condominium Archives - Between Bites - Bites of Food, Travel and Lifestyle

Luxury in Food and Ambience: Cafe on the 6th and Ascott

October 12, 2009 by Janey

There is quite an intriguing appeal to the history of the hotel and the stirring events that transpired before.

Ascott with its sophisticated and strikingly modern design is one of the most luxurious of the Metro’s serviced apartments, conveniently located at the heart of the business district. Designed exclusively for international executives and their families, services and facilities are tailored to meet every guest’s need.

Image Source: Ascott.com

The two bedroom suites are spacious residences equipped with wireless Internet (WiFi), wash and dryer, fully operational kitchen (read: all the works! Microwave, coffee maker, stove, pots, fridge.)

What makes Ascott special is despite being near the mall complexes, once you are inside the hotel there is a sense of isolation –an utter peace and quiet that follows.

Café on the 6^th

The hotel’s sophistication threads to the remarkable café found on its 6^th floor. Upholstered seats, white ceiling, subdued lighting, and wood tones complete the look. There’s a buffet area at the far end of the dining room where they serve their hearty breakfast buffets.

Café on the 6^th recently released a new menu that includes dishes that tie well with the winsome ambience. Best sellers remain to be part of the menu like Kaldereta and Sinigang and Fish and Chips. Chef Dennis Edillon Jr. is in charge of the café’s kitchen.

On the Table

Artisanal Cheese Board PHP 470

Cheese selection with olives, grapes, wheat crackers/crusty bread, dried nuts and apricots and honey is a good starter. Local farm produced white chevre (I think this is the local white cheese), pecorino (this is the cheese studded with peppercorns) and blue pepato. The crisp wheat cracker subdued taste and bit of sweetness of the dried apricots complement with the saltiness of the medley of cheese

Chicken and Seafood Frites PHP 615

Lightly battered prawns, chicken fingers and red snapper, mussels and squid fried to a golden crisp, served with onion rings equally golden and appetizing, served with home made aiolo and ponzu sauce

The Ascott Salad PHP

Mesclun, fresh mango, grapes, and green apple with blue cheese dressing and scallop croutons

Full Rack Baby Back Ribs PHP 700++

I invited Chai to go with me to Ascott. This was Chai’s entrée and she devoured the whole thing all by her little self. Smoky baby back with tender meat –slightly spiced.

Certified Angus Rib Eye Steak 12oz PHP 1050

Fresh from the grill, cooked to your preferred doneness –had that charred outer layer and tender meat locked with beefy juiciness. It was served with three string beans as garnish and mashed potato with truffle oil as the siding. Perfect combination. This was my entrée and I couldn’t have picked a better choice.

Pencil in my calendar an immediate return visit. Atmosphere is secondary compared to the delicious food and scrumptious eats created in the kitchen of Café on the 6^th.

Image Source: Chai

Opulence in the décor and service, manifested in the lavish bedrooms that can be expected of a luxury hotel, is obviously felt. While in an overseas assignment, leisure vacation or relocation, indulge in the exclusive Ascott lifestyle within Makati’s prime business district.

*Thanks Spanx for the invite!

Ascott

Glorietta 4, Ayala Center,

Makati City 1225, Philippines

(632) 729 8888

enquiry.manila@the-ascott.com

32 Flavors Entry

Az Café on the 6^th Multiply Album

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Potluck and Teatime at Racq’s Pad, Columns

June 26, 2009 by Janey

Saturday evening was spent at Racq’s pad in Columns. This dinner was planned way ahead, before Chai’s flight to Vietnam last week.

Racq and Chai ordered 2 pizzas from Shakey’s while Bubba and I brought pasta and dessert.

Chai highlights her recent travel to Vietnam and Phnom Penh Cambodia. She was terrified during her first night in Vietnam and wanted to go home. Backpacking alone is fun but I guess it’s also scary. She met a few English guys-students from the bus ride to Phnom Penh who were also backpacking and that made her feel more secure. Despite the misfortunes of leaving her camera charger and cab drivers making her pay thrice as much, she really enjoyed her me-time during the trip.

Image Source: chai talag

I still hope she went to Siem Reap so we could have exchanged more stories surrounding the enchanting rustic beauty of Angkor Wat. There’s always next time. Nevertheless, we shared similar observations about Ho Chi Minh City and the people of Cambodia.

After dinner, I volunteered to wash the dishes. Racq showed us around Columns and the facilities. It’s quite nice and I like that security is tight. The amenities include a well-equipped gym, swimming pools, function rooms and game room. Racq suggested having teatime by the pool but since it was drizzling a bit, we detoured to the game room.

Teatime at the game room was fun. Racq had these cute white tiny teacups with handle and an accompanying saucer (Note to self: Open the box of teacup set I bought in college. But those are colorful with words, I really liked the white ones Racq has so I probably will scout something similar with a nice feminine ceramic old-style tea pot to match). The game room was really quiet except for 2 others peacefully playing billiards. We talked about make-up, travel, events and relationships. I admire Racq’s open-mindedness about relationships and being a strong independent woman. She learns from her past and moves on. It was another evening of good conversation. I had one the other night with Fran and Didi and few days after, with Eric, Pat, Fred and Madz. Friends really add to one’s character and you can also pick a thing or two from their learnings in life and share with them your life’s learnings too.

Love this new simple blue dress I got. It has received a lotta compli 🙂

It was quite funny to have Bubba join our tea session being a big guy holding a little teacup and sipping from it. He was supposed to go training but since he was already late, he decided to stay. I don’t mind having him there though even if we are all girls. His friends are my friends and my friends are his.