A NEW BEGINNING AT SUMMER PALACE

         Chinese Food is one of the things I rarely say no to. And as cliche as it sounds, Sweet and Sour Pork is one of my all time favorite dishes. And I discovered last year, that Summer Palace makes one of the best sweet and sour dishes in the land. Though they were undoubtedly in the upper echelon of Chinese restaurants in the Philippines, the look of the restaurant was admittedly rather dated, and was in dire need of sprucing up. 

        So late last year, after 22 years of operation, Summer Palace underwent a long overdue face lift, giving the famed restaurant a more modern look, without losing its original identity. 

      And the results were absolutely stunning. 

NO GOODBYES AT SUMMER PALACE

          I was asked during my lunch at Summer Palace at Edsa Shangri-la what my favorite cuisine was, and without batting an eyelash I promptly replied, "I can't decide between Chinese or American.". However, as the meal progressed, and my tummy getting filled by the second, yet my mind refusing to hit the brakes, it became clearer and clearer what the true answer was. 

       Chinese Food is my favorite cuisine, and Summer Palace has one of the best Chinese Cuisine in the metro. 

OUR AWESOME EDSA SHANGRI-LA STAYCATION

      I distinctly remember the first and only time I stayed the night in Edsa Shangri-la Hotel. This was , was in November of 2003. I remember the time frame so vividly, because my mom is/was a fan of the Boy Band F4, and someone tipped her off that the band would be staying in Edsa Shangri-la and so she made it her mission to make sure she gets a room there as well for the duration of the band's stay in the country. 

   I know this because I was the one tasked to relentlessly call Edsa Shangri-la's reservations office to get a room. As expected, the hotel was fully booked, with F4 fans from around South East Asia flying to Manila for a glimpse of their idols.

   Truthfully. I couldn't care less about those four guys, but I was promised a breakfast buffet for 2 days if I secured a room, so I made that reservations officer's life a living hell for two weeks. I think she started hearing my voice in her dreams (and not in a good way), so she eventually found a couple of rooms for us.

  Fast forward to present day. Through my blog, I have a great relationship with the Shangri-la group, including the Edsa Shangri-la Branch. I've been to several of their events, and they in fact, graciously offered to host the KTG Christmas Party last December. There was one particular time when we went to Heat for Lunch with Rain in tow, and my little girl got a glimpse of the hotel's swimming pool, particularly the Aqua Play Area.. And she lost her freakin' mind. 

   Rina and I had to promise that we would go play in the pool one day, just to pacify her. Someone up there must really love us, because a couple of weeks later, our friends at Edsa Shangri-la invited the Zamora Family over to their hotel for a short Staycation! 

THE PICKIEST EATER BITES: THE KTG AT EDSA SHANGRI-LA HEAT - MAD FOR WAGYU NIGHT!

             Greetings! First off, I want to thank all of you for your support with The Pickiest Eater Web Series. The reception has been uncanny and there have been some developments that I can't share just yet, but once everything is final, I will announce it on my blog immediately! As you may or may not have noticed, there was a rather wide gap between Episode 1 and Episode 2. That was mainly because of my family opening a business in which I have been tasked to handle marketing duties, and the sheer volume of work that needed to be done by a skeletal crew was a bit daunting.

           With the sheer work that needs to be done, such as Color Grading, 2D Graphics and stuff, my partner Mark at Muvo Media and I realized that we would not be able to sustain The Pickiest Eater Web Series into a twice a month schedule like we had intended, especially since we decided to go for a Food Network Show quality. 

           What we decided to do was try to make a smaller scale series that was more manageable to come up with at least twice a week, giving enough time to whet the appetites of my readers while waiting for the next episode of the Web Series. 

          This is The Pickiest Eater Bites.  

          If The Pickiest Eater Web Series is a Food Network Show, The Pickiest Eater Bites stays true to its YouTube roots as an unpolished "Video Blog" that gives my readers a chance to get to know me on a more intimate level. What's going to make this even more fun is that I intend to have some of my friends from my food blogging group, "The Kain Tulog Gang" (aka The KTG) as my guests! This is a great way for you to meet some of the food bloggers that you may have been following when scouring the net looking for places to eat! 

THIS IS MADNESS! THIS IS MAD FOR LOBSTER AT EDSA SHANGRI-LA'S HEAT!!

            Fresh off the success of the Heat Rises concept that featured 9 dishes from 8 world class chefs, Edsa Shangri-la continues to wow their guests with their latest Mad for Lobster dinner, happening every Friday Night!

       Already making waves with its much improved interactive buffet, Heat rises to a whole new level every friday, when the buffet is overrun with some of the freshest lobster you'll find anywhere, ready and waiting to be cooked by some of Edsa Shangri-la's finest chefs to your liking! 

HEAT RISES: EDSA SHANGRI-LA'S FINEST CHEFS ASSEMBLE!

Always good vibes going around with this crazy bunch!

            Nine dishes from different parts of the globe, all masterfully executed by some of the most skilled Chefs from around the world. All this, converging in a hotel whose reputation is the gold standard in hospitality. When you get an invitation like this, there is no way you could say no to that. So as soon as I was told that Heat at Edsa Shangri-la had revamped their buffet with 9 signature dishes from 8 of their foreign cuisine Chefs, I rounded up my closest friends at the KTG for a meal of a lifetime!

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: PAPARAZZI AT EDSA SHANGRI-LA HOTEL

           My appreciation for Italian cuisine has grown over the course of my being a blogger. Being hyper acidic, I would normally associate tomato, my number one enemy, with Italian Food. Think about it. The most recognized dishes from Italy - Pizza, Spaghetti. Lasagna - the basic ingredient when traditionally done is tomato. 

       However, I discovered that as I continued my relentless exploration of Italian Dishes, their cuisine is incredibly versatile. There are so many other entrees that aren't heavy handed with the tomato sauce, and they taste remarkable. 

      Rina and I were invited to dine at Paparazzi one evening for a romantic dinner, and I was surprised to find that in our entire five course meal, there was only one dish that utilized tomato in it.

    With Italian Chef Marco Ghezzi at the helm, it's no wonder that Paparazzi is perhaps the closest to Italy as you can get here in the Philippines. 

IT'S SWISS WEEK AT EDSA SHANGRI-LA!

          Chocolates, Cheese, Watches, Army Knives and Banks. Those are the very first things that come to my mind when I think about anything "Swiss". Sadly, I am left at a loss when I try to think of any sort of food (aside from Chocolate and Cheese of course) that comes from the great country of Switzerland. 

        Thankfully, Swiss Week is happening at Edsa Shangri-la Hotel this week, so I got a little teaser of what to expect!

WHODUNNIT?! MURDER MYSTERY NIGHT AT EDSA SHANGRI-LA HOTEL!

         Imagine you're at a snazzy Italian restaurant in a Five Star Hotel, expecting to eat a fancy four course meal prepared by an illustrious chef. As you share a conversation with your companion, while waiting for your appetizer to be served, a detective walks in and introduces himself to the entire room. 

    Why is he here, you wonder? Something must be definitely amiss. Save for the man who obviously had too much to drink and is now "napping" at the Poker Table at the center of the room without a care in the world, this restaurant or should I say.. "Casino", nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.  

      After surveying the room while asking the guests a few questions, the detective reveals the truth. 

     The man sprawled across the porker table counter isn't drunk. He's dead. 

And so began the first act of Casino Fatale: Edsa Shangri-la's Murder Mystery Dinner.