The Happy Lab - miss-match finds and more...

Ordre Mondial Yurakuen Kaiseki

Written by Jay on May 20, 2013

Last May 7, 2013, the Ordre Mondial had its annual BYOB Kaiseki dinner at Yurakuen in the Manila Diamond Hotel, this being the second time it was held at this venue.

Yurakuen is one of the more stunning Japanese restaurants with a huge metal cherry tree in the center of the restaurant and four smaller trees along the edges. The leaves of these trees are made of glass recycled from old Coca-Cola bottles adding to the magical setting.

Yurakuen Main Dining Room

Restaurant Interior. The cherry tree leaves are made of glass from discarded Coke bottles

The restaurant has a fine reputation among Japanese food aficionados and with one of our members recently taking over as Food and Beverage Head of the hotel plus a chef who specializes in Kaiseki, it was an easy decision to return to Yurakuen.

Brasserie CiÇou Dinner

Written by Jay on May 15, 2013

With barely a month to go before the expiration of a couple of Gift Certificates for Brasserie CiÇou, Jocel and I decided to do date night last Saturday as the kids all had friends over at the house for dinner.

Although I’ve written about Brasserie CiÇou before, it’s always worthwhile to revisit what on offer there as there are always changing weekly and monthly specials. We’re pretty familiar with the regular menu so this time we decided to focus on the specials on offer.

As there were only two of us, a bottle of champagne, my favorite wine and Jocel’s second choice after Riesling, would be enough for us. This time I chose a Gremillet Cuvée Rose 2007. This was a pretty lively bottle as the cork just shot out on its own after the wire cage was removed. Luckily, no one was hurt and aside from maybe half a glass of champagne shooting out, no harm done. This has a fairly deep color and medium weight. It’s quite dry but has a lot of strawberry, raspberry and red cherry flavor. Not a complex wine, but pretty and makes a fine drink.

Champagne Gremillet Cuvee Rosé 2007

At Sala with Keiichi

Written by Jay on May 13, 2013

With Keiichi back in town for some R & R and with Jojo leaving for Vancouver the next day, we agreed to meet up for dinner at Sala to welcome Keiichi and bid goodbye to Jojo. With many in the group away for summer vacation, only 6 of us made it to dinner. We were happy to note, however, that Aaron, whom we had not seen in quite some time, was able to join us.

Smoked Salmon on Toast

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Written by Pierra on May 10, 2013

Like many kids, I remember presenting my mom with a booklet of handmade coupons one Mother’s Day. Of course, the coupons were for silly things like free hugs or regular chores I was assigned to anyway, but the point was that she could redeem them at any time without me putting up a fight (about the chores, not the hugs). It was my way of honoring mom, letting her know that I appreciated all her hard work and concern, and giving her a break in turn. I knew she was thrilled, because it went into the filing cabinet where she stored all our “cute” drawings and awkward offerings (now known as the filing cabinet of shame).

As I grew older, Mother’s Day gifts got trickier and trickier—I mean, how do we find the perfect present to express our love and gratitude for the superwomen in our lives? The truth is, we can’t. Cheesy as it sounds, the best gift we can give mom is to honor her everyday. Of course, most of us fail miserably, hence the holiday dedicated to underappreciated mothers everywhere. If grand gestures (a Carribean cruise! Backstage passes to a Julio Iglesias concert!) are out of the question, here are some simple Mother’s Day gift ideas to get the message across. And if your mom is anything like mine, it really won’t matter what’s inside the wrapping—it’s what you write on the card that she’ll treasure the most.

Flowers Who doesn’t love receiving flowers? Send mum a bouquet of her favorite blooms. If you’re in the Greenhills area, check out the inspired arrangements at the new flower source Verde Flowers and Events Inc. along Missouri St. right across Greenhills Promenade. It’s wedged between PS Bank and Wine Depot, next to the Northeast Greenhills village gate. For inquiries, call (2) 5702971.

Say I love you with flowers! (Photo courtesy of Verde Flowers & Events Inc.)

Greeka Kouzina

Written by Jay on May 8, 2013

If you want Greek food in Manila, pretty much the only place to get it is Cyma or Café Mediterranean, both of which can be found in the malls. There used to be a Greek place called Mati in Rockwell but that closed down several years ago.

A couple of months back, rumors started circulating of a Greek restaurant on P. Guevarra St. in San Juan which served some pretty good food. Although I’ve been meaning to check it out, I never got the chance until last week.

Greek Caesar Salad

Prince Albert

Written by Jay on May 6, 2013

With Jocel just back home from back-to-back trips the last two weeks, I thought it was appropriate to celebrate her coming home with a special dinner for the family. Fortunately, a couple of months back, Deal Grocer came out with an offer for a substantial discount on the famous prime rib at the Intercon’s flagship outlet, Prince Albert. Recognizing a good deal, we loaded up on this offer so we could dine in style (and on the cheap) every now and then.

Pack This!

Written by Pierra on May 3, 2013

Some people hate packing for trips; I totally relish it! Weeks before, I’m already mixing and matching outfits in my head, marking each day in my print-out itinerary with crude outfit doodles, and slowly filling up my suitcase in the days leading up to the trip. The long-drawn out ritual of packing gets me giddy with excitement, because it’s the prelude to yet another adventure!

Of course, pretty travel essentials make the act of packing even more fun.

Inagiku Kaiseki

Written by Jay on May 1, 2013

The International Wine and Food Society (IWFS) Philippines Branch rarely does Japanese dinners so I was particularly interested in joining this Kaiseki dinner; the last one being about two years ago. This dinner was to take place at Inagiku in the Shangri-La Hotel Makati.

As explained by restaurant manager Ishikawa-san, Kaiseki is the formal Japanese banquet consisting of many small dishes. The food is organized not according to ingredients as in a Western meal (appetizer, seafood, meat, dessert) but rather according to method of cooking. There might therefore be a raw dish (sushi, sashimi), a dish in vinegar (sunomono), a fried dish (tempura), a boiled dish, etc. At the end there is always rice and pickles as it is actually the rice that makes it a meal. Otherwise it would be more like a series of little snacks. Care is also taken to use ingredients that are typical for the season.

Spiral

Written by Jay on April 29, 2013

The first time we went to the Sofitel’s newly renovated Spiral after it was submerged in a storm almost three years ago, I had to restrain myself from indulging too eagerly as I was there for a formal dinner and it would have been unseemly. We did get to talk to some of the staff who were there when the water came in and they said they were taken completely by surprise. It wasn’t a slow creep of water but rather one moment everything was normal and in a few seconds they were underwater. From the penthouse of the hotel, you can see where the seawall broke and where the water rushed in.

When they reworked the restaurant, they weren’t going to take any chances. $11 Million was spent to put in an elaborate system of pumps and pipes to keep the water out as well as some early warning systems so they won’t get caught by surprise. Despite the huge amount spent on engineering, that’s really just insurance for the incredible restaurant they put back in.

Spiral

Grace Park

Written by Jay on April 26, 2013

No, not that Grace Park.

Grace Park

Not that one either.

Grace Park Caloocan

It’s the latest baby of Margarita Fores of Cibo fame and, despite the less than chic location the name implies, it’s located at the very chi-chi One Rockwell in Makati. Apparently the name recalls memories of fine meals at the Fores home in Grace Park, Caloocan.