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/

Bros Who Brunch at Cafe Enye Eastwood City

Had a good amount of energy today so I decided to drop by at Cafe Enye in Eastwood City. It's a casual restaurant that serves colonial Spanish cuisine. I could see a couple of these dishes served at my home because obviously I'm a Bueno, but I'm quite new to this concept where they have promotions for Bros who Brunch. You can order a wide selection of plated brunch menus which will more or less contain these items below. They're in big servings and you can also add Php 199 so you can get bottomless mimosas and bloody mary. That's a smashing deal that happens every weekend from 9AM to 2PM until the promo lasts. I could sense they designed this for night workers who would want to get a drink or two the morning after. Most of the plates are below 300 too so you get upscale dining for less with your friends or office mates. Here's more reason to visit Cafe Enye.

Mahi Mahi Cubanos. These are special fish only found in the tropics, generally prized for their really good meat, a little scarce in most areas. These were made into sandwiches, sliced up in it's toasted crusty bread that could fill you up in no time at all. Loved it.

My personal favorite is this, Scotch Eggs. Meaty ham bits enveloped in crunchy batter and bread crumbs. They have different dips too so you get choices.

This one's their Gambas. It's rough but spicy, just enough to keep your rice and whole meal interesting. I do suggest you get a little more than a bottle of beer before taking an interest with this one because aside from the conversations, you might as well have it to chill out with your crew.

Why wouldn't you want to get this for size. It's mussels and clams in one dish. I think they got this from the Tapas style of meals in Spain, the 300 years must have done a lot for this to happen eh?!

This one's a little Filipino, it's home made Beef Tapa. Well seasoned beef strips dried and fried for your breakfast. They've got a mean Enye Rice to go with this as well. They've got that in some plates but you can always ask for it. Pretty good.

This one is well marinated, really good Fried Milkfish. If you think about it, this would be one of your more healthy options for the weekend. Don't forget to order Mimosas or Bloody Mary since that's bottomless, I'd suggest the Mimosa though as that's a bit more "citrus" than the other one. But potato potatoes.

I forgot the name of this one but it's pretty much a Fritata. It's got sausages and bacon too if I'm not mistaken. It's a common thing on Tapas.

I like this one too, the Pork Skewers are pretty much like Sate. Thin strips make a good canvas so whatever concoction they made for the marinade, it seeped in. Then grilled lightly.

This one is the Bacon and Sausages, I can imagine having wine with this but since it's more of brunch it can still be good with rice.

This one is a little on the curry side, these are Fish Skewers. I like how they did it with very strong spices, it almost fell off the skewers as it is very soft. 

The Pollo Croquettas were soft and lovely. I like the dips they also have on the side, made it like you want to paint on canvas.

My plate was a story but what's more interesting is that there's a big charity side to this story. You see these weekend lunch stories actually include them selling shirts as they are actually donating the proceeds to Big Brother Big Sister Foundation which helps children from indigenous areas to get to school and be supported for one year. This year's goal is to actually send around 800 kids so your help will really go a long way. It's not just you benefiting from the good meals you get in Cafe Enye but you also get to help a kid go to school, isn't that amazing?!

Again, just go to Cafe Enye in Eastwood City. It's at the ground floor of Excelsior Building right across the J.Co store and Starbucks. You won't miss it. Just ask the concierge or security, they mostly know how to get you there. #BrosWhoBrunch happens every weekend from 9AM to 2PM. Make sure you drop by and drag your family and friends. It's going to be easy to convince them with the Mimosas and Bloody Mary on the invite. There's craft beers too, quite affordable. Won't cost you an arm, leg or kidney.

For more information about their brunch:

Cafe Enye

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Sweet Ecstasy Opens in Uptown Parade BGC

There's a new place in BGC that some of you should visit. If you're a fan of Sweet Ecstasy in Cubao a few years back (which unfortunately has closed already), they've been aggressively opening other branches already all over Metro Manila. This one however is situated very near Valkyrie in BGC. The complex is called Uptown Parade and this is their third branch after Regis Center in Katipunan, and Jupiter Street in Makati. Honestly, I haven't been to Sweet X (which they fondly call it) so this is a first for me and their BGC Uptown Parade branch is a good place to find comfort food when it's a bit too traffic to go home. This place is owned by Ms. Gelli Victor, Monica Francesca (RX Jock) and their other partners. They know how much the district actually needs a place for hanging out before people actually go to the nearby clubs, and they present a very awesome refuge for wings, burgers and craft beers. Speaking of which, we ordered different ones just for kicks!

This one was a tad sweet, it felt like it wasn't alcoholic but the mean label says otherwise. Comes smooth, Azrael liked it!

Ted and I had the Sierra Madre Wheat Ale which was sort of a wheat based beer, it's surprisingly light but you'll still get buzzed if you had a couple of bottles.

Enzo liked the Fish Rider Pale Ale and I've already tasted this in other bars, it's quite nice for bar chows and a good conversation starter don't you think?

This one's their Buffalo Wings. I asked for their hottest one and this is what the person on the counter suggested to me. It was spicy yeah, got that kick but it was bearable. It's Tabasco so it was tangy and hot, but I wanted it more HOT and I think they've got off the menu items to solve that. Kindly ask them because I can't really put the words here because it's explicit haha!

For a milder feel, or flavor, they've got these mean wings too. They call it Sriracha Wings, as they've probably used the Thai hot sauce to fuel it. Pretty good!

This burger wasn't mine haha. It's Sweet Ecstasy's Cheeseburger. They would actually ask you to customize how you want your ONIONS to be made and Ted wanted it to be caramelized, looks good eh?! He says they did it right on the grill. They also use 100% pure beef for the patties and I could see they did that in the kitchen. I like it.

This was mine. I wanted it crunchy and pungent so I had my Sweet Ecstasy Cheeseburger with Fresh Onions. It's not date food I know, but it's that exact thing that makes it appealing to me. I wanted to taste the onions so I went with that.

Azrael also got a Sweet Ecstasy Cheeseburger but had the onions made grilled. As you can see it also got caramelized a bit and by the looks of it, he loved it too.

Sweet Ecstasy Uptown Parade officially opens its doors today. I've seen Marian Rivera, Jennylyn Mercado, Raymund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and a couple of other artists enjoy what they had that afternoon. Their prices? Not to worry because they're very affordable. You get premium quality burgers, wings and beers in this location and it's perfect before you party out in other establishments. Don't even think of drinking without eating something, that's totally unhealthy. But trust me on splurging with a burger, it helps heal your soul. These are X-citing times!

For more information about their place:

SweetXManila

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Come Eat "East Meets West" at JOHN and YOKO UP Town Center

Had a blast last night celebrating friendship and fun at John and Yoko - an East meets West fusion restaurant in posh UP Town Center. If you're in the mall's main entrance, just go up the escalator right after bag inspection and turn left. They are the last door on that floor. You might think the restaurant is actually small but don't be mistaken, come inside and you'll see a pretty good mix of oriental, industrial and wooden interior. It could probably fit around 70-80 people in one go and is air conditioned. It's fit for families, group of friends and small gatherings. They also have a dedicated Sushi Bar where they whip up really good Salmon, Tuna or seafood wonders. We had some of them right off the bat!

This one is the Spicy Tuna Roll. It's got those crunchy Tempura batter bits on top plus a lovely layer of sweet tasting raw tuna on top sprinkled with chili so you get a little spicy kick with each bite. This was my favorite that evening.

And they did come rolling in (pun intended), this is the California Roll. You've got the usual crabsticks, smothered in thick Japanese mayo, mango, cucumber wrapped in Japanese rice and fish roe. I like this too and it is quite filling. There's more!

Now this was something off tangent, it's called Cheese Fried Maki. It's filled with either Buratta or Buffalo cheese inside, rolled into rice and seaweed, then breaded and fried until crunchy. It's surprisingly good. I like it a lot that I had to steal some of it from my friends haha!

My Mom would personally love this Spicy Tuna Salad. It's a mix of greens with just enough Japanese mayo for dressing and perhaps a cup of raw tuna belly cubes in it. They make it fresh when you order and it is quite good. The serving is BIG so this is good for sharing if you're the healthy kind, well almost healthy with the Japanese mayo that is LOL!

The piece de resistance came in the middle of our meal with this Sukiyaki. It's got that lovely broth, earthy, plus pieces of vegetables, blocks of tofu (which was good btw!) and comfort that only a bowl of it would bring. It's perfect for a rainy day!

For tofu lovers, this is their version of Tofu Steak. Crunchy tofu slices with meat, veggies and thick sauce. I think it could pass off vegetarian but hey, we all need a break and still keep it healthy with this dish. Kids would love it too!

For fried food lovers, this is their Ika Fritters (literally meaning Squid Fritters). It's crunchy on the outside, still soft on the inside and is lovely paired with beer or with just plain rice. Good for two or three people.

This is the Chicken Teriyaki Pizza and I love this too. It's sweet and savory, probably because of the sauce and mangoes that's on top of the stretched handmade crust that it's in. If you've got kids around, this would definitely keep them busy.

For Salmon lovers, this is the Tribeca Salmon. It's like meat from the sea that's been barbecued. It's rich and savory, buttery because it's got a little fat as it is salmon belly. Am I teasing you? Yes, have this alone or with rice, it's all good!

This is another of my Mom's favorite, Ebi Tempura. They make really good ones, legit if you can call it that. Simple light soy sauce, it's a done deal. 

For those who like it spicy, this is their Minced Pork Chili Soba. It's buck wheat flour noodles stir fried with veggies, pork pieces, soy sauce and a whole lot of dried chili flakes. I like the amount of hotness, it's like I'm watching transformers in 3D, but I think I would love a cold version of this more (because I'm a fan of cold soba noodles).

This is their Yakiniku Pork Loin. Pork slices that have been grilled and served with a huge amount of Banchan which are side dishes of the Korean kind. My friends like the anchovies and had this wrapped on the greens more like Ssambap. It's good for groups of 3 or 4, take it with rice so you can stretch it too. They have Japanese Rice available in huge bowls, so dig in!

To end the meal, they got us this melt in your mouth Wagyu Teppan Chuck. It's just seared lightly on Teppan plate and seasoned well with simple salt and pepper. It comes with sauteed veggies like Cabbage, Carrots and Mung Beans. I think you would fit this really nice when you've got a date, or just something to reward yourself after working hard. 

I like the fact that John and Yoko is situated a bit far from the crowd, the isolation is a bit attractive so I could have privacy with family and friends. They have really good iced teas (Calamansi and Lime) which you can actually have unlimited for less than a hundred bucks. They also have decent wifi connection which you can use when you want to stay connected while you're there. John and Yoko presents a good alternative to your usual Japanese or Korean restaurant. You get the authenticity of flavors, twist it a little and still be good whether you are a fan of East or West cooking. You can have both of these at their branch in JOHN and YOKO at the UP TOWN CENTER. 

For more information about their restaurant:

John and Yoko UP Town Center

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