A feast to welcome Savoy Hotel Manila’s new GM
For the first time, Savoy Hotel Manila near Villamor Air Base in Pasay City has a new general manager (GM) who is Filipino. He is Den Ferdinand V. Navarro, who has had extensive experience working in tourist destinations like Bangkok, Beijing and Dubai with brands like Marriott, Shangri-La and Radisson Blu. His last assignment was as GM of Sheraton Hotel in China.
To celebrate the occasion, the hotel held a press conference with a full-blown, full-course luncheon. There were chats with the media, often punctuated by loud laughter, for Navarro knew how to establish rapport with the print and online media; a tour of the standard rooms and the suites, which afforded a grand view of Metro Manila, specifically the areas around the air base, teeming with hotels, cars, buses and jeepneys; a skyway, high-rise buildings in the distance; and a hazy, rainbow-colored sky.
And there was a visit to the swimming pool and poolside bar.
There are also Savoy Hotels in Mactan, Cebu and Boracay.
Beer nuts and ‘chicharon bulaklak’
Then the delectable lunch was served. It started with “beer nuts” (pulutan to you) or anchovy, peanuts, garlic and kaffir lime leaves. I couldn’t resist the chicharon bulaklak although this was not good for my health, being a super senior. The dish was described as crispy fried pork mesentery, served with pickled vinegar and cucumber dip.
The appetizers were sampaguita-smoked salmon and Boursin tartlets with triple-whipped cream cheese. Next came the salad, made flavorful by watermelon, goat’s cheese, candied walnuts and fresh mint.
The soup was quite filling, more than usual. It consisted of Norwegian pink salmon in sinigang broth, for a Filipino touch. The sour soup was enhanced by various vegetables. “These organic produce, including lettuce, eggplant and mint lemongrass and more, are all grown and harvested from our vertical gardens,” said Tessa De la Paz, marketing and communications director.
And for the main course, the piece de resistance. Again a fusion of Filipino (Bicolano) and European (Italian) cuisine: laing lasagna—taro leaves stewed in coconut cream, layered with bechamel sauce and lasagna sheets. Also served barbecue style was lemon butter shrimp, followed by grilled pork belly in marinated Pinoy-style ceviche (sinuglaw).
All these were served with flourish by the waiters and came in small but filling doses. There was the famous Cebu lechon manok, enhanced by onions, garlic, lemongrass and marinade. And did I mention the crispy pata cum kare-kare, which came with steamed vegetables such as green beans, eggplant and pechay?
There was rice, of course, steamed white rice cooked with pandan leaves.
Then coffee was served and I thought that was it. But no, there was still dessert.
This consisted of gelée cake with coconut and passion fruit, halo-halo (assorted fruits, evaporated milk, ice cream, custard and cherry), grilled skewered bananas with margarine, sugar and condensed milk and finally, fresh seasonal fruits.Well, that was quite a repast, one course following another smoothly, a fusion of Filipino and international cuisine prepared differently, in a creative, inventive style, as delectable as a Chinese lauriat and no doubt healthier.
