It was an awesome time to spend an afternoon with great friends... and twas time make new ones too.
An intimate luncheon was in session and I couldn't be more ecstatic to find out that it was going to happen at THE PENTHOUSE of Hotel Rembrandt. You see, this part of Quezon City is my hood. I've lived and breathed here all my life. Hotel Rembrandt used to be that sore thumb that naysayers said was crazy to actually been have put up in a residential district, but look at them now! Years after, they've been well received by the public, plus business travelers who want to be somewhere near the TV stations, fabulous restaurants of Tomas Morato and the multitude entertainment and businesses along Timog Avenue. This place held a lot of promise back then and in a way... they saw that coming. This place must have really smart owners.
Anyway, our business was to actually experience their Gin Bar which was located in the hotel's top floor hence the name of the place.
THE PENTHOUSE is first and foremost a real deal Gin Bar which means you'll get specialty mixes and concoctions made of that. Since we were in the mood for good drinks, we had them prepare everything on the bar menu. The gin concoctions were quite good, it was spiced right, had different flavors which they design perfect for the season. Aside from the signature ones on the menu, they always prepare a Drink of the Month so you've got something to look forward to if you're planning to frequent this place. I wouldn't be surprised if you do.
While waiting for everything to be prepared, we were served canisters of Cashew nuts. Judging from the way it looks, it ain't the usual ones that are roasted or mixed with Garlic. This is their Sambal Chili Cashew Nuts, it's got that zing you would expect from those Malay/Singaporean Sambal Chili dishes that I also love. That's pretty good, don't tell them I almost ate half of this container ah?!
My friends and I each had one glass, except for one because he doesn't drink (Hi Rodel! LOL). These glasses fell off of the table (or probably disappeared after a few minutes) because they used real spices, berries and even real cinnamon barks that further enhanced the notes of the drinks they concocted. If you're a little too tired to design your own drink (oh yes they can do that for Php 230), go for the Penthouse or the Manila (which were my favorites). I would love to have some more but that probably asks for another visit. We prepared ourselves for a sumptuous feast, a 13 course meal (15 if you count the three desserts we had! LOL) so let's see!
The Freshly Baked Rosemary Scones was unbelievable. Instead of the usual jam and butter combo, it was served with a small jar of honey which you can put on the nice biscuits with cinnamon sticks. I was trying so hard to actually not eat too much of it because I've seen the menu first hand, but the Rosemary scent in each bit proved to be weakening, my knees folded and I began pitying myself as I started seconds. I was preparing myself for the other dishes. Then they came!
This appetizer is called Deep Fried Anchovies. It's served with a couple pieces of green chili that's probably got a Scoville heat index of zero. It had that flavor, plus those salty anchovies fried to perfection like tempura. I could have sworn they used a lighter beer batter with it. They also dipped it with it in a garlic aioli, my mouth was watering just like you.
For starters, we had this bowl of hearty Cream Root Vegetable Soup. As the name suggests, they used root crops as the base for it. They added peanuts so it would have a different texture in every spoonful. Pretty good.
This is the Roasted Carrot Salad. To tell you the truth, this is one of my most hated vegetable right after bitter gourd but surprisingly I ate it all. It's got slivers of oranges, roasted carrots (it made it sweet) plus a puree underneath. They also used a citrus based dressing for this one to counteract with the sweetness of the carrots. They also added cheese so you get that little bits of saltiness from it. It's a miracle for me.
This is their Vannamei Shrimp Roll. It's sweet and toasty, but lovely and savory on the inside. This would be dreamy for those who love shrimps. It reminds me so much of Banh Mi sans the liver spread. The bread is special too as it is made of tapioca flour/potato flour. It's got it's own sweetness on the bread alone.
This is their Seafood Pasta. It's got the lovely clams, mussels, shrimps and all the goodness of the sea. The lemon crumbs on top provide a bit of citrus on the plate making it cut through that thick seafood sauce it's enveloped in. You get this fresh with miniature greens and cherry tomatoes, my Mom would love this for sure.
This is Braised Pork Cheek Gyoza. Now really, I thought this wouldn't work, but man I was wrong. It's like your lovely Japanese Gyozas but filled with your favorite Filipino Sisig sans the tons of onions. They laid on on a bed of pureed red cabbage and swirls of balsamic vinegar. It was not guilt free, but worth every bite.
I have to say I liked their Pan Seared Salmon. I don't often eat salmon but this was good. It's seared both sides, prolly put inside the oven and cooked further. They also laid it on a bed of cream risotto and a bit of micro greens. It was meaty, sweet from the light citrus sauce and a tad peppery from those small greens. I liked this and finished the plate in no time.
This is their Squid Heads. It's a good use of fresh seafood and
squid heads set on a squid ink sauce and a lot of heart warming gnocci
which was boiled and prolly cooked in butter. This is comfort food, the
kind that you fix in a bowl and curl up with a book while watching the
rain pitter patter on the window while the monsoon passes by. Okay my
mind floated there for a minute, but you get the gist right?
What you're seeing here is their Duck Duo Pan Seared Duck. This one was impressive as it wasn't gamey at all. I do shy away from the local ones because often times, they do not really raise them well. They actually use imported proteins in this hotel so that includes this one. You get what you pay for and for me, this was excellently prepared by the Chef. I think that's Spatzle if I'm not mistaken.
This is their 8 Hour Braised Lamb Shank. Again, they had this imported. The lovely mirepoix is a combination of staple vegetables from springtime in Europe. They do that and put a huge chunk of lamb on top, cooked that long to give you that super tender shank they prepared just for you. Quite good.
My friends and I were talking about the plating when each of the dishes arrived. This is the Leek Ashed Wagyu Strip Loin. Just mention anything Wagyu and I'm there LOL. Well it's not just the tender piece of meat who's the star here but the Roasted Beet Root too. It was sweet and so good that you wouldn't think it was that when you see it. They also had a beet root puree with it which functioned as part of the sauce while they had a separate gravy in another container. I like the fleur de sel which the Chef put on top of the steak slices. It was perfectly seared, medium, like heaven in my mouth. Oh wait! There's dessert!
For dessert, we had a trio of Tart Au Chocolate, Berry Pavlova and Caramelized Bananas. Nothing was overly sweet, I like that they had options with real fruits on desserts because I prefer it that way.
At the helm of Hotel Rembrandt's restaurants is Chef Chester Delos Reyes. He's donned various restaurants here and abroad including Michelin starred ones. He also trained and did further studies in Vancouver, Canada. We talked to the young Chef in the sidelines, he just got married and stayed in the Philippines because LOVE conquers all!
Listen in:
THE PENTHOUSE at Hotel Rembrandt can hold small parties and functions (could sit around 50), just call ahead of time. They also accept walk ins, they're open business hours so don't hesitate to do that as well for lunch or dinner. The place is cozy, would be perfect for short meetings, even dinner dates or afternoon breaks. Whoever said Gin bars of this stature are not accessible should definitely try and give them a visit. They're not overly pricey, the ambiance is good and the service is great. If you don't want that to happen to your day, you must be crazy. Plus, again, the good food.
For those who don't know, the hotel is under the Art Stream Hospitality Management Group. This is a company that also manages Vitalis Villas in La Union and the gorgeous Le Monet in Baguio and the majestic Hotel Luna in Vigan. So it looks like this chain of hotels are named after famous artists, doesn't that just make you want to stay in the hotels even more? That and the food of course. There's a lot of other things to discover while in Hotel Rembrandt in Quezon City, the discoveries doesn't end there!
If you like what you've seen in this article, do the right thing and pay them a visit at their official website www.hotelrembrandt.com.ph or call them at +6323733333 for reservations or inquiries. The hotel is located at Tomas Morato Extension in Quezon City (very near ABSCBN). Cheers!
I arrived in B Hotel in Rallos Street Quezon City late afternoon. I covered events from morning til 2PM then went back to this hotel for refuge. I've been a little under stress, tons of things to write, places to go to but so little time. I'm too tired, that I couldn't really write when I'm at home. So this was something that I needed to say the least, a little peace and quiet, a little home away from home. It's too close actually that I could walk here. It's also near the Tomas Morato district so in case I need to find shops, restaurants and other establishments, I could walk there too.
Checking in was easy. They didn't need to fuzz about anything because I brought proper identification. I also brought a few things with me since this is a working trip so they offered to bring my things upstairs, but I was on wheels so I didn't bother. After getting my key cards, I went up to my room and was quite surprised with it. I didn't know I'd have something this nice near my place, if I only knew I would have been doing this on a regular basis.
The Superior Room
I admit, it was a little bit weird to actually see the sink outside the bath room. With a little research, they've been doing this in the 60's and 70's as an upscale bathroom feature. That's when I figured that the design aesthetic wasn't really just purely "industrial" but more "vintage" too.
They've got ample amount of storage. The closet also has in room safe so you keep your valuables in tact. They provide the usual toiletries, more than enough towels plus shower gels and shampoo. They have a pool on the 5th Floor and they provide the beach towels if you want to swim. Just ask the friendly pool guy about things you need and they'll get it for you.
I was alone in the room and I like what they did to this toilet and bath. I can imagine doing business here (while really doing business on the phone) while watching TV. They also saved space by using one smoked glass door for the shower and since the sink wasn't there, it was roomy for a big guy like me.
The bed was firm, and I think they have optional 2 beds rather than a King sized one which I had in the room I love how I could roll around it and still remain safe when I sleep. Nobody got hurt ha-ha!
There's a flat screen TV, a small desk to work on with ample amount of lighting, the usual snack bar on the side and small accents on the wall.
You can roll up the blinds and see outside. Rallos Street is part of the residential area of Barangay Laging Handa so you're only going to see roofs of neighbors and other buildings in the Timog Avenue area. Timog is also one street away so if you're planning to go out you can definitely walk there.
The selection on the snack bar was quite extensive. I got a lot because I was a little too lazy to get up and buy things from convenience stores nearby. They also have drinks, beers, juices on the personal fridge.
I think they can fit around 4 people in this room, but I'd suggest to keep it for 2 so it would still be a bit roomy.
I've had looooong hot and cold showers in this place, so I could say it's really good. Aside from that, you could see the towel racks are fancy.
Here's a video of my room and some of the other rooms that they offer. The also have a grand ballroom, a lot of meeting rooms, the Mezzanine Bar, the Lobby Cafe. Enjoy this tour!
The Food
They serve mostly Filipino food but there are regular hotel staples here and there. I had dinner with my friends during the first day at The Lobby Cafe. We also had a couple of drinks before we called it a night. The buffet breakfast was super nice thanks to the "taho" moment I had which was really good. Plus they're launching a new steak restaurant named "Johnny's Steak House" which will open very soon! The rib eye kept me dreaming a few days after but I'm sure I'll be back in B Hotel very soon. In the mean time let's enjoy these dishes!
These are just some of the nicest cakes I've had in the area. This is available at the cafe of B Hotel. I bet I could work here on off days, they also have really good very popular Ensaymada so make sure you order some if you're in the area. I took some home and had to try so hard to save some for other days. I had three in one sitting, no joke. They also have iced or hot coffee, barely into the day I had to have one because it's so good with the Ensaymada.
Top left is the Beef in Black Pepper Sauce, on the right is Chicken Jus (a fancy name for Chicken with Red Wine Sauce) plus on the bottom we had Pinakbet with tons of BAGNET (I had to put two photos to emphasize it). If you think the photos are not much, I put everything I ate on video so you get to feel how it was to dine and enjoy what it's like. This doesn't even do justice.
I did have my moments of weakness and failed a lot in the diet department, but I was here to enjoy, I was here to relax and not relish on sad moments. I was there to work too and in one day was able to finish a lot of articles. I was seeing a lot of people committed to this business and they're doing their job with passion. I even saw brides and grooms themselves come up to the counter and easily tell them what they need. Heck I saw 5 weddings in a day, does that even tell you how nice the hotel is?
It's in the heart of Quezon City where everything is happening. It's affordable, way fancy for what it's worth and they even got more things coming up. I had a nice stay, did my errands, got so full during breakfast, lunch and dinner. The hotel is vibrant, all the people I met seem they were doing what they loved. The rooms are huge, even if they're inside a residential area where space is limited they didn't make that an issue. The pool was an awesome retreat too, plus there was a salon on the same floor that would get you pampered if you need to. I loved what I saw in B Hotel and I'm sure I'll be back there some day. They're the same people who build Bellevue Hotels and Resorts and this one accommodates the mid range market, but it felt like it's way more than that. I'm sure you'll be lovin it when you get to stay at B Hotel. I know I did.
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