Bambina Olivares celebrated birthday at Lanai, the sprawling garden gift shop of her dear pals Natalia Zobel, Bianca Zobel-Warns and Maria Parsons. The intimate dinner was hosted by Red Magazine editor Ria Prieto and Philippine Tatler editor Anton San Diego.
Chef Marc Licaros prepared a simple but superb menu at the new lush, elegant homeware store and flower shop. Although there was a heavy downpour outside, Lanai was an oasis of serenity.
At the lone long table sat chosen guests such as Mark Wilson, Anne Marie Saguil, Oudine Santos, Menchu Mantecon and moi.
Because everyone knew each other from way back, the conversation sparkled with juicy political chatter, tales from recent travels, and loves that flourished but faded away like petals falling from a flower. There were also talks of adventures, both promising and disastrous, and, naturellement, the inside track on the upcoming opening of a new exclusive club, Manila House, in which Anton, Oudine and Bambina are heavily involved.
Holiday collections
Gone are the days when being stylish meant consistently adhering to a particular color or mode of dressing. These days, fashion is all about being able to alternate between various styles, adopting them and ultimately making them your own.
This season, Kashieca’s Holiday 2016 collection is where ruggedness and refinement meet.
Busy prints, dark tones and unconventional elements set this predominantly chic Parisian collection apart. Every Kashieca girl’s fashion philosophy is, “It’s all in the details,” dahlings.
Meanwhile, Human has released its Holiday 2016 collection. Its theme is wanderlust: Jackets, joggers and jeans are central to the collection, but are updated with eye-catching elements inspired by the travel lifestyle.
Then there’s Bench’s 2016 Holiday collection, with a selection of fun pieces that merge utilitarian sensibilities with stylishly sensible design, striking the perfect balance between comfort dressing and contemporary style.
For the ladies, the collection is also lined with pieces that are perfect for luxe yet laid-back in styling. It has side-slit pencil skirts, cropped cardigans and cold shoulder tops.
Seafood buffet
Makati Shangri-La is holding a Lobster and Seafood Shack Weekend Buffet at its Circles Event Café. There are unlimited lobsters, crabs, prawns, mussels, oysters and other seafood. One gets overwhelmed by the choices, but slow pacing and equal proportioning are the trick to eating at divine buffets like this, palangga.
Apart from the extensive buffet offers at Circles, I enjoyed an unlimited spread of fresh crustaceans, shellfish and whole fish, which were cooked in any way I preferred.
Personally, I loved it done healthily in olive oil and lemon, n’est-ce pas?
Paul Lenz, Makati Shang’s lovable area executive chef, said his team buys premium lobsters and other top-quality fresh seafood only from the best sources. They incorporate tasty ingredients that satisfy the appetite.
The chilled seafood station showcases a variety of chilled lobsters, crabs, prawns, mussels and oysters. These are meant to be eaten cold.
But if you prefer them warm, you can ask the staff to heat the food on the grill.
The fresh seafood station, on the other hand, consists of a variety of fresh fish, scallops, squids and lobsters freshly cooked according to preference.
You can just look for any of the restaurant staff, who are dressed in cool nautical uniform, and specify your preferred cooking style and flavor.
Priced at P2,600 net, the Lobster and Seafood Shack Weekend Buffet is available for dinner on Friday and Saturday, and for lunch on Sunday, until Oct. 31.
Aprés indulging in everything from Western to Asian cuisines and, of course, this exceptional seafood buffet, we left Circles happy and content.
Best part was that we didn’t feel guilty at all, since there’s not much fat and calories in seafood, right, palangga?
