Since it’s the Year of the Dragon and the lucky ones will be those who belong to the lucky elements of the Water Dragon, what better way to hit the road of luck than hosting an incredible mega-lauriat dinner mainly catered by the popular Wee Nam Kee restaurant, dahlings.
Wee Nam Kee of course is famous for its Hainanese Chicken Rice. It started in its native Singapore, but the restaurant has grown faster than you could bat an eyelash, so last year, it opened its first international outlet at Ayala Triangle in Makati. It recently opened its second outlet at Serendra in Taguig City.
Last Sunday, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, I hosted a superb 17-course dinner fit for an emperor at the gorgeous home of interior designer Anton Mendoza, my co-host, for 16 close pals, palanggas.
The resto’s menu had us going back for seconds and thirds since one of the Water Dragon feng shui sayings is, “do not deprive yourself of want you want.” Wow, we literally did that, with Wee Nam Kee’s authentic hard-to-beat menu, consisting of, check this out: Hainanese Chicken, Sizzling Hot Plate Beancurd, Stir-Fried Beef Tenderloin Chinese-Style, Deep-Fried Salt and Pepper Spareribs, Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet, Spinach and Broccoli Stir-Fried in Garlic and Pancit Canton, Suckling Pig, Corn and Crab Soup, Sweet and Sour Pork, Fried Noodles with Vegetables, Salted Fish Fried Rice, Steamed Shrimp, Century Egg, plus Braised Noodles with Seafood in XO Sauce, and Homemade Spinach Tofu with Shimeji Mushrooms.
Also served were Golden Dried Scallop from the Tin Hau kitchen of Mandarin Oriental, and the unbeatable Chicken Siomai of Africa Reynoso.
In the end, we all had a great time welcoming the Dragon into our lives this year, with the burning of paper money on Monday afternoon, palanggas.
May all your wishes come true, dahlings.
Gabriel*Martel’s Tocca di Lusso collection was recently launched. The new line of bags is made from chosen rich materials and textures, such as stingray, stone, shell, wood, ostrich skin, 20-carat plated gold and semiprecious stones, dahlings, which took a year’s collaboration between two close pals, Celine Gabriel-Lim and Andrea Martel, naturellement. The collection was launched in a glittering, jam-packed happening in our town’s newest hotspot du jour, Prive Luxury Club at The Fort Strip, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Gabriel*Martel’s pieces have been spotted on the country’s top stylists and trend-setters, such as Anne Curtis, Heart Evangelista and Trish Panlilio.
Their first collection, Wanderlust, was sold out within weeks.
Four new designs were the dazzling stars in the Tocca di Lusso collection. Heart is made of ostrich skin and accentuated by a gold-plated cross set with emeralds and a ruby. Vicki is made of elegant Philippine macassar and accentuated by lapiz lazuli set in 20-carat plated gold.
Alex is in dramatic stingray and bone, while Tina is made of shell and stingray, with a love verse engraved on the delicate body.
Gabriel*Martel prides itself in being unique, authentic and sophisticated. “Each original piece is a true benchmark of beauty and art, as reflected by Tocca di Lusso’s 11 beautiful muses of whom the collection’s pieces are named after,” said Andrea Martel.
Their unique designs have been presented to buyers outside the Philippines and the loud buzz is, their next destination will be Spain, specifically Barcelona and Madrid, dahlings, and this is just the beginning.
Gabriel*Martel’s Tocca di Lusso collection is available at Cura V in 2/F, Power Plant Mall, Makati; e-mail [email protected]; tel, 0917-8109002.
Salvatore Ferragamo
Our town’s fashionable elite set came in full force for the reopening of the flagship store at Greenbelt 4 of the Italian ultra-luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo.
Paul Cadman, Salvatore Ferragamo regional CEO for Asia-Pacific, jetted in for the happening. He welcomed the guests together with Stores Specialists Inc.’s dynamic president Zenaida R. Tantoco and executive VP Anthony Huang.
Breezing around, I noticed immediately the chic Italian influence in the store’s interior—a modern and harmonious use of space that highlights the house’s fine-quality products through. The facelift totally has the Florentine brand’s hallmark characteristics of elegance and luxury, dahlings.
Après the red-carpet launching, there was the first-ever made-to-order shoe service from Salvatore Ferragamo. The service seeks to provide shoes that will complement work wear, evening gatherings, cocktail and special occasions.
The service provides such designs as pumps, sandals and open-toe shoes, in 23 shades of satin. The customer could choose from a diverse color palette and receive their Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, made by the Florentine maison, after eight weeks, which will definitely make any outfit shine with true elegance and flair, dahlings.
Salvatore Ferragamo is at G/F, Greenbelt 4, Makati; tel. 7576270.
