Paris resident Babette Aquino-Benoit jetted back to Manila where Rustan’s Nedy Tantoco threw a birthday dinner for her, dahlings.
For cocktails we had jamon jabugo pata negra served with gherkins and pickled onions; and Swiss raclette cheese with marble potatoes, among divine aperitifs.
Après, we sat down for an excellently prepared dinner, supervised by Nedy T., naturellement.
Main course was linguini ai funghi served with garlic bread; followed by eggplant parmigiana sliced and fried in olive oil, with layers of mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce; and the to-die-for bacalao à la vizcaina portugues, salt cod layered with potatoes, eggs, golden raisins, capers and roasted red peppers, simmered in a white wine-tomato sauce.
For dessert, we had the calorific banana flambé served with Selecta Macapuno Ice Cream. Babette and I brought to the dinner birthday cakes which were also served.
In the dinner were were Dr. Rex Gloria and Alex Van Hagen.
With Babette’s birthday cake, came another cake, and surprise, it was for moi! It was a yummy strawberry shortcake which Nedy said was for my “belated birthday!” “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked Nedy. “Well that’s what a surprise is all about, especially if it’s for you,” she answered.
Après dinner, another surprise awaited us. Premier tenor Arthur Espiritu rendered songs to the delight of everyone. He graciously obliged to calls for an encore.
But as they say, time flies when one is having a terrific time! So we had to end the celebration. It was a great beginning for the year 2013!
Cheers! And thank you to my co-celebrator Babette, and to our dearest close friend, Nedy, our incredible thoughtful hostess with the mostest.
Hennessy gold chest
Die-hards of the smooth Hennessy XO Mathusalem cognac flocked to the Rigodon Ballroom of the Peninsula Manila for the unveiling of the the liquid gold encasement of Hennessy, dahlings.
This extremely upscale drink commissioned multidisciplinary artist and designer Arik Levy to create a unique, multi-faceted seamless chest to house Hennessy XO Mathusalem.
France’s most iconic cognac with a Fusil, is “numbered and comes with a certificate of authenticity and a hefty price tag!”
The trés exclusive event was strictly by invitation with Hennessy’s ambassadeur de maison, Monsieur Jean-Michel Cochet, no less, jetting in to the country for this event, natch!
Even the dinner menu was just as decadent with each course featuring the world’s leading cognac.
Check this out! For starters we had mackerel and lobster drizzled with Hennessy honey. Main feature was slow-cooked beef tenderloin with Madagascar peppercorn jus, gingered carrots and rosemary gnocchi.
Dessert came with a barako-scented chocolate melt and iced rosemary crème fraiche with citrus. Wow, that totally brought everybody to Hennessy heaven, palanggas!
That night, Hennessy XO Mathusalem, the must-have for the true cognac connoisseur, was available for sale to a très select few. Its wow seven-figure price tag is a true indication of its timelessness and excellent craftsmanship, dahlings, and those privileged enough to own one brought home a true work of art—a collector’s item that’s worth its weight in gold!
Born in Israel in 1963, Paris-based multimedia artist Arik Levy believes that “creation is an uncontrolled muscle.”
He added: “The jewel case I have been commissioned to make for Hennessy XO is a landmark, timeless classic and a continuation of my ‘Rocks’ sculpture series.”
Rogue bash
That exciting and interesting luxury magazine Rogue, one of the country’s top-selling magazines known for its cutting-edge photography and superb journalism, held its fifth annual Holiday Bash at the fun URBN Bar & Kitchen in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, dahlings.
Welcoming us were young editor in chief Paolo Reyes, creative director Miguel Mari and Rogue’s new publisher Ipe Cruz, no less.
Flutes of sparkling wine and glasses of Stolichnaya vodka were passed around like for ever, palanggas, courtesy of Philippine Wine Merchants.
DJs Gerard Henson and Kat Agarrado of blues supergroup Kat Magic Express got this happening into a full swinging until it was definitely time to call it a wow night.
“We really have big plans in store for Rogue in 2013,” said Paolo, “Ipe, Miguel, Maricris Zobel, Rogue’s principal and founding publisher, are looking forward in sharing these exciting developments soon.” The announcement was greeted by applause and “cheers” from the partying crowd, dahlings.
