CRITIC'S LOG: White Party
Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa introduces its new leading man, Markus Kraus
APPETITE
Cebu Sensations - column
By Kristina S. Tabon
Body Copy
We've read the news. This summer is the Philippines' hottest ever and
at Mactan Island, Cebu, where UV rays bounce off sedimentary rock like
a mirror, it's a whopping average of 29°C indoors with the air
conditioner on High Cool. In the back burner, all this guilt for
consuming Earth's resources percolate, and then I opened my mail.
Not email. Snail mail. Delivered by messenger. 1700h rendezvous at
the Hilton's Vanilla Beach Sala, an all-day dining restaurant oozing
with mid-twentieth century appeal due to its retro-colonial design and
whitewashed walls. It's open for guests at 0630 to 2300, yet at the
five o'clock call time, the sala was refreshingly exclusive save for
the staff. Not surprisingly, guests were requested to dress in white,
the perfect non-color for the sizzling hot day.
THE MAN
The White Cocktail Party was thrown in the honor of Markus Kraus,
Hilton Cebu's latest addition to their family. He arrived in white
and missing a fedora. Had he donned one, he would've looked like he
came off the set of Casablanca. His best accessory: his lovely wife,
Brigitte. Mr. Kraus comes to Cebu armed with a strong background in
the hotel industry and in working in a multi-cultural environment,
along with extensive experience in food and beverage management and
mentor programs. He has been with Hilton World Resorts since the 90's
and has managed locations as exotic as Dubai, Cairo, Fujairah, and
Ulaanbaatar, among others. His being a Swiss national eventually led
the table conversation to the topic of chocolate and he told us the
story about how his town had a resident chocolate factory and how
every day, the air smelled of milk chocolate. Mr. Markus Kraus had
the undeniable makings of a media darling.
Hilton's new leading man, Markus Kraus with his lovely wife, Brigitte,
and Chef Peter Wicki. Regular fare at the Vanilla Beach Café is
influenced by regional, Mediterranean, and Filipino cuisine,
highlighted by the Chef's Signature dishes, but for the White Party, a
special cocktail menu was served. It was designed to have something
for everybody and made the attendees very very comfortable indeed.
THE MENU
THE FOOD
The all-time favorite chicken lollipop, this crowd pleaser played up
its popularity to the hilt. They were gone in sixty seconds as soon
as they were spotted on the serving trays.
Seafood spring roll with Thai sweet chili. Among many things so
pleasant about the White Party was the well-roundedness of its menu as
well as its down-to-earth quality. Perhaps this was a reflection of
the nature of the party host: Markus Kraus. The seafood spring roll
was a welcome introduction for those going for less meaty fare.
The lemongrass chicken with pineapple: What can I say? It's chicken
on a happy stick! And the pineapple went very well with the sparkling
whites making the rounds.
Another crowd-pleaser, the california roll with wasabi-soy. With the
chicken lollies gone, the hungry writers pounced on this one. Funnily
enough at this party, beverage rolled out faster than food, so before
we had an hors d'oeuvre, we've already had two glasses of wine.
MannyO's was king that evening aside from new GM Markus Kraus, of
course.
The parade of pre-dinner sweet nothings began with the choco profite
rolls.
This fruit tartlet was sensational when followed with a sparkling
white. This author could've had more but there was a dinner up next
at the beachfront, so the plan was to lay off the sweets before my
appetite closes its doors for the evening.
Chocoholics got their fix with the choco rumble.
Savory with contrasting textures, the salmon gravadlax rosette was as
fine as they come.
[insert image here]
Pork Gyoza with Yuzu Soy. Although this author wasn't inebriated
enough to down a shot-glass of soy (weren't supposed to anyway), the
pork gyoza armed our bellies to withstand another round of drinks!
Fiery Thursdays at the Hilton Cebu's beachfront is one of two themed
nights with buffet dinners, the other day being Monday. Think of it
this way, Monday tends to be slow around the metro while Thursday is
the perfect pre-party weekend starter. Either day is a good choice
especially when the food hits the spot and the entertainment,
spectacular.
The baked grouper was just one of the many delicious entrees served at
Fiery Thursday Nights. Local seafood specialties take centre stage
here as well as a hot show of fire poi dancers.
The buffet stretched across the beachfront: one end comprised of a
collection of ceviches and seaweed salads; the other, a high-end
version of a local fruit stand. That means, you could start with
dessert or end with it. Your choice.
stir-fried prawn with garlic and chili
squid adobo with black bean sauce
The next photos are the most photogenic from the bunch, and no
surprise, they're mostly from the desserts table.
puto kutsinta
cassava cake
sapin-sapin
PEOPLE
The usual suspects: From left to right, Cebu Daily New's (CDN) food
columnist, Aissa dela Cruz, KT, Expat's Richard Ramos, CDN Lifestyle's
Regina Aguilar with Hilton PR's Mia Sy. New GM Markus Kraus remarked
how strictly we followed the attire request to come in white. He
thought for sure the staff will respect it, but didn't expect the
guests to go into detail. Kraus was pleasantly surprised at this
observation. A number of the writers did go into detail. Aissa dela
Cruz of Kitchen Stories (CDN) was insightful enough to don metallic
flats for the occasion while yours truly and Sunstar Daily Cebu's
April Rama floundered to our dinner tables in our stilettos. Staff
kindly offered us Hilton-embossed room slippers.
The photo ops were never complete without a tableau: From left to
right, Expat's Richard Ramos, CDN Lifestyle's Regina Aguilar, Hilton's
new GM Markus Kraus with wife, Brigitte, and Chef Peter Wicki, CDN
columnist Aissa dela cruz, Hilton PR's Mia Sy, and KT.
INFORMATION CARD
NAME OF RESTAURANT / Promo Theme nights at the Hilton Cebu Resort and
Spa
Schedule Mondays and Thursdays
Where beachfront of the Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa
Details
Cuisine Filipino favorites, Grill, local seafood
Service type Dinner buffet
Entertainment Dances of the Pacific, fire poi dancing, local bands
Time 6:00PM, dinner; 7:00PM, start of performances
Contact details
Address Punta Engaño, Mactan Island, Cebu Philippines
Telephone number/s For theme nights reservation, call (032) 492.7777
For an exclusive show and dinner buffet, call Events Executives at
(032) 492.7760
Fax number/s
URL/email sales.cebu@hilton.com,
www.hiltonworldresorts.com/cebu
