Nestle Professional, Purefoods Fun Nuggets and Tender Juicy Hotdogs, Magnolia Ice Cream, San Miguel Foods Inc- Great Food Solutions, Clara Ole, Smuckers, Treetop, Coca-Cola Softdrinks, and Jack N’ Jill Snacks such as Star Pops, Knots, Quake Bars, Star Fruits, Wiggles, Yammy Chocolate Chewy Candy, Cream-O, Magic Creams Junior and Presto bring their most-loved products as a take-home gift.

To kick the Easter party up a notch, families can combine fun and feast by dining at any of the Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila restaurants and taking advantage of the special rate of PHP 400 net!

Official media partner for this event is Easy Rock 96.3, just the rite rock.

Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila is located at 1588 Pedro Gil cor M.H. Del Pilar St., Malate, Manila.

For more information, please call the Food and Beverage Reservations Centre on +63 2 247 8666 or make a booking online by visiting www.manila.casino.hyatt.com. You may also email cath.mn@hyatt.com.

About Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila
Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila is a five-star hotel surrounded by Manila’s culturally rich and well-preserved historical points of interest. This 33-storey mixed-use complex offers 376 elegantly designed guestrooms and accommodates the largest number of suites in the Bay Area, including 58 Speciality Suites and 4 Presidential Suites. The hotel features three innovative and authentic restaurants, a pastry shop, an entertainment outlet, four floors of Regency Club accommodation as well as the most stylish and advanced event spaces in town. Fully equipped recreational and premier gaming facilities are also on the premises. The hotel is only a few minutes from the international airport, the convention centre, top tourist attractions and the city’s business district.

For more information, please call +63 2 245 1234 or visit www.manila.casino.hyatt.com. “Like” us on Facebook – www.facebook.com/hyatthotelandcasinomanila.

Get Love-struck with Chocolate at Marriott Manila

What is it about love that it’s always associated with chocolates?

Head for Marriott Hotel Manila now and celebrate this love month with a lovely interplay of food and chocolate.

Loving and romantic couples can enjoy that perfect meal: attractive yet real, wholesome yet sometimes a little naughty, surprising but not startling. All elements can be found at Cru Steakhouse. While steak is the main draw at Cru, the dessert revelation is a marvelous night cap.  Try the dessert revelation (P600 net): a triple treat of vanilla, chocolate and raspberry ice cream flavors. This limited Valentine offer starts when the rich, hot sauce of dark Swiss chocolate is lavishly poured onto the dome. It is meant for sharing,  which will surely seal the date night.

Another option for a romantic evening can happen at the Marriott Café. Tasty buffet, for only P2,300 net from February 13th to 16th, the spread is made unlimited and extra endearing for Valentine’s Day.

To notch up the Valentine evening, get a Suite Surrender room package from February 9 to 16 and get billeted for a night or more in our executive suite with your honey to send sparks of romance for only P16, 000++, inclusive of a heartily-prepared in-room breakfast for two and with a flower set up.  What’s more? Get into the luxe life with an exclusive pick up and drop off experience within Manila courtesy of Jaguar!

As if this is not enough, step into the The Great Room located at the lobby and get artsy with our chocolate carving showcase the whole month of February. Sweetened with passion and hand carved with love, find inspiration from our chocolate carving exhibit featuring Valentine staples from hearts, cupids, couples, signature bag and a Ducati motorcycle.  Made of purely imported chocolate, these masterpieces are for selling too.

While at the Great Room,  better try the Valentine drinks. Bartenders proudly present the Chocolate Concoctions, also available the whole month of February for only P350 net. Made of lip smacking and thick chocolate transformed into a drink with a hint of alcohol, rev up your quiet time with our chocolate-inspired drinks: blended tiramisu, chocolate cherry bomb, and chocolate martini.

Really, there’s no other place to make your Valentine’s Day the best day, but at Marriott Manila.

For inquiries or reservations, call 988-9999.

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ABOUT MARRIOTT HOTEL MANILA:

An inviting beacon set in the world-class casino entertainment complex of Resorts World Manila, Marriott Hotel Manila is the place to work and play. Ideally located in Newport City across Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, it is a convenient 15 minute drive from Makati Business District and Bonifacio Global City. Affording a splendid view of the adjoining 18-hole Villamor Golf Course, it boasts 342 exquisite guest accommodations that offers luxurious bedding, in-room safe, mini-bar, high-speed Internet, air conditioning, 40″ full high definition LCDs with IPTV, videos on demand and jack pack plug-and-play system. The hotel features excellent dining options such as Marriott Cafe, Cru Steakhouse, Java+ and Lobby Lounge. Leisure facilities include Quan Spa, Health Club, Salon and Newport Mall. With a Grand Ballroom and several meeting rooms, Marriott Hotel Manila is also the ultimate destination for meetings and events, from weddings to gala dinner celebrations.

From Chateau 1771 with Love

Hey folks, it’s time to treat your loved ones to some place special. Head now for Chateau 1771 and experience fine dining at its best!

For the first time in twenty five years, Chateau 1771’s executive chef Vicky Rose Pacheco introduces her top picks for lunch and dinner set menus for the Valentine’s Day: a feast of light, fresh and festive for lunch while dinner features the rare French classics.

If you’re going there for lunch, check out the watercress soup with lavash bread and its relieving, sophisticated texture, truly heartwarming and oozing with revitalizing nutrients.

Then for the main course, try the seared U.S. beef tenderloin with blue cheese stuffing (P1, 300+), with grilled eggplant, zucchini, broccoli drizzled with roasted potatoes and fragrant roasted potatoes in olive oil, rosemary, and thyme, the 200 grams of pan seared beef laced with roasted garlic bacon sauce is brimming with juices and stuffing in every slice.

If you’re not into meat, go for the baked fish of the day (P1, 100+), grilled and made tender with lemon, capers, thyme, and almonds. Pair this with the risotto and add on squid, shrimps made tasty in chicken and fish stock then topped with butter and parmigiano reggiano as a tasty finish.

Chilean Seabass in Salt

Finish this hearty lunch with the white cloud melon sabayon, a refreshing dessert, lightly sweetened with poached meringue on whisked custard with melon and amaretto.

But if you’re opting for a romantic dinner date, a must-try is Chateau 1771′s hot French dinner affair. Start with a soup, Swiss brown mushroom vol-au-vent with greens, edible flowers and pomegranate dressing. Delicately baked and in-house made, the French puff pastry round shell is filled with a creamy mixture smacked with garlic and thyme then deglazed with wine.  For an intriguing and heartwarming full-bodied taste, try the Swiss browns or the baby Portobello as the star in this soup.

US Angus Bone in Rib Steak

Using a prime steak cut, the U.S. Angus bone-in rib steak with café de Paris butter (P2,600+), Duchess potatoes, and grilled ratatouille is every inch an irresistible meat from its cut to flavor. A ¾ inch thick slab of meat with the bone-in, it’s meant to be smothered with café de Paris butter spiced up with tarragon, rosemary, basil, and thyme with a spike of cognac.

Now, if you want your date to be something more exciting and out of the ordinary, go for the French countryside comfort–the Rougie duck leg confit (P2, 400+).

Rougie Duck Leg Confit

Another rare find, the duck meat is cured with salt, cooked in a special Dutch oven with the most-prized duck fat giving the flavor more depth and producing a velvety piece of meat. Get to taste a super tender meat that almost falls off the bones!

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Chateau 1771 – Greenbelt 5 is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every Sunday to Thursday and 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 m.n. for Friday to Saturday. For reservations, banquets and catering services, please call 729-9760 to 61 or (0917) 8626467.

Chateau 1771 is a member of the Chateau 1771 Group of Restaurants that include Sentro 1771 in Greenbelt 3, Sentro 1771 in Serendra, Bonifacio Global City and Café 1771 in El Pueblo Real de Manila, ADB Avenue cor. Julia Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Awesome Australia at Marriott Manila

Marriott Hotel Manila is kicking up the new year with a party and eating experience like a true-blue Aussie!

Experience the land down under without actually flying there on January 26 from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM through the Australia Day in the hotel. Enjoy a lavish pool side barbeque and wine party for only P2500 net, and get a good value all-you-eat-and-drink and fun night.

Regal, refined, and right tasty Australian, the lengthy al fresco buffet features shrimps, petit grilled steaks, lamb, fish, meat pies, cured meats, and desserts with butter, cream and jellies. Match this delicious spread with a wide array of beverage selections from sparkling water to wine courtesy of the Wine Warehouse located in a seductive corner of the poolside area. The cocktails and drinks are either fierce or ingenious, a symbol of Australia’s stylish boozers everywhere.

To complete the Aussie experience, the live band plays starkly cool classic rock songs of famous Aussie musicians such as Silver Chair, Kylie Minogue, and Olivia Newton-John to name a few.

Head for Marriott Manila now and enjoy this awesome Australia night life party escape with your family or friends.

For inquiries or reservations, call 988-9999.

ABOUT MARRIOTT HOTEL MANILA:

An inviting beacon set in the world-class casino entertainment complex of Resorts World Manila, Marriott Hotel Manila is the place to work and play. Ideally located in Newport City across Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, it is a convenient 15 minute drive from Makati Business District and Bonifacio Global City. Affording a splendid view of the adjoining 18-hole Villamor Golf Course, it boasts 342 exquisite guest accommodations that offers luxurious bedding, in-room safe, mini-bar, high-speed Internet, air conditioning, 40″ full high definition LCDs with IPTV, videos on demand and jack pack plug-and-play system. The hotel features excellent dining options such as Marriott Cafe, Cru Steakhouse, Java+ and Lobby Lounge. Leisure facilities include Quan Spa, Health Club, Salon and Newport Mall. With a Grand Ballroom and several meeting rooms, Marriott Hotel Manila is also the ultimate destination for meetings and events, from weddings to gala dinner celebrations.

Philippine Kpop Convention

All Kpop fans out there, listen up!

The grandest and most prestigious event that revolutionized the Philippine K-pop fandom is back! Now on its fourth year, The Philippine K-Pop Committee, Inc. (PKCI), in collaboration with 60 of the biggest K-pop music fan clubs in the country, is bringing to you the 4th Philippine K-Pop Convention on December 29, 2012, from 9am to 9pm at the PICC Forums 1, 2, and 3.

Like their Facebook page for updates!

Lights and Sound Show At the Ayala Triangle Gardens

Lights and Sound Show
Nov. 16 – Dec. 30 2012
Watch the lights come to life in Ayala Triangle Gardens every 30 minutes from 6:00 to 9:00 PM

Finally, I got to watch this year’s Lights & Show at the Ayala Triangle Gardens.

This year, the Enchanting Lights & Sound Show is created by award-winning lighting designer Voltaire de Jesus and musical composers from Liquid Post, Mikey Amistoso and Jazz Nicholas.

Last night, OPM (Original Pilipino Music) songs were played as the lights come to life. It’s another spectacular show you shouldn’t miss this Christmas season.

Update:

This Lights and Sound Show got featured in CNN, “The Philippines shows the world how to celebrate Christmas.”

More photos at AmOnTheStreets Facebook page here.

Click here for previous years shows.

Like AmOnTheStreets on Facebook!