What motor show – in the Philippines and elsewhere – would be without its bevy of young and nubile models? The 3rd Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) was no exception, as exhibitors enlisted their aid to attract business for their respective companies.

I suppose it’s the combination of all that horsepower and attractive women that make for such a potent and powerful mix. Like bees to honey – or fireflies to a naked light bulb if you like – men are much more disposed to examine a particular car with an alluring model in attendance.

Enough talk. Scroll down for more.

As I have written in an earlier blog entry about Filipina auto show models, they are a class apart from the salesmen whose job is it to explain the car and sell the same. How often have I seen model after model refer an inquisitive customer to a specialist to answer his questions!

On the main, most of the models at the 3rd PIMS were more or less dressed in keeping with the particular brand image a car manufacturer wanted to project. For example, models working at the Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW stands were dressed in evening gowns. The girls at the Suzuki stand were clad in Sailor Moon-like costumes. Hardly anyone though was wearing an outrageously revealing outfit.

Speaking of which, I think the girls themselves are a top draw for many men who visit auto shows, as much as the cars on display themselves.

Quite demure, don’t you think?

A model in a red dress posing at the Mitsubishi Motors stand.

A model in a yellow dress posing at the Chevrolet stand.

A model in a black leather-like jacket posing at the Ford stand.

A model in a silver jumpsuit at the Honda Cars stand.

A model posing at the Yokohama Tire stand.

A model in a black dress posing at the Nissan Motors stand.

A pair of models at the Hyundai Motors stand.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) recently held the 3rd Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) at the World Trade Center in Pasay City after a one-year hiatus, with no less than President Benigno C. Aquino III cutting the ceremonial ribbon amid a very optimistic industry outlook.

The reason? Philippine car and truck sales grew significantly in the first half of 2010 as an August 9, 2010 BusinessWorld article said, and 3rd PIMS attendance figures – about 75,000 for the four-day event – indicate a continuing and healthy interest in new vehicles:

“V[ehicle sales] have remained brisk with the industry maintaining the first semester’s growth pace last month, data released during the weekend showed.

“Twenty firms sold a total of 98,119 units from January to July, up 37.2% from the same period last year, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) said in a statement.

“The growth was slightly up from the first semester’s 37.1% and was the second highest so far this year after a 37.4% January to April rise.

“The July tally should mean the industry’s performance will be sustained in the latter half of 2010, the CAMPI said.

“Passenger car sales grew by 34.7% to 34.029 units while the commercial vehicle segment — which makes up the bulk of the industry’s sales — rose by 38.6% to 64,090 units.”

Quite a number of vehicles were introduced to the Philippine motoring public for the first time at the 3rd PIMS, among them the Toyota Hybrid-X concept car, which is touted by its manufacturer as “sustainable mobility for modern families.” It has the dimensions of a typical family car: “an overall length of 4,500 mm., width 1,850 mm., and height, 1,440 mm.” This concept car will most likely be the the template for Toyota’s next-generation stable of hybrid passenger vehicles.

Another car – an prthat made its first official appearance in the Philippines was the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMC gull-winged grand tourer, which first made its worldwide debut just last year at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. It’s certainly not a family car with just two seats and a limited cargo-carrying capacity. This roadster, however, will make your heart race with its AMG 6.2 liter, 32-valve V8 engine producing 563 hp. at 6,800 rpm.

One of the nifty features of the SLS AMC, as I just found out, is that its doors blow off with the aid of explosive bolts should you be unfortunate enough to turn turtle in this car, but with its price tag running in the eight digits, would you risk overturning this fine ride?

Suzuki, better known in this country for its diminutive automobiles like the Alto and Celerio, decided to unveil its first mid-sized car for the Philippine market. Called the Kizashi, it was first introduced as a concept car in 2007 and brought into production in 2009. Packing 185 hp., it is meant to be Suzuki’s flagship car.

Meanwhile, Hyundai also chose this occasion to introduce its ix-Metro compact hybrid car to the Philippine market. From the GoAuto website:

“The lightweight (950 kg.) ix-Metro rests on a 2,513 mm. wheelbase and measures 3,925 mm. long, 1,760 mm. wide and 1,576 mm. high. It has a ground clearance of 207 mm.

“Designed at Hyundai’s Namyang design centre in South Korea, the ix-Metro is said to explore a new direction with its use of faceted surfaces and strong triangulating lines, which aim to achieve a “pleasing dynamic tension”. There is also a high beltline designed to give the occupants a more cosseting, protective feeling.

“The designers have dispensed with a B-pillar on the ix-Metro, but have adopted a sliding mechanism for rear access rather than conventional ‘suicide doors’.”

I’ll be featuring the interesting cars and trucks I found at the 3rd PIMS in my succeeding blog entries. Stay tuned!

In its previous entries this blog has discussed many forms of cuisine in Hong Kong, from street food, roast goose, dim sum, curries, clay pot rice, even Chinese-style molecular cuisine, but I think I haven’t written about noodles. In this blog post, I’ll be talking about wonton noodles and two restaurants that serve them. Plus, dessert.

Let’s start with Mak’s, a storied restaurant with a long pedigree in the wonton noodle trade. From Wikipedia:

“The noodles restaurant has its roots in a Guangzhou eaterie [sic] established pre-war by Mak Woon-chi. One of his sons, Mak King-hung (Chinese: 麥鏡鴻), nicknamed Mak Ngan (Chinese: 麥奀) because he was extremely skinny as a child, started an open air food stall in Central in 1968 in which his younger brother was the chef. The founder retired in 1983, and renounced his food stall license in lieu of HK$36,000 in compensation from the Hong Kong government.

“The founder’s eldest son, Mak Chi-chung (麥志忠), opened his own restaurant Chung Kee Noodles (Chinese: 忠記麵家), in 1986, while Mak senior partnered his son-in-law in 1989 to reincarnate his original business in Wellington Street. He ran the restaurant himself and retired again in 1996. The business was succeeded by his second son Mak Chi-ming, the current proprietor.”

So Mrs. Unlawyer ordered a bowl of wonton noodles and I ordered one of beef noodles. As I expected, the servings were smaller than what we were accustomed to:

“They say that they keep the bowls small so that the noodles don’t overexpand with all the soup… “

Perhaps, but we were so hungry that we ate the thin but firm egg noodles almost in a flash, such that we never got to verify this story. We may have eaten quickly, but it wasn’t quick enough for us not to notice that a whole prawn – and nothing else – was wrapped into Mrs. Unlawyer’s wontons. The broth was also particularly tasty. Its ingredients reputedly include “powdered dried flounder, dried shrimp roe, and pork bones.” As for my beef noodles, they were just as tasty.

Despite the diminutive servings, our wonton noodle meal was quite satisfying.

I forgot how much we paid for our noodles, but I think we didn’t pay more that HKD 30 or so per serving.

On another occasion, Mrs. Unlawyer and took a late lunch at the Tsim Chai Kee restaurant which happens to be just across the street from Mak’s Noodle. We ordered the same thing: wonton noodles, and we immediately noticed that the servings at this noodle shop were larger that that ladled out by its competitor.

What do you know? The noodles, the wonton dumplings, even the broth that made up my lunch tasted just as good as that served by Mak’s Noodle, although Mrs. Unlawyer remarked that she preferred the noodles served at the latter restaurant. They were more flavorful, she said.

At any rate, they were both delicious to my taste.

Our meal at this restaurant was also inexpensive, at about HKD 30 or so per bowl as far as I can remember.

—

On yet another occasion, Mrs. Unlawyer and I set off to find one of the few old-school Hong Kong-style bakeries left in this place: the Tai Cheong Bakery, which is located just a little to the south and uphill from Mak’s and Tsim Chai Kee, on Lyndhurst Terrace.

This bakery is popular for its egg tarts, and it differs from that made by, oh say Lord Stow’s, is that its shell is made out of what many describe as a shortbread-like crust. Plus the custard filling is sweeter and dare I say eggier to boot.

Egg tarts aren’t the only Tai Cheong specialty. We also enjoyed a certain flaky lotus seed-paste pastry containing a salted egg yolk in the center. It was a particularly pleasant flavor contrast of salty and sweet.

I think we paid something like HKD 5 per piece. The lotus seed-paste pastry actually makes for a great pasalubong present.

At any rate, Mrs. Unlawyer and I ended up taking these pastries with a cup of coffee at the nearby Pacific Coffee shop. The etiquette at this place is: you return your used coffee cups at the counter and throw all your trash yourself.

Now for the addresses: Mak’s Noodle is at 77 Wellington Street, Central; phone 2854 3810. Tsim Chai Kee is at 98 Wellington Street, Central; phone 2850 6471. Tai Cheong Bakery is at 35 Lyndhurst Terrace. These are cash-only joints.

I would like to note that Mak’s opens late, at 11 AM and closes early, at about 8 PM. Tsim Chai Kee, on the other hand, opens early, at 9 AM and closes late, at 9 PM.

Loyal passengers of Philippine Airlines (PAL), especially those who frequently fly its medium- to long-haul routes, are no doubt pleased that a new plane – a pair of them, actually – has joined its fleet of aging Boeing 747 and Airbus A330 and A340 widebody jets.

Meet the Philippine Airlines Boeing 777-300ER.

I recently got the chance to fly PAL in economy class from Manila to Hong Kong on this new plane, and this is how this cabin looks like:

As you can see, the Fiesta Class cabin, or what PAL prefers to call its economy class, on its 777s is fitted with a 3-4-3 seat configuration, and a seat pitch – legroom, in other words – of up to 34 inches. By way of comparison, other airlines who operate the 777 have a 3-3-3 seat configuration in this part of the plane.

Note the empty exit row and bulkhead seats, as it is now PAL’s policy to sell an assignment to these seats at a premium.

The economy class cabin of a PAL 777 seats 328 passengers. The business class cabin of the same plane, with a 2-3-2 seat configuration, seats 42. I don’t have any pictures of Mabuhay Class but it looks remarkably similar to the same product sold by other airlines, for example Korean Air, down to the same lie-flat seat.

Each economy class seat on a PAL 777-300ER is equipped with its own in-flight entertainment system with in-seat video capable of delivering audio and video on demand, very similar to that now fitted on that airline’s refurbished 747-400 jets featured in this blog not too long ago. The only difference I can tell is the presence of a Ethernet port and a USB port that is visible on the lower left-hand corner of the seatback pictured above. Obviously, the USB port is for charging electronic devices, but what is the Ethernet port for? Is some sort of in-flight Internet in the cards for PAL?

At present, PAL operates its 777-300ERs on flights from Manila to Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Sydney/Melbourne.

Let’s all wish 2010 Binibining Pilipinas-Universe winner Maria Venus Raj good luck as she steels herself for the upcoming Miss Universe 2010 beauty pageant which will be held on August 23, 2010 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.

Like her predecessors, Ms. Raj is no stranger to the beauty pageant world. She started to compete in beauty pageants at the tender age of 17 and won a title or two before bagging the Binibining Pilipinas Universe crown last March 6, 2010 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Ms. Raj is no stranger to controversy too, having been previously dethroned by pageant organizer Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) for alleged inconsistencies regarding her personal circumstances. Pressure from interest groups prompted BPCI to reconsider its decision and after Ms. Raj fulfilled a condition imposed by BPCI – the acquisition of a Philippine passport – she was reinstated to her title, a feat never before achieved by previous title holders whose prizes were taken away.

Here we see Ms. Raj with 2010 Binibining Pilipinas-World winner Czarina Catherine Gatbonton.

Ms. Raj graduated with honors from the Bicol University with a degree in Communication Arts, major in Journalism.

A hearty good luck from all of us!

To complete our survey of Michelin-starred restaurants in Hong Kong, Mrs. Unlawyer and I chose to take our midday meal at Caprice, the French restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel and the second only to Lung King Heen to earn a coveted three-star rating in this part of the world. Here is what the Guide has to say about this place:

“Lamb from Sisteron, duck from Challans and chicken from Bresse highlight straightaway that much superb quality produce used here is imported directly from France: the resulting dishes demonstrate great finesse and imagination.”

This time, however, we opted to take lunch for several reasons, one of which was I wanted to satisfy my curiosity and try their three-course set lunch menu, inclusive of a glass of wine, which at HKD 450 per person is a steal for a restaurant of this caliber. Mrs. Unlawyer opted to choose her meal from the a la carte menu.

So she commenced her meal with a Duck Foie Gras Terrine, Warm Brioche, Golden Apple Tatin, and Black Currant. The foie gras terrine, as expected, was rich and fatty, with the black currant jelly and apple tatin helping cut down what we Pinoys describe as umay or suya.

At this point of our meal Mrs. Unlawyer and I were talking so much that our waiter noticed that her brioche was getting cold. He approached her and replaced it with a warm one. Now that’s what I call attention to detail!

Her main course was a Poitou Lamb en Croûte de Sel, Black Olive Polenta, Vegetable Tian in Brown Nut Jus, or a fillet of lamb raised in the Poitou region of France baked inside a salt crust. This particular dish involved a bit of showmanship from the waiter, who first delivered the mass to our table for our approval, then cut it open to reveal the perfectly cooked lamb within. He then sliced the lamb and placed it on a plate already laden with its garnishings.

Voila!

For dessert she had a Cavaillon Melon, Biscuit de Gene, Aromatic Mint, and Cantaloupe Sorbet.

So, let’s now see what I ordered from the set lunch menu:

For my appetizer I had Warm Flammenküche, Marinated Salmon and Mesclun Salad in Cumin Vinaigrette. Flammenküche is a specialty from Alsace and is frequently described as a thin-crust Alsatian-style pizza. True enough, the pastry was very crisp and flaky, but the highly seasoned salmon was a bit overpowering for my taste.

Next was my main course: Lamb Shoulder Parmentier, Mixed Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, and Spanish Chorizo. A parmentier is the French version of shepherd’s pie, the only difference being the mashed potato is present at the bottom of the dish as well as the top, or so one website says.

For some reason or the other I opted to take a cheese platter to end my meal instead of the usual sweet. I didn’t have the faintest idea what to get though, so Mrs. Unlawyer suggested that I order a selection of the mildest to the sharpest cheeses on hand. Our waiter immediately set off to get it.

Only later did I find out that Caprice’s cheese cellar is renowned throughout the region, as the Wall Street Journal explains:

“A specially designed cellar, kept at a chilly 10 to 12 degrees Celsius, holds an eclectic range of 35 rare cheeses, aged for up to four years, including some that can’t be found anywhere else in Asia.”

From left to right: Roquefort, Comté, Munster. I failed to catch the name of the fourth but our waiter said it was akin to Brie. The last – and my personal favorite – is Cabecou, a goat milk cheese. Very creamy and quite mild. My next favorite was the Comte, a cheese so aged that it has acquired a very nutty flavor, not to mention that the salt in it has crystallized so much to the point of crunchiness.

Easily, this was my favorite part of lunch.

The service at Caprice was, in a word, superb. The waiters carefully explained all the dishes we ordered and patiently answered all our questions. Our meals didn’t take long to arrive at our table.

Caprice is located at the 6th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance Street, Central. Phone +852 3196 8660. Smart casual attire is the norm. Reservations strongly recommended.

Mrs. Unlawyer and I first heard about Bo Innovation from watching the Hong Kong episode of Anthony Bourdain’s TV show No Reservations. What first caught our attention was its rather unusual name, unusual that is for a Fookien speaker. Even an utter novice as I am can tell that “Bo” in that language translates as “No” in English, so I thought why would anyone name a restaurant that claims to be at the leading edge of Chinese cuisine in such a fashion?

Only self-proclaimed and self-trained Demon Chef Alvin Leung knows. Or I could be wholly mistaken. It doesn’t really matter.

Seriously now, many describe Bo Innovation as a purveyor of molecular cuisine with Chinese characteristics. So on one of recent trips to this city I phoned in a reservation for two. Mrs. Unlawyer and I hopped in a taxi, and off we went to Ship Street in the Wan Chai district to finally try its Michelin-starred cuisine.

We sat at the open counter and ordered the chef’s table menu consisting of 18 courses. Warning: this is a picture-heavy entry.

Dead Garden.

Tomato – the first part.

Tomato – the second part.

Caviar.

Prawn Noodle.

Toro.

Iberico 36.

White Asparagus.

Crab.

Yak and Mac.

Molecular Xiao Long Bao.

Sweetbread.

Suckling Pig Rib.

Sex on the Beach.

Blue Cheese.

The Big Bang.

Shui Jin Fang.

Jasmine Chocolate Kiss.

The address of Bo Innovation is at Shop 13, 2/F, J Residence, 60 Johnston Road, Wan Chai. Phone 2850 8371. Reservations strongly recommended.

The Lung King Heen restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong has, for the second year in a row, earned a three-star ranking from the Michelin guide for Hong Kong. To date, it is the only restaurant specializing in Chinese cuisine to earn that honor. While the Hong Kong version of Guide may have earned no small amount of controversy since its introduction in 2008, everybody seems to agree that its chef, Chan Yan-tak, rightfully deserved the plum.

Here is what the Guide has to say about this restaurant:

“Ingredients here are of the highest quality – particularly the seafood which is impeccably fresh; all dishes are expertly crafted, nicely balanced and enticingly presented. The serving team is highly professional and describe dishes with great care and obvious pride.”

So one rainy night Mrs. Unlawyer and I took a taxi and had ourselves dropped off at the lobby of this hotel, located on 8 Finance Street within the International Finance Centre complex, and went up to the fourth floor to a very tastefully appointed and intimate dining hall.

First off was an amuse bouche, in this case a plate of crisp-fried sea bass to whet our appetites. This morsel was to set the tone for the rest of the meal, as most of the courses were created out of fresh seafood and vegetables, which is the hallmark of good Cantonese cuisine.

The restaurant’s waiters concisely described each and every dish brought to our table, and they did so with an unflagging flourish as the night wore on.

So, the first course was what the restaurant calls the Lung King Heen combination, made up of barbecued suckling pig, barbecued pork with honey, and roasted goose with plum sauce.

The second course: braised shark’s fin with crab meat soup.

It was at this time that it dawned on us that what Lung King Heen was serving us was a miniature version of a Chinese banquet, or what Filipinos refer to as a lauriat. Ask anyone outside of the Philippines what a lauriat is though and you will probably draw a blank.

The third course: simmered lobster in spicy plum sauce, served on a bed of what I think is spinach.

On to the fourth course: braised abalone cube with star garoupa fillet in supreme oyster sauce.

One of the challenges I faced when taking these pictures was that the restaurant’s dining room was illuminated with halogen lights, thus creating this overly warm and orangey color cast on these pictures. Flash photography was certainly out of the question as it would disturb the other diners. Solution: I set the Nikon D3000 DSLR I used to ISO 3200 and decided not to color correct the resulting pictures.

The fifth course: wok-fried Wagyu beef cubes with Japanese green pepper, garlic, and black pepper. This was the last meat course of the night.

The sixth course: braised seasonal vegetables with bamboo pith and Yu fungus.

The seventh course: fried rice with scallops, conpoy, and vegetables.

I can still remember the first Chinese banquet I took in Hong Kong. My parents and I were treated to dinner by an executive of Jebsen and Co., and aside from being amused at the novelty of drinking distilled water served from a bottle, I was likewise baffled at the fact that the rice course was served at the latter part of the meal.

The eighth course and the first of two desserts: baked sago pudding with chestnut paste.

The ninth, and last course: petit fours with a Chinese twist.

It took us the better part of two hours to complete our meal, and we were one of the last diners to leave the restaurant. It was worth every penny we paid.

To reserve a table – which I strongly recommend – at Lung King Heen, call 3196 8880. Major credit cards accepted. Smart casual is the apparent dress code at this place.

In a previous entry I said that the Tao Yuan Restaurant along Malvar Street in Manila serves the best Hainanese chicken rice in Manila.

Now I think this eatery has a worthy competitor for the title, and it isn’t even a full-service restaurant: STV’s Hainanese Chicken.

Owned by executive-turned-restaurateur Stevie Villacin, his reputation and that of his signature dish spread almost exclusively over the Internet, to be more specific among Metro Manila’s many food bloggers. Here’s an interesting fact: Dessert Comes First says Mr. Villacin only started producing his version of Hainanese chicken rice only late last year.

So one Sunday morning I picked up the phone, dialed (0906) 508-4155, and ordered a single Hainanese chicken rice set for lunch, only to find out that I should have done so a day in advance. Naturally I was crestfallen, but I was told that I could place an order for dinner that very night. When the appointed time came, Mrs. Unlawyer and I hastened to Mr. Villacin’s Bel-Air, Makati address to claim our order. We received two trays – one for the chopped whole chicken and the other for the rice – plus a small bag for the sauces.

The difference between Mr. Villacin’s Hainanese chicken rice and those that one would find in Singapore is that the chicken is immersed in its own broth, as opposed to this liquid being served separately. I suppose he has good reason for doing so, mainly having to do with preventing the chicken from drying out while customers drive home with their prize. At any rate, the fat in the broth did its job well, too well in fact, to the point that Mrs. Unlawyer remarked that the chicken was rather greasy.

The chicken I received was well-cooked with just a few traces of blood.

Note that the Hainanese chicken is garnished with a carved tomato, some cucumber slices, and coriander stalks. Did you know that the price of a kilogram of this herb, also known as wansuy in these parts, costs about PHP 700 or so?

What would Hainanese chicken rice be without, well, its flavored rice? Some sources say that the stock used to prepare the rice must be created specifically for this purpose, but the reference I now have on hand, The Best of Singapore Cooking by Leong Yee Soo, makes no mention of this necessity. It doesn’t matter really if Mr. Villacin used either technique – the rice tasted good.

It’s interesting to note that The New Mrs. Lee’s Cookbook, originally written by Lee Chin Koon, makes no mention of a recipe for Hainanese chicken rice.

Anyway, Stevie’s Hainanese chicken rice comes with the usual dipping condiments: pounded ginger, chili sauce, and a dark soy sauce with the consistency of hoisin sauce, plus a topping sauce. The chili sauce supplied by Mr. Villacin was not to our taste so we supplemented it from our stash of sambal.

Each set, which costs PHP 950, serves five persons. What do you do if you are stuck with leftovers after your meal and want to partake of it again the next day? Mr. Villacin has pretty detailed instructions on how to deal with it: don’t reheat the chicken. Set it on a table to thaw and at the same time heat the broth it came with until it comes to a boil. Pour the now-hot broth on the chicken and let it warm the meat.

Here’s a map to Stevie’s place:

STV’s Hainanese Chicken is located at 21 Libra Street, Bel-Air Village, Makati City [GPS coordinates: 14.55923º N., 121.03800º E.]. Phone (0906) 508-4155. Orders for one to two sets can be made at least a day in advance, while orders for three sets or more must be made in two. Cash only.

When it comes to Sunday lunch buffets, there was a time that the Dusit Thani Manila hotel at the Ayala Center in Makati City wasn’t at the top of the list of such destinations, in the face of intense competition from the other hotels and restaurants in that city’s Central Business District.

That was the case, until sometime last year when it invented what its management calls a Crossover Family Sunday Brunch, and created what may be the best Sunday buffet in Metro Manila today.

A lunch or dinner buffet served at a Philippine hotel would usually be held at just one of its restaurants, typically its coffee shop. The Dusit Thani Manila, however, took buffet dining to the next level by rolling out not just one but four buffet spreads created by its restaurants – the Italian Tosca, the Japanese Umu, the Thai Benjarong, and by its coffee shop Basix – stretching out over two floors plus a free flow of sparkling wine and other drinks.

To enjoy this feast, a diner need only reserve a table for himself and his party – and I do recommend making one – at any of the four above-mentioned restaurants, and admission will be granted to all of the buffet tables for just one price.

Take note though that Basix and Umu are located on the ground floor of the hotel, while Benjarong and Tosca are on the second.

By and large, the biggest buffet spread this hotel has to offer belongs to Tosca. It offers a selection of antipasti, as well as pasta dishes and risotto made to order. You can count on a number of meat dishes, and a carvery to boot, plus a choice of desserts.

Over at Basix, one will find Filipino dishes like lechon and other Asian specialities – Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cuisine was on the menu – plus the traditional roast beef, as well as other roasted meats and fish. Yes I almost forgot: this restaurant also serves fresh oysters, mussels, and shrimp on ice, as well as other sorts of seafood.

The buffet at the Umu restaurant serves a variety of dishes like sushi, sashimi, tempura, noodles, and other Japanese specialities. Not sure though if teppanyaki is also part of the buffet.

I must mention though that of all the restaurants the Dusit Thani Manila has to offer, Umu is by far the farthest for diners seated at the other three eateries, and is thus a tad inconvenient to reach. Yet aside from Basix it is the hotel’s most popular food outlet; my sister tried to make a reservation here for our party but was refused, and thus we ended up at Tosca.

I think the star of the entire buffet was that offered by the Benjarong restaurant, and all because of its pad thai noodles freshly prepared by a Thai chef I call the Pad Thai Lady. She worked non-stop on her feet tossing the ingredients on a red-hot wok and unfailingly served her dish with a smile.

Aside from pad thai, the Benjarong buffet also serves a number of Thai dishes, plus a number of Thai rice-based desserts.

Of course the children are not to be ignored. There is a cozy play area at the lobby where kids can frolic all they want, plus a mime hamming it up with everyone.

The Dusit Thani Manila Crossover Family Sunday Brunch is available, naturally, on Sundays from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Price per person is PHP 1,600.00 nett; kids from 7 – 12 years get in at 50 percent off. Call (02) 867-3333 for reservations which I strongly recommend.