Where Teas Are High and Wines Take Flight
posted on Friday, July 03, 2009
Where can your 300 Pesos take you?
A lot of places, actually. But I'm betting InterContinental Manila isn't included in your list.
Getting something worthwhile with your 300 Pesos in a luxurious hotel? Who knew, right? But yes, you can enjoy merienda fit for royalty or savor wine like a pro all for less than 500.
Rain was pouring crazy the afternoon we decided to hold a business meeting in Cafe Jeepney. A clear ceiling to floor glass wall was the only thing that separated us from the drenched and traffic-stricken street. You could only imagine how lucky we were to be on the other side of that wall, sitting comfortably in a well-conditioned room with warm tazas of freshly brewed salabat (ginger tea) cupped in each of our hands.
We could have just opted as usual for their international buffet, which I figured was recently tweaked and updated. But a striking promo was brought to our attention: Filipino High Tea. For P300 ++, a group of 3 to 4 people can already share a pot of tea (local or international) as well as a 3 tier merienda comprising of delicacies native to the Filipinos. The weather, cold and angsty, made the offer even more appealing.
We were offered quite a variety of teas, mostly imported, but we thought that bibingka, mangga't suman, and ensaymada rightly deserve the local salabat. Why call it Filipino High Tea if not that, anyway?
Because of its relatively low pricing, we expected meager servings but we were pleasantly surprised when the multi-leveled merienda tray arrived.
At the lowest tier was mangga't suman, the no-fail combination in the kakanin suborder of Philippine delicacies. There were about 4 thick pieces of cross-sectioned suman along with slices of bright ripe mangoes. There's latik on the side, completing the serving.
Next tier had 4 pieces of still steamy ensaymada, heftily blanketed by melted cheese.
Topping the trio was something I've been missing for months already -- bibingka. Since we're in between the last Christmas and the next, the good old classic bibingka is hard to find, lest you find the mall version suffice.
We ended up veering away from our supposed topic for several minutes when the four of us exchanged our positive musings about the merienda fare we were having. All that were served were very good and very at par with Cafe Jeepney's standards. On a final note, we concluded that this is a great bargain indeed especially for those who'd want cheap and fast meetings in an impressive place.
But this is only part one of the special promos InterCon is having. They also have their Wine Flights promo, a good find for those who'd want Wine 101 on a budget.
Those of us not belonging to the well-versed in the wine language may have many times found ourselves at loss on what to order from the expansive wine lists in restaurants. But a quick afternoon in the Gambrinus Bar should do the trick.
From 5 pm onwards, they are offering wine tasting and appreciation of three set of wines: white, red, and fusion.
White wine comprises of the Savignon Blancs: Villa Maria from New Zealand, Grant Burge Kraft from South Australia, and Veramonte Reserva from Chile. On the other hand, their Cabernet Sauvignon varieties originate from South Australia, California, and Chile.
You'd be asked to choose which set would you prefer. It's P300++ a set for both the whites and the reds and a slightly pricier P350++ for the perfect fusion wines. Once you've chosen which batch you'd like to try, they'll be bringing you a sampling of each of the three wines, all at once in a metal hanger, hence the "flight."
I personally picked the Perfect Fusion sampler which includes Kaesler Stornhorse GSM, ST. Hallett, and d'Arenberg as choices. I ended up liking the Kaesler which true to its description was soft and has that hint flavor of a dark chocolate.
Info cards are made available to further help you with your wine choice and the wine language. Once you've chosen the wine that suits you, you can then proceed on getting a full glass at the same price.
What a good wine is for you may not be good for what the other person thinks. Wine is a matter of personal taste and in search of the perfect wine, only what your tastebuds says matter. Try and taste the different varieties at Gambrinus to see what tickles your fancy.
Be it for the wine or the tea, there's no denying that sparing less than 500 pesos for each is a great bargain considering it's in a premiere hotel like InterCon. Meeting on a budget? Now you know where to go.
A lot of places, actually. But I'm betting InterContinental Manila isn't included in your list.
Getting something worthwhile with your 300 Pesos in a luxurious hotel? Who knew, right? But yes, you can enjoy merienda fit for royalty or savor wine like a pro all for less than 500.
Rain was pouring crazy the afternoon we decided to hold a business meeting in Cafe Jeepney. A clear ceiling to floor glass wall was the only thing that separated us from the drenched and traffic-stricken street. You could only imagine how lucky we were to be on the other side of that wall, sitting comfortably in a well-conditioned room with warm tazas of freshly brewed salabat (ginger tea) cupped in each of our hands.
We could have just opted as usual for their international buffet, which I figured was recently tweaked and updated. But a striking promo was brought to our attention: Filipino High Tea. For P300 ++, a group of 3 to 4 people can already share a pot of tea (local or international) as well as a 3 tier merienda comprising of delicacies native to the Filipinos. The weather, cold and angsty, made the offer even more appealing.
We were offered quite a variety of teas, mostly imported, but we thought that bibingka, mangga't suman, and ensaymada rightly deserve the local salabat. Why call it Filipino High Tea if not that, anyway?
Because of its relatively low pricing, we expected meager servings but we were pleasantly surprised when the multi-leveled merienda tray arrived.
At the lowest tier was mangga't suman, the no-fail combination in the kakanin suborder of Philippine delicacies. There were about 4 thick pieces of cross-sectioned suman along with slices of bright ripe mangoes. There's latik on the side, completing the serving.
Next tier had 4 pieces of still steamy ensaymada, heftily blanketed by melted cheese.
Topping the trio was something I've been missing for months already -- bibingka. Since we're in between the last Christmas and the next, the good old classic bibingka is hard to find, lest you find the mall version suffice.
We ended up veering away from our supposed topic for several minutes when the four of us exchanged our positive musings about the merienda fare we were having. All that were served were very good and very at par with Cafe Jeepney's standards. On a final note, we concluded that this is a great bargain indeed especially for those who'd want cheap and fast meetings in an impressive place.
But this is only part one of the special promos InterCon is having. They also have their Wine Flights promo, a good find for those who'd want Wine 101 on a budget.
Those of us not belonging to the well-versed in the wine language may have many times found ourselves at loss on what to order from the expansive wine lists in restaurants. But a quick afternoon in the Gambrinus Bar should do the trick.
From 5 pm onwards, they are offering wine tasting and appreciation of three set of wines: white, red, and fusion.
White wine comprises of the Savignon Blancs: Villa Maria from New Zealand, Grant Burge Kraft from South Australia, and Veramonte Reserva from Chile. On the other hand, their Cabernet Sauvignon varieties originate from South Australia, California, and Chile.
You'd be asked to choose which set would you prefer. It's P300++ a set for both the whites and the reds and a slightly pricier P350++ for the perfect fusion wines. Once you've chosen which batch you'd like to try, they'll be bringing you a sampling of each of the three wines, all at once in a metal hanger, hence the "flight."
I personally picked the Perfect Fusion sampler which includes Kaesler Stornhorse GSM, ST. Hallett, and d'Arenberg as choices. I ended up liking the Kaesler which true to its description was soft and has that hint flavor of a dark chocolate.
Info cards are made available to further help you with your wine choice and the wine language. Once you've chosen the wine that suits you, you can then proceed on getting a full glass at the same price.
What a good wine is for you may not be good for what the other person thinks. Wine is a matter of personal taste and in search of the perfect wine, only what your tastebuds says matter. Try and taste the different varieties at Gambrinus to see what tickles your fancy.
Be it for the wine or the tea, there's no denying that sparing less than 500 pesos for each is a great bargain considering it's in a premiere hotel like InterCon. Meeting on a budget? Now you know where to go.
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