THE 2013 DAVAO ADVENTURE: CAFE MARCO AT MARCO POLO DAVAO

              If you're like me, then one of the things that excites you most when thinking about checking into a hotel is the food.. Especially a buffet. Call me weird, but the thought of a breakfast buffet is more appealing to me than a lunch or dinner one. I'm probably one of the few people that feel Bacon trumps Roast Beef, any day.

           This case is true for Cafe Marco at Marco Polo Hotel Davao. Their lunch and dinner entrees, are actually quite spectacular. But it can't quite compare to their breakfast food... particularly their Bacon, which I have to say, easily ranks among the best I've ever tried. 

THE 2013 DAVAO ADVENTURE: MARCO POLO HOTEL DAVAO

     I believe it was in my 2012 year-ender post that I stated that my goals for 2013 would be to incorporate more travel posts to my blog, which would also include a "Staycation" Series. My plan was to make the most out of those deals from various Group Buying sites, and come up with at least one or two Staycation weekends, and possibly one fly out of town trip by the year ends. 

     Never in my wildest dreams did I even consider that I would be flown out to Davao by a world class hotel chain to cover the fun filled festivities of the popular Kadayawan Festival! 

     I had been to Davao before. But like most cities in the provinces that I have  had the pleasure of touring, the most I had truly ever seen were the malls. Case in point.. I was at Davao just last November for work, and again, the most memorable landmark I saw was SM Lanang Premier, which was where the conference I had attended was held. 

      Which was quite sad really, because Davao is much more than that. So much more. Its an incredibly beautiful city, rich in varied cultures, yet undeniably Filipino. 

       For the first time in my life, I would be visiting Davao as a tourist, and Marco Polo Hotel Davao made sure that, Rina and I, together with the other amazing members of our travel group would have the time of our lives. We go to experience one of the Philippine's greatest cities with the full Marco Polo Hotel VIP treatment. 

     So began our wonderful stay in Davao, courtesy of Marco Polo Hotel Davao.  

EPICUREAN SINGAPOREAN FOOD FESTIVAL AT CIRCLES, MAKATI SHANGRI-LA!

         It was my first time ever to crack open a crab. And it was good!

      Interestingly, I was able to get an awesome sneak peak at another wonderful food festival in Makati Shangrila Manila involving great authentic Singaporean dishes!

RAFFLES HOTEL LONG BAR: POWER LUNCH DONE RIGHT

         

        Earlier this year, a few food blogger friends of mine and I were invited to Spectrum at Raffles Hotel. Unfortunately, Rina couldn't join me, so I had to handle my own photography.. And you know what happens when I do that. As expected, the photos were putrid, and I didn't feel It would do justice to the beauty of Spectrum for me to use it. Thankfully, Rina saved my ass (yet again), and went to the place and took new photographs so I'll be posting about Spectrum soon.

        But before I get into that, I wanted to share with you a Power Lunch that we had over at Spectrum's neighboring restaurant.. The Long Bar.

THE LUZVIMINDA FOOD FESTIVAL AT THE F1 HOTEL MANILA

    

       You don't have to be a comic geek to know that the success of the movie "The Avengers", which earned a staggering US$1.5 Billion in its worldwide box office, can be attributed to the public's anticipation of seeing Earth's Mightiest Heroes assembled on the big screen for the first time. Even a year after its release, I still sometimes find myself going on to Youtube just to watch the scene where Dr. Banner casually strolls toward the Huge alien transporter/creature that is chasing Iron Man, and nonchalantly tells Captain America, "That's my secret Cap.. I'm always angry", then transforms into the Hulk, and punches the creature square on the nose, causing it to flip over, just in time for Iron Man to blast it to smithereens. 

       To this very day, the scene that followed, where they are all gathered around in a circle, with the camera panning around them still gives me the chills. 

        Though they're aren't superheroes, seeing the collection of talented Filipino Chefs from across the country that F1 Hotel Manila assembled for their groundbreaking "LUZVIMINDA: Filipino Festival of Flavors" stand before me, gave a food lover such as myself tingles down my spine. 

         I knew that this moment, was something very special, and I was excited for what was to come.

HOTEL HOTSPOTS: RESTO-GO-ROUND AT INTERCONTINENTAL MANILA!

              Dining at a hotel has an air of exclusivity. If you tell someone you're going to have dinner at a hotel, and more often than not, their response will be "Sosyal!". And of course, it's totally warranted. Even the thought of a few hours of parking at a hotel would make one consider a trip to the ATM before pulling your car out. 

          But what if I told you that you could enjoy a sumptuous feast at not one, not two, but THREE first class restaurants in a luxurious hotel, without having to stop by the blood bank to earn some extra cash? 

           Have you heard of Intercontinental Manila's Resto-Go-Round?

HOTEL HOTSPOTS: DIMSUM ALL YOU CAN AT LI LI IN HYATT HOTEL & CASINO MANILA

           In case the 24 entries weren't enough to clue you in, i'm going to go on the record now and say that I LOVE Chinese food. If you ask me one of my all time favorite restaurants, I'd easily tell you that it's Harbor City in Cebu.. A simple restaurant known for its Dimsum. 

           I'm always on the look out for amazing places to get some Siomai, Steamed Spareribs and Spring Rolls. So when I got the chanceto try the Dimsum Eat All You Can of Li Li at Hyatt Hotel and Casino, I knew that was one opportunity I couldn't miss.