ROSSINI Serves Comforting Italian Dishes at S Maison

If you've been the person to choose where to eat in the Mall of Asia grounds, I've got good news for you. There's this nice and quaint Italian restaurant at S Maison's 2nd Floor called ROSSINI that I think you should visit. It's light and bright interiors, cozy seats and classy decor won't be the only reason to go here because the food is equally great.

Mango Cannoli and Meatball in Marinara

Cappellini Ai Frutti Di Mare for the seafood lovers out there!

Fruit Drinks and their signature ROSSINI Pizza! The pizza is legendary because it contains chopped up foie gras combined with fig. It was the right amount of sweet and savory. Best dish served that afternoon.

Steak with Salsa Rosso. Angus Steak with roasted asparagus, mushrooms, onions and potatoes.

They also have a private room at the back that can accommodate around 20. If you're looking for a date place, a place to celebrate your birthdays or intimate gatherings, go give ROSSINI a visit. Food is comforting, best shared, because like Italians, we are family-centric.

Again, it's at the 2nd floor of S MAISON at Conrad, Mall of Asia grounds in Pasay City. Trust me on the pizza. 

 

Take Another Look: Heritage Hotel's Riviera Café

The Riviera Cafe has a selection of dessert items, the Mango Graham is highly recommended!

Heritage Hotel has been something that I usually just pass by going to and from other landmarks like Mall of Asia, MOA Arena or hotels in the area. This 4 Star hotel sits at the corner of EDSA and Roxas Boulevard which is a prime location. Back in the 90's they've had the privilege of being the primary destination for food adventures since the buffet here is legendary, probably one of the firsts who have done it in Pasay City. This is my first visit inside the hotel. I haven't thought about this being a dining destination because as a commuter, it's pretty dark outside. When I went inside, I was at awe of the interiors. To tell you honestly, I didn't know it was this nice. Heritage Hotel definitely deserves another look.

RIVIERA CAFE has been renovated and spruced up recently (and it's now open to the public!). Executive Chef Patrocinio Obia was mighty proud about how things have changed in recent months. For starters, the buffet used to be very dark and the renovations were pretty much a chance to brighten things up. Riviera Cafe will still be homey, very Mediterranean in style; but now modernized with a few light fixtures reminiscent of cafe's. Their menu now boasts of over 21 stations, bringing international flavors and Southeast Asian flair to the buffet. I could tell how passionate he was in making changes, and the other Chefs delivered quite well during service.

The spread was huge, and they've got plenty of dishes to choose from. I had a tiny bite of what I think would be good first before I concentrated on the best ones. Yes, I always had a gameplan when I visit buffets, and Riviera Café was absolutely lovely.

Salads stay cold and crunchy, served with different salad dressings on the side. Note how small servings they have on the station, they do that so you get food freshly cooked each time.

Fancy cheese? I like the funky smelling ones, don't judge!

The Grilling Station had different seafood and meat all skewered up

See that Beef Sate on the top left? They had to refill that plate because of me, it was that good! It was lightly grilled and smothered with peanut sauce that was a bit crunchy. It made a lot of difference!

The Laksa Station is something that you should take a vacation in. They make the Laksa from scratch, the shrimp flavor was intense and this was undoubtedly everyone's favorite that evening.

Carbs? They've got the pasta station waiting. Just let them know what sauce and pasta variety you want, they'll cook it right in front of you.

They've got Hainanese Chicken, I like the roasted one. You would need to put sauces on the meat if you choose the other poached or steamed variety.

They have Lechon and Crispy Pata, I would pass on the sauce as it was too livery (if there's such a term).

For those who love Japanese rolls, they've got a multitude of options laid on the mirrored plates. This was quite filling.

Dimsum had Chicken Feet, I like it.

Siu Mai was also freshly cooked, not overly steamed because it was probably made the same day.

I don't need to convince you with the Beef Sate, it was my personal favorite!

Finish the meal with some seasonal fruits, just to feel healthy about all the grilled food you ate lol!

Heritage Hotel's Riviera Café deserves another look, another try. With the changes they implemented on the buffet, the amount of people they can accommodate in the floor and guest rooms, this would surely be a good place to dine in for those special occasions and events. They're also HALAL Certified and has been the go to place of Malaysian and Indonesian Embassies for meals and meetings. If you want to reserve a table or their venues, call 0288548888 and press local 7355 or 7357. Trust me on the Beef Sate, it's one of my favorite places now to dine in. The buffet costs Php 1,188 and is currently open Thursdays to Saturday Dinner, and Sunday Lunch.

You can also stay in Heritage Hotel's many rooms. They are planning to renovate those as well. Now you've got more reasons to go there!

Four Kings and a Queen Concert at the Newport Performing Arts Theater This August

Legends of their own right, deserving of the accolades and love they receive from their fans, these singers, songwriters who ruled the 70's and 80's just came back from a successful concert in the US to perform in the Newport Performing Arts Theater for the home crowd this time. Hadji Alejandro, Rey Valera, Nonoy Zuniga, Marco Sison and the one and only Pops Fernandez will do their 4 Kings and a Queen Concert this coming August 26 and 27 in this venue. They had small mishaps in the US tour when some of them tested positive before they had to do the Vegas show. It took them a few days to recoup and do the concert for the same or even bigger crowd later on at the same state.

Nonoy Zunigaa says “I had complete vaccines and boosters but I tested positive for COVID and had to move the show in the states. Plus there are different variants in the US so if you had one you might have the others too.I’m glad to see that the US tour was almost all FULL HOUSE. They went there to enjoy and lots of people refunded tickets but when the actual day came, tons of people appeared even walked in. I’m glad people appreciate our jokes, we know each other too much even if they are concerned for me because of jokes. But we’re good.”

Marco Sison says “We have never performed in two years, it was a little hard to do concerts but the US opened up early, you can feel the excitement of the people. Even if it was cold in San Francisco, you can feel the love and support of the Filipinos. The first one was awesome and even our first few shows were sold out.”

Rey Valera says “Don’t get me wrong but people I know in the Philippines were all dying, I was asking myself if I’m gonna be next. I told the fans in the US to just enjoy the moment because they were lucky that they got the concert happen in their state. They say we are the most politically incorrect group of people and we don’t even talk about bashers. Our humor is different because we often talk about ourselves, we haven’t talked about the audience YET, but maybe if we don’t have anything to talk about we will lol.”

Pops says “I was really happy, music is powerful because it can give us a lot of joy, bring us back in time and some of them even cried. Through our songs, they remember moments, and see something live, it brings a lot of memories. We enjoyed because there are a lot of people, sometimes we forget that our songs affect people, plus the wonderful spiels of these innocent men. Thank you to Newport because when they knew we had shows in the US they got us there. It’s not easy to produce shows these days because people might be a little afraid to go out. Thank you to those who believe in us and different artists because it’s a challenging time, and I’m happy we have been successful, thank you to producers and people who believe in us. What we will be bringing in Manila is the same show but since this is home, we will put a lot extra in production. You need to see it because it’s a little bit of everything, it’s a surprise. This is going to be so fun I promise.”

Hadji says “After two years, this is a grand reunion of sorts, we were like barkadas catching up with stories. Cliche as it may sound, but with this group, you just build it and they would come. Our generation may come in wheel chairs and dextrose, but they will go to the venue and enjoy it. It’s a happy feeling to see them come because of the songs, and sometimes because of time constraints it’s a little tough to squeeze in all the songs because it’s a lot. But our top hits will be there, so you’ll have a good time with us there! We will have duets, quintets, a medley of love songs from the 70’s and 80’s, a little boring from Rey Valera but it’s good. We don’t have Rico J anymore but we got his spunk, it will be clean fun. I remember Rico had nuns and priests walk out but with mine, there won’t be anything like that.”

Tickets are sold at the venue or Ticketnet and SM Tickets. If you're raring to reminisce the good old times, the 4 Kings and Queen would want you to be there.

Fun and Gastronomic Adventures at Sheraton Manila

Sheraton Manila Ballroom

It's been a while since we've gone out and attend physical events, but this one was certainly for the books! I've been seeing Sheraton Manila at the front of Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3 for quite some time now, but I haven't been inside the hotel for some weird reason. The property is part of Marriot chain of hotels worldwide, and surely, this Sheraton Manila property was likened to their tagline, and aptly personifying "Where the World Comes Together". 

They prepared a Soiree party for invited guests, had us team up, part ways, to walk into different floors of the hotel to check the rooms and amenities. A program started and had us try hors d'oeuvres were sourced responsibly, prepared meticulously by the hotel's chefs. They also had us converge in a new facility they call "COLLAB" which is a modern industrial co-working space that could hold different events, meetings, gatherings, you name it, it can happen there. There's also a loft and pretty wide rooms you can divide so when there's something else you want to do in the same space, that takes care of it.

Sustainably sourced food in all their restaurants

To see more of the rooms, here's a video tour of Sheraton Manila. Hope you enjoy this bit!

And if you're in the mood for a gastronomic treat, S Kitchen's S Kollaborations is holding "12 Hands" as 6 Chefs James Antolin, Kiko Santiago, Carlos Aluning, Carlo Miguel, Kenneth Cacho and Brando Santos whip up their best international dishes just for this July. Honestly, S Kitchen is one of the best buffets in Manila and these guys make it look like it's easy. Lunch and Dinner costs Php 2,900 (Dinner is Sunday to Thursday) whilst on Fridays and Saturdays, it's a bit special so it'll be around Php 3,200 net. You're getting the work of 12 hands, that's a lot for one day. I'd recommend the steaks if you're a good eater, particularly the Korean Ribs which is so good in my books.

They are friends, and they've planned a great meal for you at S Kitchen's 12 Hands this July

Food selections at S Kitchen is top notch!

Sheraton Manila is located at 80 Andrews Avenue in Pasay City. They have access to NAIA 3 through a bridge so it's a perfect place to stay in before a flight. If you want to have a reservation, call (02) 7902 1800 and they can arrange everything for you. I'd also like to recommend the room with the jacuzzi, it's something dreamy during these rainy days.

I'd like to take this bit to thank the nice people of Sheraton Manila, I got to know what it looks like, had sumptuous food, and had fun during the soiree. Thank you!

RED VELVET, BGYO, BINI + More in an Advocacy Concert on July 22

Talent is not going to be shortchanged in the upcoming advocacy concert called Be You! The World Will Adjust (An Extraordinary Celebration For People With Special Needs). This will happen on July 22, 7PM which is a Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

This is organized by Purpose International Training Institute that does skill and educational training for people with special needs. This is a worthy cause and yes, your favorite KPOP and PPOP acts Red Velvet, BINI, BGYO, Lady Pipay and Aeron Mendoza will be there to provide entertainment and help raise funds for the organization that promotes inclusion and having a safe space for people with special needs. Imagine the amount of people this would be able to help especially now when we still are under a pandemic. This just feels so good for the soul, and I hope a lot of fans, people would be inspired and help our differently abled brothers and sisters who needs love and understanding above anything else.

If you want to purchase tickets,  pre-sale will start on May 28 and 29. You should get them early as I know it'll probably run out fast because of the performers that day. Don't say I didn't warn you!

See IKEA's Life at Home

What does your home look like? What do you think your home needs in order to make it better? How do you live your life at home?

As you know, IKEA is set to open its doors in Pasay City soon. But before that, IKEA wants to know these too so that they would be able to bring modern furniture design that could help Filipinos thrive at home. This helps them understand what we need so they made the effort to talk to several locals who will benefit with IKEA opening at the SM Mall of Asia grounds soon. It's why they had the Life at Home series launched in their official Facebook page recently.

They now know that eating and sleeping is pretty much cookie cutter but there are really stark differences when it comes to culture because we're very sentimental, and always have extended family at home. Your grandma for instance play a role in the lives of everyone in the family, which is not common for other EU or US households and they talked to Filipinos about it. 

Georg Platzer the Store Manager of IKEA Pasay City says "The four dimensions that help us define home are: the people we live with, the things we own, the amount of space we have and the place we live in. Home is a feeling. This fascination helps us to better understand people’s needs, dreams, and challenges, especially for the new markets we enter like the Philippines."

If you want to know more about how they did it, check out the videos here and their website. You would learn a lot how IKEA studies are conducted in the Philippines.

Sharon Cuneta’s Brother Chet Tries To Fly Pasay City

I have been oblivious of what is happening in Pasay City for the last few years. I had to google who the current Mayor is and honestly someone has to step up, a man from the Cuneta clan is running for Mayor and has been supported heavily by showbiz icon and megastar Ms. Sharon Cuneta.

Chet Cuneta introduced himself to us and he said “I am a pilot, been one for 33 years. Didn’t plan this but was urged by the President in Davao. I am married to Michelle and have 7 children. I am 57 years old and hopefully, be full time in serving the people of Pasay. I was in the private sector, didn’t push much in 1998 when I ran for councilor. My sister Sharon Cuneta, all the love and moral support, she gives me with no conditions. I am going to rehabilitate Pasay General Hospital, also Pasay Astrodome, and other structures. Being the 8th richest city in the country, Pasay can do it. Albeit having a lot of poor people, they need basic services. My friends who have retired, they happily fly but cry when they land, I want to make the best of my life by serving the people of Pasay. My Dad had 42 years of service to the country, I have seen the need to run the city properly. Health Care, Senior Citizens, Education, hopefully to build more hospitals because there is a need to do that. People here might not be able to live when they reach the hospital because it’s traffic. We need more for the other parts of the city, maybe 4 and rehabilitate the existing one. There is corruption, ghost employees in the past few years, we need to give jobs to people so they have dignity, ways to make their lives better. I want people to see the difference between us, we don’t want them to remove my tarps anymore because they pay people to do that. The reason some Barangay officials and city officials have been against me because they have been getting allowances.”

“I don’t want to play dirty politics, I want to be at par or push more projects like what my Dad has done for the city. I don’t want to tolerate any monkey business, I will audit these corrupt local officials, maybe do a lot of operations against drug offenders. I see how my Sister support and love me despite all these bad publicity against me, my tagline is “Bagong Umaga, Pasay Bangon Na!”. I do leadership by example, I can’t do this alone but it has to start with yourself, I hope they come and help me achieve this.”

“My Dad has been very helpful, I want to be as humble as he was, I want to be like him during his time, to be a strict one, a good example to them. I am strict by nature, to consider everything before flying, I check everything and make preparations before taking off. It will be a fair administration, I want them to love me like a father. Aside from basic services, I want the people of Pasay to have employment opportunities, to do training programs so they qualify businesses. There are places here that can have social housing, hopefully done in my term.”

“The incumbent Mayor met with a Chinese businessman and wanted part of it to be his for his own retirement. The man went to the President - it’s why it went to the national government, more businesses means more money for the city. If you are asking me if I am for or against it, I can do either, we have no land or places to develop here, but if in case the airport is going to Bulacan, I want to maybe perhaps do something more useful with the land because the national government owns it, and because Pasay has jurisdiction over it. I also want better or easier means of doing business here, maybe 3 days, hopefully one day if it happens. I have to study all the possibilities.”

With the ways things are going, Pasay City has a lot of options and voters should study who can make their lives better. I am in no way endorsing him because I don’t live there, he proudly pronounced how he would do a better job than the incumbent and want you to vote only if you want the change. This interview should give you an idea about him.

You choose them for their merits - I hope. I’d do the same in my city.

Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila

It was a great day to start a journey to the south, particularly in the Mall of Asia area where thousands of people flock for the mall, the entertainment, the conferences and just about anything under the sun. We stayed at the Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila. For those who don't know, they're the same people who put up Golden Phoenix in Boracay (the one in the Station 3 market) which I think I've stayed in a couple of years ago. They wanted to establish a base in Manila and this was the right venue. It's right in front of SM SEA Residences and a couple minutes walk to SM Mall of Asia. If you're having an event in SMX Convention Center or watching a concert in MOA Arena, this is the closest hotel you can get and it's really new. Not much know about it but as of this reading they've been 80-90% occupied which says a lot about this hotel. It's really nice and if I could tell you one thing to note about their rooms is that, it's really huge. So in a nutshell, it's location, the ambiance, the rooms is its selling point. They've got pretty decent food and really good service even if they're just starting. I bet this would be packed on holidays and when huge conferences happen. Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila is still finishing some of their restaurants, pool and other floors but from what I've seen so far, it is very promising.

Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila by kumagcow

The journey there was easy, although only a few people know the place they've got tons of establishments around them to actually be busy with. It's proximity to these places, plus some entertainment hubs like City of Dreams, Solaire and Mall of Asia make it a worthwhile place to be in. It's not noisy, you can see that everything's new and you get a pretty good room rate if you actually book early. 

The use of this 360° virtual tour of Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila in Pasay City is authorized by Traveloka.

I had fun inside my room and had filling breakfast buffet in the morning. You should definitely book a room in Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila real soon!

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