Art De Noel and New Year Shindig at Sofitel Manila

Christmas at Sofitel Manila certainly is an event to experience. With their upcoming Art De Noel 2023, the management, staff and guests of the hotel will be able to help once again the Virlanie Foundation. The organization helps disadvantaged children and families in the Philippines for years now and Sofitel Manila has been a constant partner in making sure their mission stays accomplished every year. The decor in the hotel has changed quite a lot over the years, and this year, they've got a few trains on display right at the entrance and floating right beside the huge Christmas Tree displayed at the center of Spiral, one of the world's best buffet. 

This year, they want to also put importance on reuniting families. Aside from that, they're yearly New Year celebrations will be held at the Sofitel Grand Ballroom and Harbor Garden Tent, with an event called SHINDIG, showcasing dance across eras, with some of the brightest stars of the 80's, 90's, 2000's and the present. Let's just say it involves Juan Miguel Salvador (who played the 80's hits so good that evening!), DJ Tom Taus, Joshua Zamora and Jon Supan, The InnerVoices, and your boy Darren Espanto headlining the show. Tickets will be available starting November 30 so if you've got plans to celebrate New Year's eve without the fuzz, this might be your best bet. They also have an early bird rate, so go call +632-85735557 for it. 

Here's a glimpse of what will happen at Sofitel Manila, I'm telling you, it's super fun! I had the urge of dancing even with strangers during the launch a few days ago.

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As you can see, Sofitel Manila's SPIRAL, LE BAR and Cocos will also be serving food during these dates. Reserve a table through their website, social channels or their number posted above. Take a bite of the Holiday Logs, Cheese, Foie Gras, seafood, pasta on the cheese wheel, and tons of desserts. They will also have a fireworks display, Art de Noel Light Show, good rates for stay, the Sofitel Bears (to help Virlanie Foundation too!), live music entertainment while you dine the best food at SPIRAL.

We got to experience part of that last week, and I'm sure the actual dates will be even bigger. You definitely shouldn't miss this, only at Sofitel Manila!

Spiral Re-Opens Doors this October

The pandemic has brought upon tremendous pressure in establishments especially the hospitality industry in Manila. Tourists have stopped coming in because of health restrictions which is understandable. At this time, even at limited capacity, all health protocols should be in place and I'm glad to hear Sofitel is opening the iconic Spiral again. 

Accor, the world leading hotel group which Sofital Manila belongs to has launched the ALLSAFE Cleanliness and Prevention Label. It is a signature set of global cleanliness and prevention criteria developed with and vetted by Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspections, and certification. This has also been integrated with national and local government guidelines, all in all to make you safe. 

Dining in on Spiral will be a little different. Seating capacity is currently limited and there will be one-meter spacing between guests. Transparent dividers are installed in reception desks and culinary ateliers. The private dining rooms are available for more exclusivity. Staff, chefs and  reception are equipped with safety gears, face shields and masks. Floors have signs for demarcation and a one way route. Each single plate will be served by the chefs from their respective ateliers putting in a one-dish-per-plate policy to prevent cross-contamination. 

For those with special orders or arrangements,  order numbers will be provided for guests to claim later on.  Beverage orders will be done via QR code on each table too. They currently have contactless payment in place including GCash, Alipay, WeChat Pay, and GrabPay too. This is in accordance with government protocols. Guests below the age of 21 years old and above 60 years old though are not permitted to dine in on any restaurant during General Community Quarantine (GCQ) which is still in place in Metro Manila. 

Spiral is starting this arrangement during the first three weekends of October. Please do reserve on Thursday dinner, Friday lunch and dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner, and Sunday brunch. Their rates are set at Php 2,850 for lunch, Php 3,500 for dinner and Php 4,350 for brunch. Call them at (+632) 8832-6988 or email H6308-FB12@sofitel.com.

Are you hungry? I am, but I'm glad to see Spiral is open with these protocols in place. 

That's reassuring!

Sofitel Wants You to Experience "Tout a la Français"

Just got off the afternoon press conference of Sofitel as they celebrate French Month with their theme "Tout a la Français" or "Everything French" this July. They have invited French Master Chef Patrick Terrien to hold classes of Traditional French Cuisine from July 17-23 including an experience of the Chef's Table and the firing up of the French Stove on the said dates. He will also be doing wine pairing sessions, so if you're interested contact Sofitel Manila via 551-5555 or email them at h6308-fb12@sofitel.com. You can also do it via www.sofitelmanila.com.

Multicolor Sea Bream, Fennel Panna Cotta and Beet Root.

They will also feature French wines on Sunday brunch like the Cotes du Rhone on July 23 and my favorite Burgundy on July 30. So don't hesitate to grab a bottle while you're there. 

Greek vegetable, Coriander and Lemon Confit. 

F&B Manager and Sommelier Tanguy Gras will also have wine pairing classes at 4PM on July 29 so if you haven't experienced that yet, go and book one because it's all worth it. Slots run out fast and only costs Php 2,000++ so get them early. The Bienvenue en Provence Barbecue Wine dinner on the other hand happens on the 28th so if you prefer it in the evening, that is better!

Salmon Paupiettes, Champagne Sauce and Oyster Mushrooms. 

Pork Fillet, Brocolli Puree, Glazed Carrots and Poivrade Sauce. 

Red Snapper Fillet Basquaise with Bordelaise Sauce.

Spring Lamb Shank Navarin. 

Oxtail Beef Parmentier.

Eggplants Duck Terrine, Mushroom Fooe Gras and Walnut Oil.

They've got tons of wines on display, you need not worry if you can't find a bottle because they almost have everything!

I loved all the things I ate in Spiral and the Wine Appreciation sessions I had in the past, I assure you they're some of the best people to talk to for "Everything French" because they are French with a Filipino touch. Come visit them today at Sofitel Manila and enjoy it like I did by calling 551-5555 so you could reserve a table, a private room for your friends and family. Nothing beats the Best Buffet in the Philippines.  

Experiencing The World at Sofitel Manila

Sofitel has always taken the norm of fine dining into new heights every time. Case in point is the last time I was there for Flavors of the World: Wonderful Indonesia. This is a series of specials that they are doing in a span of a few months featuring dishes from different countries around the world every month. And if you say authentic, they get the Ambassador of Indonesia to actually grace the occassion. They even had a lady from the tourism board to perform for us that afternoon some really special Indonesian cultural dance.

Part of the things they served that afternoon were Gado Gado, an extravagant salad with raw vegetables and crunchy krupuk (like our local Kropek) on top.

They also had us try Cendol which is the Indonesian traditional dessert which can be also likened to our Halo Halo except that they mostly use a seaweed or rice based jelly with Pandan flavor and coconut milk.

Sofitel will be dedicating a portion of their ateliers every month to a specific country so they could showcase the dishes and make you want to travel around the world without leaving SPIRAL, Sofitel Manila's premier buffet restaurant. 

This coming month, they will be featuring Amazing Thailand and will do the same for the dining ateliers. Mind you they have 21 in the property so if you are looking for something else, Spiral is the best place to start because it's the best there is in the Philippines. You can quote me on that. Visit http://sofitelmanila.com/ if you want to know more about Flavors of the World and reserve for you and your friends a seat at Spiral today!

Sofitel Manila Says "C'est Trop Bon" This French Month

This month at Sofitel Manila sparks another reason to celebrate Bastille Day, the French National Day done every July 14. It's celebrated around the world too and since Sofitel Manila boasts of French charm with the Filipino service, they're going to make you feel the love the whole month by doing "C'est Trop Bon" (which literally means It's So Good) bring the best cheeses around the world (Oh yes around 220+), wines, plus the various French staples into the world class Spiral buffet restaurant this month. 

Autour de Fromage (Around Cheese!)

Sofitel is hooking you up with Cheese experts too by letting you experience advanced appreciation of cheese with Colin Chandaras. He's going to get you learn a little more about this lovely dairy product at Spiral's L'Epicerie during lunch and dinner from July 6-10, 2016.

During the press conference, they had us learn more about 200+ cheeses which this man brought from France in a suitcase. It smelled so good in the room, it was heavenly!

I'll let you appreciate the cheese more by having you see these all on photos! Enjoy!

On the far left, that's Ossau Iraty AOC. From two regions in France, it's nutty, delicious and robust.

There are tons more like the Thym Tamarre, Bleu de Gex, Pelardon, Maroilles, Tomme Corse, Valencay (the lovely moldy one), Rouleau de Provence, Morbier Bichonne, Brillat Savarin, Fourmette croix de Chazelle and Nenuphar (the one with lots of herbs!).

Now I thought this was cheese, but apparently it's butter and those things are not mold but herbs and spices mixed in with pure butter. It was pretty good!

Sofitel's very own chef's whipped up a Cheese Fondue using a really great bottle of wine and used 2 types of cheeses just for this contraption. I loved how fast they did it, I told them how you're supposed to keep the bread on the fork otherwise you're going to kiss the person on your right. They were creeped out hahah!

Spiral French Month Specials

Aside from the lovely cheese, you've got a lot of French staples to be served in Spiral. On Bastille Day, the rate will be only Php 2,100++ for lunch, Php 2,750++ for dinner. Make sure you ask them here for reservations or inquiries.

Oh yes, you're not seeing things. These are French Macarons now included in the dessert buffet in Spiral.

They even had us sample some cute Eclairs, really good!

This one is called Tartiflette. It's a dish commonly made in the Savoy region. It's made of Potatos, tons of cheese, lardo and onions.

If there's cheese, there's bout to be pizza right? This one has anchovies, olives, some nutty leaves on top. It's a mix of different intensities of salty, and savory. Then placed on a crunchy crust, it was really good.

You can't call it a French spread without including Escargot. They've got herbs done in the sauce then placed on the snail shells. I was a little hesitant to try it at first, but it was really good.

You might think this is just chicken, but it's the sauce that makes it special. They used Foie Gras and melted it in a velvety cream sauce. Chicken with Foie Gras Sauce is made of dreams.

This is Duck Confit with Lentils. Crispy skin and soft meat, plus the lentils that have been boiled for quite some time it kinda melts together. Really good.

Petit Pois A Ala Francaise (A small pot of France) is a pot of green peas, onions and lettuce. This is poached in butter, crème fraiche and stock. This is a classic vegetable dish found mostly anywhere in France.

Beef Tartare is raw beef, mixed in with onions, capers, spices, herbs, some home made mayo on top too. I love this!

Come celebrate French month at Sofitel Manila and do what the French do. Tons of cheese, lovely buffet spread, one of the best in the world! I broke my standards of buffets after I experienced Spiral and you should experience that too. For more details about their offers, check out their channels below!

For more information about Spiral:

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http://www.sofitelmanila.com/