10 Best Dishes and Things to Do at Zula-Makati

Zula- Makati just recently open its doors to the general public. For those unfamiliar with the hotel, It used to be the site of Fersal Hotel.

Zula -Makati facade with nice vertical garden and open space

The hostel features a nice Mediterranean style cuisine, party place, cocktail area,  nice ambiance and friendly staff for those who wanted to place to stay near the poblacion area or old Makati.

10 Best Dishes and Things to Do at Zula -Makati Restaurant

Colorful Machuca or Baldoza tiles

10.) Nice OOTD and Instagrammer paradise – One can enjoy the outdoor ambiance and place to take photos. I enjoyed their vertical garden, machuca tiles on walls, decor, industrial tables and their rustic ambiance.

9.) Labaneh – It soft, cream cheese made from strained yogurt, that is popular in Middle East and Mediterranean cuisine. It is quite healthy and goes well with any pita or baget bread.

Sabich salad ( Php 200) per serving

fried cauliflower with tahina and special zula sauce

7.)Appetizer – There are nice appetizer salad available, These are healthy and colorful. Another one is their fried cauliflower serve with Tahina and special zula sauce mixture ( Php 190 per serving ) ideal between 1 to 2 person sharing.

deep fried pita bread with spices

7.) Deep Fried Pita bread is highly recommended for those who wanted a light meal. It is specially made pita bread deep fried and topped with spices and Tahina. ( Php 75 per serving ) ideal between 1 to 2 person sharing. Highly Recommended.

6.) Lavash and Baget bread is soft, thin unleavened flatbread made in a tandoor and is eaten in many parts of the world.  This is best paired with their pickled lemon.

5.) Fool Proof Shakshouka – Fool Proof Shakshouka is a dish serve with eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper,nutmeg and topped with green parsley in a hot sizzling plate. This cuisine varies from one town to another and found in many parts of  Middle east and Mediterranean regions.  If you are craving for this dish- One can order them at zula. This is best serve hot with their pickled lemon. ( Php 300) per serving.

4.) Arayes– delicious grilled pita bread sandwiches stuffed with meat (beef and lamb). This middle eastern dish is crispy in the outside and juicy in the inside. One can also add their dipping sauces depending on your taste buds. ( Php 350 ) per serving.

3.) Good Selection of coffee – Zula takes pride of sourcing their coffee beans from the farmers of Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao.

Halva Parfait

2.) Good Desserts – If you are looking for dessert,Halva Parfait which had a mixture of cream, vanilla halva topped with roasted pistachios, dizzled with date syrup.  ( ( Php 200 per serving ) Highly recommended.

 Malabi is like a pudding with rose water syrup, desiccated coconut infused into this dessert topped with roasted pistachios ( Php 200 per serving ) Highly recommended.

Zula -Makati staff ( photo courtesy of Zula Makati)

1.) Friendly Staff– Their attentive staff and good in-house service make your stay worthwhile. You will feel the warm hospitality of the restaurant. There is also a booking area for traveler within the restaurant. They have local and international destination available for those interested to travel.

Note : Prices quoted may be subject to change by the restaurant management

Zula Restaurant- Operations: Everyday

Operational Hours: Sunday to Thursday 6:00 am to 11:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 6:00am to 1:00 am

Zula -Hostel for Wanderers

Address: 7840 Makati Avenue corner Guanzon street, Barangay Poblacion, Makati City

Contact : (02) 573-1461

 

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Grand Hyatt’s Coffee Tasting Experience with Henry& Sons and Port of Mokha Launching

Grand Hyatt – Bonifacio Global City ( BGC) in partnership with homegrown coffee company’s Henry and Sons owned by the 2019 Philippine National Barista Champion Michael Harris Conlin collaborates with the coffee innovator and advocate Mr. Mokhtar Alkanshali to have the Filipinos taste the high-rating coffee from Yemen, Port of Mokha.

Coffee Exploration

The coffee tasting and launching was dubbed” Coffee Exploration ” was held the 6th floor pavilion area.

Grand Hyatt general manager

Despite the monsoon rains and overcast weather in Metro Manila, It was well-attended by coffee connoisseurs, industry practitioners, bloggers, vloggers and media.

The event started past 9:00 am with a special introduction by Ms. Karmina De Ungria ( director of Marketing Communications) and Grand Hyatt general manager BGC, Taguig City.

Mr. Micheal Harris Conlin

This was followed by a short introduction made by Mr. Micheal Harris Conlin which tells an inspiring story on how he purchased  the book with life story of Mr. Mokhtar Alkanshali. Their year long friendship and sharing of their passion over a cup of coffee.

Mr. Mokhtar Alkanshali

Coffee Tasting Experience

Mr. Mokhtar Alkanshali  shared with the participants a short history of coffee and how it spread from Yemen and Somalia to the rest of the world. He also shared that the country ( Philippines) used to be one of the top 4 coffee producing countries of the world during the 18th and 19th century.

His passion led him to visit his home country Yemen and he went through several coffee producing areas.  Out of the 21 coffee bean samples that he were able to get from Yemen, only 2 or 3 samples were of the highest international quality.

The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers

The event highlights about the journey of the man who risked his own life to help improve the lives of the farmers and the quality of coffee in Yemen amidst all the hardships that the country is facing. His story is filled with passion and bravery that the Philippine coffee community can draw inspiration from.

Mr. Mokhtar Alkanshali together with Mr. Raoul de Peralta

Coffee Beans

coffee with cookies

The group were given a first hand experience on how to taste different kinds of grounded coffee from Yemen.

OHE-17– Location : Outer Hyma, Process: Udaini, Altitude : 2,150 to 2,400 MASL, Cupping Notes: Dark Cherry Sweetness, Green Apple Acidity, Medium Body and Acidity.

OHSR 01– Location : Outer Hayma, Process: Natural, Cultivar : Udaini,  Altitude : 2,150 to 2,400 MASL , Cupping Notes: Brown Sugar, Spices, Medium Body and Acidity

OHE-32– Location: Outer Hayma, Process: Natural, Cultivar : Udaini, Altitude : 2,150 to 2,400 MASL, Cupping Notes: Dark Cherry, Cola, Molasses, Medium Body , High Acidity

OHE -25 – Location: Outer Hayma, Process: Natural, Cultivar : Udaini, Altitude : 2,150 to 2,400 MASL, Cupping Notes: Lime , Grapes, Medium Body and Acidity

OHSR -PB -Location : Outer Hayma, Process: Natural, Cultivar : Udaini,Altitude : 2,150 to 2,400 MASL, Cupping Notes: Winey, Toasted Almonds, Cocoa , Hint of Jack fruit, Medium Body and Low Acidity

PM- 11– Location : Hayma Sana ‘A province, Process: Natural, Cultivar : Udaini, Altitude : 2,350 MASL, Cupping Notes: Floral, Apple,Cola, Lime, Low Body, Medium and Acidity

O-HSR-24 -Location: Outer Hayma, Process: Natural, Cultivar: Udaini, Altitude: 2,150 to 2,400 MASL, Cupping Notes: Brown Spice, Nutmeg, Medium to Low Acidity and Medium Body.

Chocolate Mocha Cake

mocha cake

Grand Hyatt pastry chef had their own innovation or version with the combination of chocolate, coffee and their artistic talents in baking.

Florentine

slice of cake together with cup of coffee

Mr. Mokhtar Alkanshali together with Mr. Raoul de Peralta busy pouring coffee

The cake which cost Php 1,500 or Php 200 per slice is also best paired with coffee. One can also purchase Port of Mokha x Itogon coffee bean canister and the national best selling book ( The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers) for Php 8,500 net. at the Florentine area, Grand Hyatt-Manila ( Bonifacio Global City).

All You Can Eat Lunch Buffet at Aberdeen Court at Great Eastern Hotel

Aberdeen Court is offering both breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet for several years in Makati and in Quezon City branches.

It had been a while, since we have visited the restaurant and hotel premises for a buffet lunch.

buffet table area

We reach the hotel premises past 12:30 pm. We were able to get plates and got our desired seating place in just matters of minutes! That is a plus point for a restaurant which offers a buffet lunch and eat all you can dishes.

dining area

The sitting capacity of the restaurant is between 80 to 140 people at any given time. Some portion of the place is well lighted especially near the main entrance.

framed old photos

table setting

The dining area needed some uplifting and lighting up. There are some old photos at the wall which serves as nostalgia pieces. The tables at the dining area need some changes since the different mosaic pattern looks distracting.

fried rice and steamed white rice

green mussels in oyster sauce

deep fried lechon kawali

There were about a dozen or so dishes neatly presented at the buffet table- This consisted of ordinary steamed white rice, yang chow fried rice, noodles, mixed meat with vegetables ( chopseuy), assorted cold cuts, green mussels in oyster sauce, roasted chicken, pot rod beef with potatoes and sweet potatoes, sissig, lechon kawali, dimsum and sweet spicy dalag ( snake head).

siomai

roasted chicken and green mussles with oyster sauce

Dipping condiments like liver sauce, ketchup, sweet and sour sauce, chili sauce among others.

hototay and pumpkin soup

dessert table

The desserts includes fresh slices of pineapples, watermelon, cantaloupe, chocolate and strawberry flavored waffer sticks, mochi balls, marshmallow, a chocolate dipping saucer, gelatin, vegetable salad and do it yourself halo-halo mix.

vegetables, halo-halo and leche flan stored in a refrigerator

What makes this nice and hygienic is each halo-halo is individually separated and the slices of fruits, gelatin and leche flan were placed in a refrigerator a plus point.

halo-halo

mochi balls in grated coconut

I was given 1 ice tea and an unlimited filtered cold water by the waiter. Overall, for Php 350 buffet lunch is just a slight upgrade from a typical Chinese style fast food restaurant. The staffs replenished the buffet table only for a few times. Popular dishes like assorted cold-cuts meats, green mussels, roasted chicken and lechon kawali were not refilled during our entire stay at the restaurant.

mixed meat with vegetables ( chopseuy ) and stir fry noodles ( pancit canton)

In our 1 hour or so stay at the restaurant, there were only a handful of people despite it falls on a weekend. The management must try to upgrade the dishes and try to refill the dishes as much as possible.

group photo

You cannot eat as much at any restaurant with only Php 350? There are some better restaurants/ hotels within Quezon City which serves better dishes at the same rate or just slightly lower in price.

pot rod beef with potatoes and sweet potatoes, assorted cold-cut meat

Overall, we would give this place a 6.48 rating out of the maximum of 10 highest.

Policy- No sharing, no leftovers and no take-out of food.

Eat all you can breakfast Php 203/ person , Php 350 buffet lunch/ dinner , Php 250 children below 4 feet

Schedule: breakfast buffet : 6:00 am to 9:30 am, lunch : 11:00 am to 2:30 pm , dinner: 6:00 to 9:30pm

Address: Ground Floor, Great Eastern Hotel, 1403 Quezon Avenue, Quezon City

Landline  Tel No: +63 2 3718282

Silver Anniversary of Hotel Sogo Goes with their Advocacies

Hotel Sogo’s Beginnings

Hotel Sogo was founded 25 years ago. The hotel chain celebrates their ( silver anniversary ). Its red color serves as a red flag and gained its notoriety as a love hotel for those who have tight budgets.

” To reach 25 years of service is a tough road. Para tumagal sa company and ma-achive itong 25 years dapat meron tayong loyalty sa company sa sarili natin and disiplina sa trabaho, said 25 year Service Awardee, Ms. Isabel Barrete, Executive Assistant.

This is the a place where love affairs of different backgrounds stay for “long” or “short time” purposes.

buffet area

The event was hosted at Eurotel ( Vivaldi) Cubao 7th floor. Our call time was around 2:00 pm but the event started past 3:00 pm. There are games, raffles and exciting afternoon buffet meal.

Industry

Hotel Sogo has been in the hospitality industry for 25 years. Its first ever branch is near the station of LRT Monumento, Caloocan that opened in February of 1993.

Hotel Sogo was founded by two individuals in 1992 but only in 1993 they did it in full swing. One was a hotel professional with 2 decades of experience in another leading chain of motels and another one is a triple A licensed contractor.

media, vloggers and bloggers

Hotel Sogo’s Tagline “So Clean… So Good”

Every brand has unique tagline. Hotel Sogo’s is so short and simple, you’ll not going to wonder why this hotel was named that way! Hotel Sogo is a budget accommodation but they do not want a budget kind of service given to their customers. They maintain a very well-kept environment that attracts positive vibes. Hotel Sogo’s motto which is “We Simply Do It Better” also stands out because of the idea that you don’t need much to perform much. Hotel Sogo follows a low-maintenance business model but the output is superb in quality!

Roman themed room

Hotel Sogo’s Staycation Feel

Every guest who checks in at Hotel Sogo is welcomed with a traditional Japanese bow to show their utmost courtesy all throughout his/her stay. I have some friends, co-employees, bloggers and relatives who have stayed at the hotel and praised the hotel’s wide space and really good customer service. They have embraced a lot of innovations to provide the best service such as 24-hour Guest assistance SMS center where their customers can send text messages for free anytime they need it.

Growth

Hotel Sogo planned to have more branches within 2 years time. They are planning to expand to at least 60 branches by 2020. Currently, The have new hotels in Kamuning , Quezon City. They are planning to expands their operations in several Southeast Asian countries.

Hotel Sogo’s Exciting Features

Guaranteed low rates

24/7 NO brownout

Secured private parking

Fully air-conditioned rooms

24-Hour food and drinks service

Complete safety and privacy

Accepts all types of debit cards and credit cards

Free wifi

Chinese Lauriat Dishes at Lido de Paris

 Lido de Paris is a hotel complex with restaurant and several commercial establishments located within its premises. The place is conveniently located at the heart of Manila Chinatown. This hotel opened few years ago with 3 star rating and catered to Filipino-Chinese communities and even expats on business and on tour.

Lido de Paris

A make shift stage is usually built near the hotel entrance during Chinese New Year celebrations where cultural and lion dances are performed.

Lido de Paris Hotel boasts of its modern facilities and services such as theKTV — Mikolette Salon ,One & Only Spa Center and also 121 Gym.

We have eaten at the restaurant several times and we were invited by a Filipino-Chinese friend who celebrated his birthday together with his family and close friends.

We were booked at Lido de Paris Seafood Restaurant in Fujian room which had about 48 to 60 sitting capacity ( 10 to 12 per table) set in Chinese lauriat style .

chicken feet, siomai and hakaw

We were treated with some of the dimsum specialties , roasted peanuts and pickled radish for starter meal while waiting for the other guests.  

assorted 5 kinds of cold cuts

birthday misua

The birthday misua is not your typical noodles, since they used the soft strands of noodles topped with shrimps, meat , vegetables, peanuts and quail eggs in orange batter mixture.

steamed live shrimp in Chinese wine in basket

fish lip soup

mango bacon roll with fried noodles 

steamed lapu-lapu in soy sauce with chopped onion leeks leaves and ginger

fried lamp ribs in Beijing style

sauteed Aus Scollop squid with Broccoli flower and carrots

steamed crabs with garlic

twin desserts -buchi and steamed pastry in chocolate

sweet style soup

There are different set meals which one can avail , Price range is from Php 5,980 to Php 39,980 per table with 12 sets to choose from. Our host choose a mid-range price for the Chinese Lauriat meal. Special Thanks to our gracious host !

Note : Prices and Menus are subject to change without prior notification

Address: 1036 Ongpin Street, Santa Cruz, Manila, 1003 

Operation :11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Contact 708-8888 local 8088/ 353-98-98 / Telefax : 559-9898