mirthful at raffles

one boring, blistering weekend afternoon, rich and fabulous friend (who shall remain anonymous and who just got back from one of her numerous overseas jaunts) and i (the pauper) checked out the brunch offerings at the newly opened fairmont hotel in makati. some friends have been raving about it, saying the food tastes better than the pricey buffet at spiral in sofitel hotel.

&&&&&

but before the fairmont adventure, let me first share my first glimpse of the newly renovated spiral at the far away ccp complex. since i left to work abroad years ago, i never had the chance to dine there again. after i got back a few months ago, i have been looking forward to having lunch or dinner there.
too, the place was devastated by flood brought about by a strong typhoon a few years back, so i have been curious to see how it looks like now after the multi-million peso renovation.

luckily, another fabulous friend had an event there recently and he kindly asked me to join him for dinner. bless his generous soul. indeed, it had everything (well almost) that food lovers would long for: filipino, thai, chinese, japanese, indian, italian, french cuisines. i am not picky, so i was satisfied. plus i was not footing the bill, so who am i to complain? haha.

apart from the great food and the luxurious decor, the attentive and pleasant staff (who are all smiling all the time as though they have just swallowed a happy pill) is another factor that contributed to the pleasant dining experience. even before i ask for anything, they are already standing near our table to get what we want. isn't it fabulous?! it's like having our own personal butler, times seven. chos.

but more than the food and the ambiance. i luv the company: great conversation, honest sharing of experiences (cute boys, relationships, family, heart aches and all). it's always nice being with jojo. he knows how to listen, and at the same time keep the conversation flowing and interesting. too, he has one of the biggest hearts i have ever known.

i couldn't ask for more.

(don't let the fragile facade fool you. jojo is one of the toughest people i have the privilege of knowing. he is my inspiration to brave the cruel world with a smile. cheers!)

&&&&&&&&&

so now on to the fairmont lunch. unlike spiral, fairmont has pretty limited offerings, though the price is almost the same as in spiral. luckily, my friend who shall remain anonymous (she is a very private person. she doesn't want to ever appear on this widely read blog. hahahaha.) paid for everything, including taxes, the service charge and the tip. luvly!

upon entering the restaurant, while a staff was ushering us to our table, a girl in a black gown with raffles was offering us glasses of champagne. a luvly way to start what looked like a long, long lunch.

but since we are both non-champagne drinkers, we graciously declined. we instead asked her to pose for my cheapo camera. click! isn't she pretty?

then the food. i luv the food, by the way. especially this one, the very first that greeted us as we made our way into the sumptuous cuisines: filipino, chinese, japanese, malaysian, indian.

the lechon is super delectable. especially the hot and crunchy skin that makes some noise as you bite it. i had three generous servings of this. bad! but life is short. so enjoy.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

just like at spiral, there were also rows and rows of fresh oysters sitting on ice waiting for us to devour them. (devour talagah!)

*********

the service at fairmont is excellent. there is always someone ready to pour water on our glasses, get us something that we want from the buffet tables, take our order, clear our table, get new plates. i think the ratio of the wait staff to the customers is two to one. or could be more.
there were even waiters that approached our table while we were dining, bringing some of the restaurant's specialties like fresh from the oven pizza and asking us to try them.

@@@@@@@@@

i luv these live bees displayed on the table right next to the dessert bar.

so if you want more honey on your shake, iced tea, coffee, cake or ice cream, just catch one or two of the bees and presto! instant sweetener. double chos.

&&&&&&&&

of course i am lucky to have friends who are generous enough to share not just their time and money, but their priceless wisdom on career, love, family and other things that matter. 

thank you didith for that splendid, mirthful afternoon.

&&&&&&&&

after finishing our long lunch at three, we decided to check out the newly opened raffles hotel to see for ourselves if all the fabulous buzz is true.

first destination, the roof deck pool. the view is divine. imagine swimming there at night, in the nude, under the stars and the moon.

it would even be better if the lifeguard looks like him.

you want a closer look? here it is then.

isn't he simply delectable?
but as i mentioned earlier, he does not work there. pls google what he does for a living. clue: his name, in case you didn't know, is jericho rosales. and he has nothing to do with this post. at all. haha.

&&&&&

anyway, with or without jericho as the lifeguard, the pool looks inviting. specially in this scorching, sweltering summer. don't you think?

(photos of jericho were taken from the internet. no copyright infringements intended. next post, if you care, a tour of raffles super fabulous suites.)

that's all!