Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino: A Vision of Grandeur (Part 2)

The night started beautifully, as guests begin to flock the Lobby of the hotel. When you enter the cordoned Lobby, you will be greeted by hotel staff with refreshments - their finest red and white wine, champagne and of course there's non-alcoholic drinks for those who are non-drinkers. :) All through out the night, there is a string quartet that's playing beautiful music in the background.

 The hotel's chefs have prepared a wide array of hors d'oeuvres and desserts for the guests to enjoy, while mingling with other guests and appreciating the grander hotel lobby. People from the media, blogging community and the who's who of Cebu are there to witness the grand launching.

The variety includes, fried risotto balls, assortment of sushi, mini pork skewers, caprese skewers and crostinis. My favorite were the ones made with salmon and the deviled quail eggs. I think I ate a lot of it. It really tastes good with the red wine. The selection of desserts were also to die for. Personal favorite was the chocolate fountain and the many fruits and mini cakes that comes with it.

General Manager Mr Alfred Portenschlager gave the opening remarks of the night and also welcomed everybody to the event. I remembered him fondly from the time that we've arrived in the hotel. He personally welcomed us and assured us that we are going to have a wonderful time. A very genuinely nice person. And it was definitely and honor and a privilege to have met this man who makes sure that this hotel is in tip-top shape.

  
This is also a first time for me to witness a ribbon cutting, done in a very digital way. That was cool! The night progressed, with a fashion show from 6 of the best Philippine Designers - Jun Escario, Pretacio, Edwin Ao, OJ Hofer, Phillip Rodriguez and of course Cary Santiago. My runaway favorite is the Cary Santiago's dresses. They are to die for!

There was also a presentation wherein the showed the many changes that have happened and will happen to the hotel. And we were surprised to know that the famous fashion designer, Rajo Laurel, designed the hotel's new staff uniforms. Indeed it is very simple, functional yet very elegant.

The stay in Waterfront Cebu, although short and sweet was really a memorable one. It is indeed an exciting time for Waterfront as it journey through the changes for a bigger, better and grander hotel.

Congratulations!

Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino: A Vision of Grandeur (Part 1)

I was fortunate to tag along with Mac on this rare opportunity to go to Cebu for something else other than corporate work. Mac was invited for the Grand Launch of Waterfront's New Lobby, and he invited me.

Mac (Mac Centeno), is the in-house photographer of Ensogo Philippines, a Living Social Company. He and their company has tied up several times with Manila Pavillon for deals like buffets and hotel stays. And he has blogged about it as well. First time to be treated as a VIP, with an all-expense paid trip. Though overnight, the trip was something worth remembering and definitely one for the books.

Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino

This is my second time staying in Waterfront Hotel in Lahug. My first time was for work, during the Provincial Recruitment Program of Accenture, 5 years ago. Cebu was our last stop, after travelling from Davao and Cagayan De Oro. In Davao, I can also remember, staying in the Waterfront Insular Hotel, also a part of this hotel chain. My first stay, was a very good experience, so I was really excited to come back and experience the luxury that the hotel is really known for.

Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino

No one can miss the hotel, since it is an iconic part of the Cebu skyline already. The almost castle-like architecture from the view outside is superb, wait till you see the inside. They have already segregated entrances for the casino, the hotel main lobby and also the function rooms for better people traffic management.

Top view of the new lobby

The lobby ceiling has a very beautiful artwork painted on it. Really an eye catcher, and completes the total look of a world class hotel. There are also two installements on each side of the lobby that looks like a small bar, which houses beverages from wine, liquors, etc. The guests can actually wait and sit at the table and they can order food or drinks while waiting. For those who needs to be online, you can just ask for the wifi password the reception area. The Duty Free area is still closed for renovation at this point, so future guests can now anticipate how great that will look, since the changes have already begun in the hotel.

The ceiling with its artwork.

The bedrooms are still superb. Big windows wherein you can see Cebu City at a bird's eye view, bathroom amenities are complete and with a blow dryer (which actually was the clincher for me! :]), TV has cable, and finally, you hav free wifi in your room! Yes, you read right, free wifi in the room! :) Doesn't get better than that? They also have big and spacious function rooms, which you can actually utilize for conferences, parties, wedding receptions and even a concert! Yes, the hotel is also the home of shows for a lot of international music artists like Tears for Fears just to name one. I remembered the first time I was there for work, we've utilized several of their function rooms to serve as recruitment hubs when we were doing recruitment in Cebu before. It's massive, so it is the perfect venue for those events.

View from our room and our room

The hotel also boasts of one of the biggest and longest running casino in Cebu. Try your luck in the casino, and sit in one of the many slot machines. If you are hungry, the hotel houses restaurants from Italian to Asian cuisine, take your pick and enjoy eating as if you're in another country. The Lobby Lounge is also a part of the hotel where you can chill and order a drink or two.

So the next time you are in Cebu, make sure you drop by at Waterfront, or better yet, book a room and enjoy and experience all the luxurious and top of the line amenities and services that this premiere hotel has in store for you.

I'll be blogging about the Vision of Grandeur launch in my next post. Watch out for it.

Cebu Food Trip: Casa Verde

When I learned from Mac that we're going to Cebu, I immediately thought of where do we eat? Haha! Obviously, no question there. To say that I was excited is an understatement because the truth is I was ecstatic!

I started asking friends on recommendations on where to eat and what's new in Cebu. And boy, I tell you, the suggestions are endless. And I also subjected in researching on what's new in Cebu in the food scene. I was obsessed! :) But given that the stay that we're going to have is short and sweet, I would need to narrow down the foodie itinerary.

Ayala Terraces, Cebu

First stop, Casa Verde! Too bad we didn't go to the original branch in Ramos, since Mac is concerned that we might not make in time for the event back at the hotel since we're still going to get danggit in Tabo-an. And so, we went to Ayala Terraces.

Ayala Terraces, Cebu

I think this is my third time eating at Casa Verde, so I ordered one of their classic, Brian's Ribs. And it is still the same big, juicy slab of ribs that I was able to taste the first time, two years ago. Yum-oh! It hits the spot, especially for a very hungry tummy.

Brian's Ribs

Mac ordered the Dax Steak. Prime beef with shrimps on the side with a mayo on the side. Also, this is very good. Surf and Turf, Casa  Verde style. Hearty as well.

Dax Steak

This is why people rave and go back to Casa Verde in Cebu, the food and the experience of having to eat big portions with very reasonable prices. A good deal indeed! Everyone I know who's been in Cebu, definitely recommends this and when they go back here in Manila, they crave for it. Though there are a lot of restaurants that serve baby back ribs, Casa Verde's charm remains to be a very strong force in Cebu when it comes to food.

This is a must try for those of you who plans to go to Cebu, definitely good value for your money.

Fish and Chips? You need to try Chuck's Grub

I first saw this food stall on TV way back. Unfortunately, I can't remember what show, but it was part of the show as a feature. Looking at those yummy deep fried, beer battered goodness, I mean, who doesn't want anything deepfried and battered? Surely, I was hooked to watch! Haha! As far as I can remember, the first branch is in Power Plant Mall in Rockwell. So I was really surprised to see this as a new food stall in Trinoma's food court. I didn't think twice! I immediately lined up and got me and Mac the Dory to share.

The line can be pretty long and service slow (and confusing) for those at the counter. What I liked was the portion, because was actually big, so it was filling. Well, we ate it with a smoothie maybe, nonetheless my craving for something fried was satisfied! Price point is fairly reasonable, in my opinion.Verdict? I will come back for more. :)

Chuck's Grub
Rustan’s Supermarket, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell
Makati City
Tel. No. 671-1750
Open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

Chuck's Grub

2/F Trinoma Mall, Food Choices,

North Ave cor Mindanao Ave Sto. Cristo,

Quezon City

(02) 507-0005

The Journey to a Healthier Me

I'm on a roll! Hopefully this lasts and I get myself enough inspiration to write everyday and if not, atleast once a week. And with that, I am happy.

Romain lettuce with Adobo, Peach-Yakult Smoothie, Home made Siomai

I am happy that I am again, taking interest on the things that I love doing. Those are - reading, writing and cooking. Reading, takes a little more effort nowadays, because I fall asleep easily nowadays. Writing, emails are pretty easy. I eat emails for breakfast. Oh, wait, that doesn't count as writing. Well, pretty hard to write if I don't have something to write about. Cooking or making things in the kitchen is pretty much easy since I do it, almost everyday. Cooking for my lunch, making myself a smoothie for dinner or breakfast has become a habit, since I started to commit (well, I need to try harder) to eating healthy.



Wholewheat pasta with asparagus and bacon (top)
Rice topped with pork chops and steamed asparagus (bottom)

I love to surf the internet for the different varieties that I can make into a smoothie. Thanks to my handy dandy hand blender, this makes it very, very easy to whip up something for a quick snack. I need to incorporate more green veggies in my smoothies though to make it more yucky, I mean healthier. :) 

Smoothie made of frozen strawberries, grapes, pineapple with yogurt and arugula

Discipline is the key to eating healthy. I will pray for more of that.

Have a good week everyone!

Spanish Sardines Pizza

This weekend, though rainy and katamad, I was inspired and masipag to get down and dirty in the kitchen. To cook, bake and literally do the dishes. :) Before midnight today, I made a pizza. Yes, pizza. Mac really loved the Oreo Cheesecake Bars I made, and I was inspired to top that! Haha!

Yesterday, he was apparently craving for home made pizza and Spanish Sardines. Weird combination, but I thought it would work, just like anchovies, right? So we got the supplies needed. And these are what we bought and I got from our pantry/fridge:

Spanish Sardines Pizza
Ingredients:
Spanish Sardines
pack of kesong puti
black olives
mushrooms
baby arugula
frozen pizza dough (sorry, I still need to know how to do this from scratch)
tomato/spaghetti sauce

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, and you also need to thaw out the frozen pizza dough before you put on all the ingredients. Spread out the tomato/spaghetti sauce on the dough and lay out all the rest of the ingredients on the dough except for the baby arugula which I added after taking out the pizza in the oven.

I baked them for 20-25 minutes, constantly checking if its burning. :) I didn't put any condiments like salt and pepper, because the sardines' already seasoned, kesong puti is already salty and the red sauce is tart and sweet. It's just perfect.

It tastes good! Loved it! Mac loved it!

Making this, took me back to some very good childhood memories I have with homemade pizzas. When I was a kid, we used to make pizzas with left over pandesal and whatever deli we have in the freezer and then pop it in the turbo broiler until the cheese bubbles. Oh! How the pizza pandesals smelled good! Happy times!

This is perfect for me. Homey, rustic and (I hope) very gourmet. :)

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

It was a rainy weekend, and really all I could think of was to stay in and tuck myself in bed the whole day. But I would need to go to the office and get my laptop and have it configured. Okay, and so, fast forward to 1:30pm of a Saturday, got my laptop, watched a movie and then, yes, finally, went grocery shopping for supplies to satisfy some of my cravings the past week.

I was craving to do that cheescake thing I saw in Pinterest, the Oreo Cheesecake Bars, since Mac gave me a bag of those crushed Oreo cookies. Well he evidently (secretly) want me to make a cheesecake. :) I am happy to oblige, no problem with that, and I think I'm going to enjoy this. Got the supplies that I will not find in our pantry and fridge.

Bag of crushed Oreos, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Nestle Sour Cream

Started late last night in my baking. I have to admit, I was a little nervous making this from scratch. Because I am not a baker, I'm more of a cook. An experimental and spontaneous cook at that. Or I'm more of a foodie who wants to experiment. :)

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

23 tbsp of Oreo cookies (crushed)

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Cheesecake:

12 oz cream cheese at room temperature

6 tbsp sugar

6 tbsp sour cream at room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

12 tbsp Oreo cookies (crushed)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius

2. Line an 8x8 in pan with foil

3. Mix crush cookies and butter and spread across the bottom of the pan

4. Beat cheese for 2 minutes

5. Mix in sugar, sour cream, vanilla, salt, egg, egg yolk and crushed Oreo cookies.

6. Bake for 40 minutes

7. Cool for 1 hour at room temperature; then chill for 3 hours in the fridge.

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

The outcome was pretty cool. Though it didn't come up as picture perfect as the original recipe I adapted it from, I was pretty happy with it. The original recipe has a much thicker cheesecake compared to this. What I did was, I actually divided the mixture for the crust and the cheesecake, so it was a thinner bar. It turned out okay, and good for snacking according to my Mama, since cheesecake is kind of indulgent. Mac really loved it, dunked it in milk and he was in cheesecake heaven. And that in itself rates this endeavor as a success.

Adapted from this recipe - http://annies-eats.com/2010/05/21/oreo-cheesecake-bars/