Makati Shangri-La

Lobby Lounge

December 30, 2016

I was given a complimentary gift on my birthday a few months back by a good friend who works as a corporate communications executive at the Makati Shangrila. As it is known that I am inclined with scribbling reviews of restos - in my own terms – to while away time, I was encouraged to spoil myself with the hotels’ Afternoon Tea @ the Lobby Lounge. As the complimentary for 3 persons was set to expire today, it left me with no choice but to spend a brief afternoon there.

Shangrila, one of the classic hotels in the metro still resplendent of its charm and beauty. I was guided to a table facing next to a British national, probably reading the days paper. As she can’t help but notice the notes that I was scribbling at each sight of pastry that land on the table, she eagerly asked what was it for. A light conversation ensued and Ms. Lexington graciously shared the history and enlightened me about how their country practically influenced the traditional afternoon tea. She claimed, loving nothing more than sitting down to afternoon tea, and without a doubt one of the most pleasant ways of whiling away a couple of hours, find the time to relax in elegant surroundings and enjoy a leisurely cup of tea along with a variety of sweet and savoury treats.

So, what we now know as “Afternoon Tea” derives from Duchess of Bedford’s at Woburn Abbey desire to fill the gap between lunch and dinner with light meal of tea, cakes and sandwiches in order to satisfy the hunger pangs. The practice proved so popular that it soon developed into an established social occasion amongst the higher classes and has endured until today, where it has become popular than ever.

The lounge afternoon tea offers three sets that include the Classic set which is based on the original British afternoon tea with raisin and lemon scones, clotted cream, strawberry jams, smoked salmon, roast beef finger sandwiches and delightful selection of pastries and sweets. Each set also comes with your choice of tea. The Filipino set covers bibingka, vegetable okoy, crisp empanada, chicken adobo finger sandwiches and more. The Lounge special on the other hand, has foie gras sandwich as well as smoked salmon croissant, lobster on ciabatta, smoked turkey sandwich to name a few.

I settled for the Classic set with all that tempting sweets,however, just with baby bites though. Had my glucose test did not reached 102.52, I will zero in everything served at my table and it will vanish without a trace.

The presentation itself was equally impressive. It came on a modern tier filled with a generous assortment of sweet and savoury bites. It’s always good to have a nice mix of flavours and textures and this particular menu did not disappoint, offering a selection of traditional finger sandwiches filled with, roasted beef, cheese and onion, and egg, along with sweet potato wrap with mini cheese and tomato roll.

This was shortly followed with fruit scones. It was a wholemeal, both sultana and plain, and were quite small so definitely felt less calorific than some of the larger scones served at regular teas. It was served with crème fraiche rather than cream and homemade berries as opposed to jam.

The sandwiches were all completely divine. Too often sandwiches can be hit-and-miss with more effort and attention given to the cakes and pastries that are served as part of the tea. These showed creative flair and included a number of interesting fillings served on a good range of bread.

Finally the cakes! The selection includes blueberry and yoghurt chiffon cake made with fresh blueberries, which was gorgeous and feather light. The flourless chocolate and mint cake was made with 70% dark chocolate and sweetened with agave, and the sponge was made with polenta and almonds.

The cake that fascinated me all the most was the red velvet cake ball, usually a treat that’s rich and indulgent. I wondered how a healthy version would still be tasty. The ingredients were odd too, it was made with quinoa and sweetened with panela (raw cane sugar) and agave, in the centre was soft cream cheese rather than cream. I was surprise by how much I enjoyed the rather strange combination of ingredients and the texture was very much still that of a sponge cake made with flour. It was pronounced the all-around favourite of the day.

Service is lively as expected from a 5 star hotel, liveried and brisk, respectful but not fawning, attentive without being obtrusive, resolutely on the right side. In short, it’s spot-on.

Without hesitation, I would definitely recommend the lobby lounge. It’s a right place for corporate people who intend to conduct casual meetings. It is also conducive for families or friends who want to while away and have laid back discussions. A place so serene where you can savour quite afternoons with views of the verdant garden while listening to ambient, standard and soft music played by no less than the 14 piece Maria S. Esteban Orchestra. The magical and haunting sound of a cacophony of violins definitely soothes the afternoon, but the orchestra can break into different genre of music upon request. On their set break, I requested the acoustic cover version of Sawyer Fredricks’ Collide. Lucky enough, part of the repertoire was my moms’ favourite “Moonriver”. I miss you mom.

As I often tell my busy friends in blue back in the day, there are times when life can be hectic trying to keep on top of the many commitments and the responsibilities that we all have. Every-so-often I think that it is important to pause. Think, gather your thoughts, free yourselves from uncertainty and pamper life with the decency, and respect that you truly deserve. Take time to relax amidst that “sinking feeling” resulting from an exhausting and weary work day and do something that is fulfilling and also a little self-indulgent. What better way to compliment yourself than to spend that cold afternoon with warmth and smile at the sight of a gorgeously decadent treat.

A Joyous New Year to you guys and a million thanks for all those warm comments. See you around...

Shangri-La @ The Fort

High Street Cafe

JULY 16, 2016

We arrived at the place at around 11:40 am lunch time. The living chandelier welcomes you as you enter the Café. We were warmly ushered to our table in a plush and stunning setting that has an expansive marble-top open kitchen and a commanding luxurious view of the place.  The restaurant interior has spherical light fixtures, upscale and contemporary décor, almost full-length glass windows creating an elegant and open dining space.

Other than the warm personalized service they are known for and the comfortable dining setting, there are many reasons to make Shangri-la your home away from home, an interim abode whether for dwelling of your weary souls or a gustatory escape from the usual.  To me, it is really the food that will speak straight to my heart and will get me towed in time and again.

High Street Café blends modern European, Chinese, Japanese cuisine with Asian flavors to surprise even the most sophisticated palates.  The menu is carefully created by Executive Chef Joris Rycken.  Their high standards in the kitchen, where they make everything from scratch, translate into excellent food in the dining room.

Quezo de Bola & Hamon

Textures of cheese, glazed ham and gelee, asparagus. A dish inspired by Massimo Bottura.  It’s a great starter since the sharpness of the cheese jolts your palate to wake up, together with the altering textures from the glazed ham bits and crunch of fresh asparagus creating a quiet tremble in the mouth.  It opened up my taste for what’s to come.

Chef’s Table is a Netflix original docu-series that goes inside the lives and kitchens of the world’s most renowned international chefs.  I caught one episode while having a 3 day vacation in Batanes last May and nothing but cavernous desires filled me while watching that episode.  Anything that replicates close to his perspective is already a slice of culinary heaven.  High Street Café did not disappoint and stirred that inclination with the first dish.

Pan Seared U,S Scallops

Porcini Mushroom Marmalade, Endive, Madeira-Mirin Glaze. Sweet smokiness wafted under my nose as the plate rested before me.  The scallops were beautifully seared on the outside, showing blistered marks, and continuity from the opener is obvious from the porcini mushroom marmalade’s piercing taste.  The scallop, which is seafood-flavored marshmallow, retained its gentle, slightly chewy yet soft state and natural sweetness but prickled with smoked woodsy flavor.

The first two dishes were washed down with a glass of Riesling.

Every single component on the plate even the translucent endive, velvety, tender, flavor-ridden, and the mirin glaze are to be remembered.  I savored every bite, not wanting time to go any faster.

Duo of Duck

Duo of Duck dish is an assembly of Pan Seared Foie Gras over Teriyaki Eggplant, Pickled Pears, Nori-Tempura Crunch and their Pan-Roasted Duck Breast.

The duck breast had the fair layer of fat and lean red meat, outlined by faint crispy skin.  Most would like their duck breast medium-rare but the doneness of medium last night was simply perfect for me.  Duck has so much character and the addition of the bed of pumpkin puree, charred leaks and spiced honey glaze pulled it all together.  The presence of the radish was required since it cut the richness somewhat and refreshed my mouth.

Their pan-seared foie gras will automatically draw you upon sight.  This is their mouth watering specialty and almost needs no explanation.  I just wish the pickled pears were a tad bit sweeter or tangier to counterbalance but this is easily a favorite.

Entrees accompanied by Merlot

Certified Angus Beef with Celeriac Puree, Mustard Seeds, Ginger Tamarind Sauce.

Linger long after dinner for the Café’s dessert repertoire, which includes a Flourless Chocolate Cake with Homemade Pistachio Ice Cream, their dessert dish called Apple, Apple, Apple!, which is made of caramelized apples, calvados cream, apple gelee, cinnamon puff pastry, and their Taleggio which is homemade apricot and cherry mostarda.  It was a sweet cap of the night matched with my TWG Moroccan Mint Tea.

Executive Chef Joris takes modern European cuisine, its culinary techniques and Asian flairs and ingredients to bold, intriguing directions.  The dishes showed passion, talent and imagination and have been rightfully roofed under a restaurant dubbed High Street Cafe, taking from the team’s burning passion and desire to create new experiences through food.

Tim Ho Wan (Hong Kong)

January 7, 2016

9-11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po

(10 min walk from Sham Shui Po MTR

Other branches:

Shop 12A, HongKong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall), Central

Shop B,C & D, G/F, 2-8 Wharf Road, Seaview Building, North Point

I still had enough hours left before I head to HKIA bound Manila. I could go to some fancy coffee shops to while away the time. But no, what better way to conclude this trip than to do what I’m always inclined to do whenever I’m here either for business or leisure. Satisfy the crave of my stomach.

Tim Ho Wan is a Cinderella story, the hole-in-the-wall dim sum restaurant that scored One Michelin Star, thereby earning its reputation as the “cheapest Michelin Star restaurant in the world”. Fame found its way.

The two-hour queues at Tim Ho Wan could make the most patient among us feel slightly crazed. Even the woman manning the counter is agitated; hastily scrawling a number on a yellow Post-it note and shoving it unceremoniously into my hand.

This is the moment I'm expected to leave, but I linger, timidly inquiring how long the wait will be. Big mistake.

"One hour!" she barks, squawking something in Cantonese into a tiny microphone attached to the register.

I edge outside, mystified. It's hard to believe I've just made a reservation at a Michelin-starred restaurant. It felt more like dropping off a shirt at the dry cleaners. The unseasonably chilly day in Hong Kong has shrouded the city with drizzle, and outside, some 40 people huddle around the entrance, clustered together like excited teenagers at the gates of a music festival, their chatter punctuated by the revving engines of motorcyclists and taxis.

Passers-by seem bemused as they weave past. From the outside, Tim Ho Wan looks like any other nondescript dim sum canteen in the city's traffic-choked Mong Kok district. But there is one marked difference: Michelin reviewers have awarded it a coveted one-star rating, netting it the auspicious title of cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world.

Baskets of prawn dumplings and pork buns cost a mere 80p – a long way from the eye-watering £250 bills that can be clocked up at other Michelin-starred restaurants such as the Fat Duck or El Bulli. It's a rare chance for layfolk to sample cuisine usually reserved for the upper echelons of society.

The man behind Tim Ho Wan is Mak Pui Gor, the former dim sum master at Hong Kong's Four Seasons Hotel. Pui Gor worked at the hotel's three-starred restaurant Lung King Heen before going it alone, and despite the newly anointed star rating, he's not raising the prices, meaning Tim Ho Wan is now Hong Kong's hottest meal ticket. But if you want to eat here, take a number and stand in line. For a very long time.

I'd been waiting at least an hour already, with a distressingly numbered Post-it note of 252. The last number squawked out in Cantonese was 90. A young, bespectacled couple standing next to me giggled when they heard me groan. They'd been waiting an hour and a half already, the girl explained shyly, twirling her pink-and-white scarf with her fingers.

Half an hour later, gnawing hunger and obsessive thoughts of succulent pork buns turn into grumpiness. Is it worth it? It seems like idiocy to wait this long, but there's a wonton-sized shred of hope every 15 minutes: the shrill voice, the rustling sound of people checking their numbers and one lucky patron pushing their way through Heaven's Gates, leaving their hungry comrades behind. Hunger throws discretion out the window. Some of the queuers press their faces against the glass doors, ogling at poor diners trying to stuff slippery prawn dumplings into their mouths. Others give up hope. One Chinese man caused a minor sensation when he shuffled off, only to rejoin the queue minutes later, chewing on satay chicken skewers bought from a starless restaurant down the road.

I faint with hunger by the time my number was called 45 minutes later. I handed the waitress a paper menu with my dish choices circled in pen, and were seated elbow to elbow at a long table crammed with other diners, the clatter of the kitchen to our backs.

No one talked – all too hungry and fixated on the food, a steady stream of baskets served stacked atop each other, along with a constant flow of tea from China's Yunnan province, known as pu-erh.

The first dish served was Tim Ho Wan's pièce de résistance, Cha siu baau (pork buns), which sell like hot cakes here (around 750 a day). They are "worth dying for" according to one of our fellow diners. They're usually served steamed, but here they are fried: the ever-so-slightly crisp sugar glaze around the pastry bun yielding to a decadent mixture of diced pork and sauce. The succulent beef meatballs, infused with dried mandarin and spring onions, could also be worth dying for. As could the wobbly turnip cakes, the prawn dumplings wrapped in delicate, translucent pastry, or the dessert – a jasmine tea jelly suffused with a type of flower petal.

"124 HKD," squawked the lady at the counter. A wonton-sized price for a princely, Michelin-starred feast. Be back on my next stop over from UK.