Seasons Buffet at the Manila Pavilion Hotel

So finally, we were able to use our Ensogo vouchers for Seasons buffet at the Manila Pavilion. The deal was good for a lunch or dinner buffet for two and inclusive of unlimited fruit juices or iced tea.

Calling for reservations was easy breezy. We decided to go for dinner last night. And here’s our experience.

Ambiance

The entrance to the hotel restaurant wasn’t elegant nor grand but it was classy and intimate. Seasons Restaurant is near the hotel lobby and very easy to locate from the hotel entrance.

Seasons Resturant

We reserved our seats at 6pm and we were there promptly. We were ushered to a small private room where there are about ten small tables. Plus points for the ambiance!

Private dining room

Food

Seasons buffet’s wide array of international cuisine was such a gastronomic treat. They have four live buffet stations featuring appetizers, noodles, grill, and desserts. There are also stations for the main courses, meat, seafood, sushi, and a lot more.

For appetizers..

Cheese, bread, spring rolls, and salad

On the plate..

Shrimp overload -- tempura, shrimp salad, shrimp maki

Craving for pizza and pasta? Let the chef create your own pasta..

Pizza, pasta, and calzone

We had carbonara with bacon, shrimp, squid, and parmesan on top.

Pasta lovin'

For the main courses, you’ll never run out of options.

Pork, chicken, and meat viands

For meatarians, you’ll find pleasure in Season’s buffet meat selection. This is one my fave stations in the buffet : )

I personally loved the roasted lamb. I wish I came back for more of this. It was so tender and heavenly!

Oh my lamb!

The Australian beef was firm and well-roasted.

Aussie beef

Who can't say no to lechon? Although I was feeling very full when they served lechon in the buffet table, I just couldn’t ignore it.  This is the smallest lechon I’ve ever seen but one of the the crunchiest and tastiest. 

Baby lechon

There was also roasted duck which can be served with the meat only or wrapped in a spring roll wrapper. You can choose which one you prefer. We had the one in wrapper but quite honestly I missed the taste of the duck because of bland taste of the wrapper or possibly because of its small serving.

Roasted duck

The grilling station was one of the live stations where diners flocked. There are shrimp, squid, barbecue, pork, lamb, beef, chicken, and tuna. You can ask the chefs to grill them for you.

For grilling

On our plates...

Beef bbq and grilled squid and shrimp

Well quite honestly, I didn’t find the barbecue appetizing. It has a strong taste like it was over-marinated.

You can also find dimsum and sushi and tables.

Dimsum and sushi galore

This big tuna sashimi was one of the main attractions of the buffet. 

Tuna sashimi

And for desserts, be prepared to taste all of these.

Desserts galore

I noticed that most of their desserts are “kakanin” which was yummy also. But they improvised some, for example, you will find an ube halaya cake cut into slices but there also ube bite-sized sprinkled with sweets on top. I didn’t find truffles or chocolates or a choco fondue though. 

You can also ask the chefs to create your own version of crepe! You can choose from peach, mango, apple and strawberry with ice cream on top. 

Peach-mango-apple crepe with chocolate ice cream

Service

One thing I noticed with their staff is that they are really attentive to your needs and very courteous. From the time that we were ushered to our seats and during our dining time, we were treated very well. They refilled our drinks on time and made sure we had new plates every time we need one.

The chefs in the live cooking stations were also swift in providing our orders. If not, they made sure that the food is delivered to our tables.

Two thumbs up for the exceptional service!

Overall dining experience

Season buffet's international food selection was wide and impressive although there are some dishes which can be improved as I cited. I hope they put the names of the dishes served. Some of them didn’t have names, there were just illustrations of pork, chicken, beef signifying the viand. But our overall dining experience in Seasons was great. 

We had a great time at the Seasons, obviously!

Dining is a wonderful experience when you're with your loved one

My first Longchamp bag

I’ve been hiding my excitement over the past two days.. J I recently bought my first Longchamp bag. It’s from the Le Pliage collection and it’s a medium short handle bag in curry. Weeeeeee!

When I first saw this bag, I know I must have it! Everytime I see girls in the mall with their LCs, I feel that I want to buy mine too. Erick knows how much I’ve been drooling about this bag. He himself knows already how to spot an authentic LC from a fake one. Hehe I was supposed to buy the bilberry color but I thought it was kinda boring for me. Besides, I already have purple bags in my closet. So there, I opted for curry.

Never mind the price because I know it’s gonna be my all-around bag – for the office, weekends, malling and, overnight trips.

I <3 it!

And thanks my Love!

CV writing tips

I’ve just done editing the CV of my friend who's currently looking for a new job. In my work, I deal with lots of CVs almost everyday. I am not a recruiter but I was a resume specialist – one of my many roles in my previous company. I dealt mostly with international development professionals looking for jobs in the World Bank, ADB, UN, and development firms. A fair number have good CVs but a handful really have poor CVs.

In my current job, I also do CV editing for the consultants who are part of the numerous infrastructure projects my company bids for - funded by the ADB, World Bank, and private firms.

So here are a few do’s and don’ts in writing a CV that stands out.

Basically, a CV has three elements: content, presentation, and writing style.

Content

1) Make a profile or a summary. 

Recruiters don’t have the luxury of time to read all the pages of your CV. So you have to catch their attention in the first few lines of your CV.

Make it a point to create a summary which briefly discuss your qualifications, skills, and expertise. In this way, you can give the recruiter an overview of yourself without having to read all your CV. The concept is to write a powerful profile that would keep the recruiter reading your CV until the last page.

Example:

More than ten years experience in leadership positions in the education sector with specific expertise in counseling and child development services, discipline and violence risk assessment, state assessment programs, special populations, and management of vocational and training programs

To create a good profile, quantify your experience in your particular field. Say for example, you have more than ten years experience or you are a well-seasoned expert. Highlight your accomplishments by enumerating them briefly. And don’t forget to use the keywords used in your sector. If you’re working in education, utilize widely-used terms as in the above example.

2) Use power words.

Do not merely list your roles by enumerating what was written in your job description. Say it with impact! Describe the results of your duties.

Example:

Responsible for creating a filing system in financial reports.

can be written as

Developed a filing system that significantly reduced errors in financial reports...

Be more creative and make use of other power words like establish, create, design, pioneer, compose, initiate, etc.

3) Quantify the results of your work by using percentages, numbers, or amounts.

If you have the data on hand, take advantage and use it to demonstrate your achievements on the job.

Example:

Coordinated and managed the Annual Needs and Livelihoods Assessment worth at least US$ 500,000 for Malawi.

Sounds impressive, right?

Presentation

There are lots of do’s and don’ts when it comes to presentation but here are some to guide you.

1)    Keep it short. A two- or three- page CV is enough unless you have more than 10 years of experience in your field or you are a veteran. I remember trimming down a 10-page CV to 4 pages. Yes it is possible by removing the repetitive information and using simple and short sentences. 

2)  Use a simple black font size 11 to 14 (for headings). Garamond, Arial, Times New Roman are some.

3)    Use page numbers and write your name close to the page number so that in case your CV pages are shuffled the reader still knows which is which. 

4)    Keep your margins and borders straight and uniform.

5)    Avoid splitting the description of a job in two pages.

The key is to make your CV look good and neat.


Writing style

1)    Use past tense consistently to denote accomplishments. I’ve read from professional CV writers that they use present tense for the current job roles. Well, it’s actually neither right nor wrong. Whatever you prefer, make sure you write the verb tenses consistently.

2)    Use a variety of action words rather than using the overrated ‘responsible for’

Example:
Led and facilitated the coordination of regular meetings and inter-agency briefs with sector partners on performance outlook, budget allocations, planning field missions, and donor briefings.

3)    Do not use implied first-person voice such as “I, myself,”. Always use the third-person voice.

Example:
Established my firm representing clients with net worth between $250,000 to $5,000,000.  I specialize in long term relationships with retired clients, providing expertise in tax free bonds, annuities and estate planning.

How does that sound? It’d be better without the first-person pronouns.

4)    Make sure that your resume reflects the job description and make some adjustments without

making anything up.

5)    And lastly, it pays to proofread your CV!

I also suggest that you make a cover letter that goes with your CV. It doesn’t need to be lengthy but just direct and simple saying that you’re interested with the job opening and what you can offer to the company.

CV writing can be a daunting task especially if you don’t know where to start or how to further improve a resume which you think is already good. Start by honestly assessing your CV if it’s well-presented, easy to read, and would catch your attention if you were the recruiter. Or better yet, have someone read it to see if it’s comprehensive. Remember that a well-written CV is your first step to get that dream job.

If you have any CV-related question/s, drop me an email. I’d be glad to help! 

World Food Expo 2011

Last Saturday, we went to the World Food Expo 2011 (WOFEX) at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia. The food show ran from August 3-6, 2011. It was the last day of the food event so we checked what it was all about. The WOFEX is mainly for the food & beverage (F&B) industry where they can source their supplies from the event exhibitors.

I am not in the F&B industry but was just plain interested to check the new products in the market. And who wouldn’t like the free tastes offered by the various booths?!

In conjunction with the exhibit, there were also culinary competitions, cooking shows, pastry and cake exhibits, and seminars.

Jurassic cake.. why not?

We also spotted PBA player Alvin Patrimonio cooking!

From the hard court to the kitchen

There were lots of food booths offering free food samples. I especially loved the mantau, stuffed paratha, and tofu pandan from the Malaysian booths. 

Some products are sold cheaper here compared in the supermarkets, so might as well take advantage of the promotion.

choosing the right pasta

And we met cute and interesting characters like Clyde while going around , a certified US angus beef..hehe

Clyde, are you a cow or a goat??

So next time you hear about a food expo in Manila, let me know!

Food Trip: Manila's Biggest Foodfest

Watch out for the biggest foodie event happening in Manila from September 2-4, 2011 at the Manila Ocean Park open grounds. This is another event foodie lovers like me always look forward to.

Experience traditional Pinoy fiesta right in the metro. Play traditional Filipino games, dance to the beat of Ati-Atihan, and indulge in good food.

Event activities include food warrior contest - a food eating challenge, battle of the bands, and culinary competitions.

I will definitely be there! See you!

Sunday Lunch out with friends at Krazy Garlik & SBC

Last Sunday, I went out for lunch and coffee with my college barkada at Greenbelt. Despite the erratic and rainy Manila weather, there was no stopping to seeing my dear college friends. I’ve kept in close touch with my barkada throughout the years after college. Our friend, Sweet, though currently lives in Davao where she is reviewing for the upcoming bar exams. When we learned that she will be in Manila last week of July to fetch Eelai, her French nephew, who will be arriving in the Philippines for the school break, I immediately set up a lunch date with friends. Well, Sweet actually re-booked her ticket to Manila to an earlier date to catch Incubus’ concert. That’s another story.

So anyways, we met around 12ish and decided to eat lunch at Krazy Garlik in Greenbelt 5. I’ve always been curious with Krazy Garlik’s food because of their garlic-themed dishes. Knowing that it is run by the Bistro Group which also runs Italiannis, TGI Fridays, Fish and Co., among others, I had high expectations, of course. 

We were there on a lunch time on a Sunday so we anticipated a big lunch crowd. We were seated in the al-fresco area of the resto so I can’t say much about their interiors except it was relaxed but I find it kinda gloomy because of its dull red walls. 

with my college friends

and my +1

We ordered Krazy Garlik’s house specialties. 

Garlicky Crispy Pata (Php 695)

Looks good right? Yeah, it was. We’ll honestly, I’ve never tasted a bland crispy pata. I expected more from this dish. But why did they named this Garlicky Crispy Pata again?! I didn’t taste a hint of garlic on the crispy pata except if you decide to eat the whole garlic clove on the side or the garlic crumbs. Even the dip was nothing to rave about. This crispy pata was overrated for its price. If there’s one thing I liked in their crispy pata, it’d be that it wasn’t oily and greasy at all.  

Mushroom Matsuri (Php 345)

The sautéed mushroom was cooked in Japanese style. The garlicky sauce was flavorful. The mushrooms are firm and it tasted well with the sauce.  

Hara-kiri Rice (Php 365)

This house specialty mixed rice was actually good with bits of bacon, shrimp, squid, and chili. The ‘for sharing’ serving was good for 2-3 persons according to the menu; that is if you are not a rice eater.  

Shrimp Maramonte Pasta (Php 450)

This is an al-dente spaghetti pasta sautéed in pesto sauce, baby clams, and shrimp. The pasta was perfect to pesto lovers. But personally, I’d still go for Cibo’s pasta.

The restaurant service was okay. Sometimes the manager would personally check if we need something. But they served our dishes late; we had to wait quite long and follow them up. We were ahead in ordering from the other tables but theirs came quite prompt.  

Overall, I would rate my Krazy Garlik experience 7 out of 10. It could have been a better customer experience if not for their overpriced food in small servings. For the bill we paid, we could have eaten buffet at Yakimix. To be honest, I was still hungry after eating at Krazy Garlik.. hehe Oh well! 

Hot chocolate and walnut chocolate cake

We went to Seattle’s Best Coffee for dessert and coffee and for more chikka. I had my favorite Signature Hot Chocolate with dark choco stick. Perfect drink during rainy days.

Six years after college: Ru, Nica, Sweet, and Azzy. We miss you Edgar!

Six years after college.. Azzy is now a lawyer. Sweet is reviewing for her bar exam. Edgar is a French business analyst. Ru is our Japanese-speaking friend and currently enjoying his bum life. And I am doing research and business intelligence work for an infrastructure company. We can’t believe it was that long since we left La Salle!

Food Adventure Tour at the Venice Piazza (Part 2)

We finally finished last Saturday the second and last part of our Food Adventure Tour at the Venice Piazza.

I was craving for pasta so we had first Empire Deli’s Baked Macaroni and Orange Summer Salad. I must say that the food was a big disappointment. It looks different from the picture in the food passport. First off, the baked macaroni was cold as the chilly weather. The bread was very bite-sized and hard. They call it Orange Summer Salad but I felt I wasn’t getting the refreshing and summery feel of the salad. The serving was definitely for kids. I don’t have a big appetite but this salad and baked mac didn’t make me feel I’ve eaten something.

Orange Summer Salad

Empire Deli and Restaurant

Good thing Ramen Bar’s Karaage and Kakuni Buns was all good. The staffs are really attentive and polite. Well, the karaage wasn’t that crunchy but it has a great flavor. What I liked a lot are the Kakuni Buns. Erick also liked the buns since it was comparable with Asado Siopao which is his favorite.

Karaage and Kakuni Buns

Ramen Bar

We also ordered their Tempura Fried Ice Cream. This was not included in the Food Adventure Passport. The dessert looks really good on the menu so we went ahead and ordered. We were not disappointed! The vanilla ice cream was wrapped inside the flour and fried until it became golden brown. Yum!

Tempura Fried Ice Cream

Weeeeeeee

Our next food in the list was Red Crab’s Butter Ginger Crab Claws. We had a hefty serving of crab claws which got us excited. Satisfied!

Butter Ginger Crab Claws

The Red Crab

Pho Hoa’s fried spring rolls were served hot and soft which we loved. But I would rate their service 5 out of 10 because it was really poor. We waited 30 minutes for just three small pieces of spring rolls. We also ordered Thai iced tea (which wasn’t included in the food passport) from My Thai. It shares an adjoining room with Pho Hoa. I guess the two restaurants have the same owner.

Vietnamese fried spring rolls

Addicted to Thai iced tea

And for dessert we tried YoSwirls this time, I had Mango Yoghurt while Erick had the Vanilla Chocolate.

Mango Yoghurt

YoSwirls

Finally, we finished all the bestsellers of the Food Adventure Tour. It was a great and unique experience for foodie lovers like us. It gave us a hindsight on which restaurants serve the best food, has a great service, and value for the money in Venice Piazza.

So, has anyone tried the Food Adventure Tour? Share your thoughts :)

Incubus Live in Manila!

Last Thursday, I had one of the best nights ever! Incubus came to Manila again for their world tour to promote their new album, If Not, When? I watched the concert with Erick, Ru, and Sweet who came all the way from Davao. 

It was Incubus' third time in Manila in the past 6 years or so..They just love Manila so much! Don't they? :D Watching them for the second time was exhilarating. Incubus is the best band I've watched who gives a great live performance. Woohoo! 

Here's their performance of In the Company of Wolves. I really dig Incubus. Brandon is hotness! <3 He doesn't only have the looks but a great voice as well which makes my knees weak.

In the Company of Wolves

Food Adventure Tour at the Venice Piazza (Part 1)

Venice Piazza Food Adventure

We've been hearing about the Venice Piazza's Food Adventure Tour in McKinley Hill. Actually. we planned to try this two weeks ago but Erick and I were feeling lazy to go out at night because of the weather. But yesterday, we finally went to see what this Food Adventure Tour is all about.

The Food Adventure Tour provides a passport which entitles you to sample 12 featured bestsellers from 12 restaurants at the Venice Piazza. The food passport costs Php550 and it is good for one person only. Sharing is not allowed and drinks are not included. The Food Adventure Tour runs from all Saturdays beginning May and ending July, from 6pm-10pm.

Our passport to pigging out :)

First thing on our list is appetizer…For starters; we had Salmon Carpaccio from Old Vine Grille. The salmon was really flavorful considering its sampler size. I like how it was seasoned with basil and salt.

Salmon Carpaccio

Old Vine Grill

Our next stop was Blackwood Bistro. We sampled their Crab and Mango Salad. I’m not really a salad person but I what I liked most about the salad are the bits of mangoes and strawberries as well as the crabsticks although not plentiful.

Crab and Mango Salad 

Blackwood Bistro

I must say that the Baked Oysters from Pinchos was my favorite pick of the night. It tasted good even without putting salt on it.

Baked Oysters

Pinchos Bar and Restaurant

The quesadillas and buffalo wings from Sweat Pea is a comfort food for me. I liked the quesadillas better. The buffalo wings was just okay but there was barbecue sauce and sour cream dip which gave us option to flavor it the way we liked.

Quesadillas and Buffalo Wings

Sweat Pea

I was getting a bit full at this time so we’re off to the main dish…

For our main dish, we had Beef Ribs Adobado from Kuse. This was everyone’s favorite because of the big slices of beef back ribs. The serving on my plate consisted of thin meat wrapped around two big bones. Hehe. Or it was just my plate?! But in terms of flavor, I must say it’s one of the good adobos I’ve tasted next to our yaya’s cooking of course.

Beef Ribs Adobado

By this time, I’m on the verge of having a full stomach and it was almost 9pm. So we decided that we wouldn’t finish all the 12 dishes in one tour. We started a bit late like 730ish. It’s either we eat and run to the next resto and not savor the food just for the sake of finishing all the remaining dishes or we take our time in eating all the dishes.

We hopped to Little Asia for Minced Chicken with Lettuce cups and Vietnamese Spring rolls. Erick liked the minced chicken and I, on the other hand, went for their spring rolls.

Vietnamese spring rolls

Minced chicken and lettuce cups

Little Asia

And now, for my favorite part of the meal..desserts! This time, we tried Sol Gelato’s. There was a long line at the counter; their shop is really small. Food adventure holders are entitled to three scoops of gelato. I got Reese’s (which is my ultimate favorite), Wild Strawberry, and Mint Chocolate. Erick tried Double delight (very sinful chocolate), Stacciatella, and Choco Banana.

Gelato overload

Sol Gelato

We still have 5 remaining bestsellers to try next Saturday:

1) Baked Macaroni with Orange Summer Salad from Empire Deli & Restaurant

2) Fried Spring Rolls from Pho Hoa

3) Karaage and Kakuni Buns from Ramen Bar

4) Butter Ginger Crab Claws from The Red Crab

5) Mango or Vanilla Chocolate Yoghurt from Yoswirls

Overall, we loved the food adventure tour. It gave us the opportunity to try all the bestsellers from Venice Piazza’s restaurants. What is great is that you have to choice to finish it all off in one visit or you can come back next Saturday.

The only thing I didn’t like is that they have designated tables for the food adventure holders which is outside the resto. Good thing, the weather was cool last night. Or else we might be sweating like a pig while eating.

We’ll be back next week for the Part 2 of our food adventure tour. This is so fun!