Because Candy Says So....: Marco Polo Ortigas Manila

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Wine and Dinner Pairing at Marco Polo, Ortigas.

Marco Polo Ortigas recently celebrated its first year in the Philippines. I was hearing a lot about how good the Chinese restaurant is and luckily was able to try it out last July for my brother's birthday. It was indeed very good.

It also gave me an opportunity to reconnect with Mirko! I met him in one of my lunches in Tivoli, Mandarin Oriental a few years back and I am happy to know that he is now Directory of Food and Beverage of Marco Polo. Congratulations!

Anyway, he told me about a Wine and Dinner Pairing that they are launching and I was very happy to go and and experience this Marco Polo style.

My forever date, Dennis Lustico, Executive Chef Lluis Cantos, Mirko de Giorgi and yours truly.

Thank you so much for your amazing hospitality.

A table for two, 9 course dinner, 4 kinds of wine and a whole lot of excitement! Since I don't drink red wine, I made Dennis enjoy it.

Deep fried US Oyster with sweet and sour sauce.

Steamed egg white with Alaskan King Crab leg.

Cog Fish in Chinese wine with Ginger Onion.

Chef Sunny's Special US Roasted Duck.

Steamed Scallop in Lobster Creme

(sorry no photo)

Sliced Garlic US Beef Cubes with Vegetables.

Dried Scallop Fried Rice in Egg White.

Tian Tao Jelly.

The wonderful team that created our dinner takes a bow.

Marco Polo Ortigas

720-7777

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Lung Hin at Marco Polo.

I eat out a lot. I like trying new places and for Chad's birthday, we decided to try Lung Hin at Marco Polo because Chinese food is all that my Daddy will eat. You make him try other cuisines and you will never hear the end of it.

I loved the look of the hotel but I really do not like the elevator system. It took us forever to get to the parking because we had to switch elevators several times to avoid waiting and for the simple reason that only three elevators go to the parking area. Anyway, other than that, I was only able to go to Lung Hin so I can't really do a proper review of the hotel.

We got a private room which seats about 12 comfortably. It has its own toilet which is always a plus. The interior is nice and modern. We got a room where the view is incredible, though it was raining that evening.

Before your orders arrive, they show you a tray full of appetizers. We thought it was cool until we were told that they aren't free. Usually, those peanuts and pickled vegetables are already given out as complimentary appetizers. Being in a family of freeloaders, we decided not to partake and wait for our orders.

I still like Tim Ho Wan's pork buns but this wasn't bad at all.

Three pieces to an order.

Crispy suckling pig was very delicious.

This plate consists of two orders.

Prawns....not sure if I love the blueberry one (middle) and I don't think I would re-order this dish.

This was truly yummy!!! The beef was tender and vegetables steamed to perfection. Served with foie gras on the side. Make sure you eat all three in one bite. A must!

When dining with Toby and Lucille, sweet and sour cannot go missing.

I like their birthday noodles. It was oozing with sauce and big prawns and mushrooms. Delicious!

Our server then called me by my name, she said, "Hello Miss Candy, nice to see you here."

I asked her how she knew me and she told me that she used to serve me at The Tivoli, Mandarin Oriental. Always happy to bump into people from MO. I miss that hotel so much.

Anyway, she introduced me to the restaurant manager and soon after, they gave us two complimentary bottles of bubbly!!

Guinevere Chua-Chan, Lung Hin manager and Joevert Valdez, assistant manager served it to the family. I am sure it is because of these two that the servers are trained so well to attend to guests. They never failed to serve with a smile.