Pen's P 33 Promo

Below is an email exchange between Efren and me regarding Manila Peninsula's 33rd anniversary promo, triggered by MPOO's question:

"E: don't know for how much minimum food consumption.
why don't you ask them?


--- On Wed, 16/9/09, 22loy wrote:

Thanks, E. Pero di ba me validation ang parking?


On Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 9:19 PM, E wrote:

Goodwill and press mileage lang iyan. they'll only make money from parking. It's like swiss inn's annivesary pricing

--- On Mon, 14/9/09, 22loy wrote:

Can Pen make money off the P 33 promo?"

I emailed CM of Pen, but have not received a reply yet.

Thanks to C for telling me about the promo. AR's reaction then was that it costs so much to go from Ortigas Center to Makati. Well, my barkada and I used to go all the way to Pen and pay full price. I was in my healthy stage then, and so were my friends, so I'm not sure if I've ever had a Pen halo-halo in my life.

When I told MF about it, she wondered if it were true, as she was coming all the way from Taguig. I told her that someone from Appetite had confirmed it, and CPY had gone there and said that she could hardly go in.

MF wonders when the promo will repeat, since we've never heard of this promo before. I said, maybe on its 44th anniversary? MF had not been reading the Thursday broadsheets because they need the paper for dog pooh! Ya, but wouldn't it make more sense to use scratch paper?

I haven't been reading the food sections probably because my mom keeps them when she turns over the rest of the paper to me.

Speaking of promos, JMTS told me that she went with her ninang who celebrated her birthday this month, at the EDSA Shang, which I suspect might have triggered the Pen promo. If you're 70, for example, you and the other 7 members of your party get 70% discount. So JMTS paid P 250 for the Heat buffet. She felt that even with just the halo-halo, sulit na. J said that yes, her ninang had booked early, and that EDSA Shang was fully booked.

I had first learned of the promo from my dad, who CYdA had texted.

http://www.philstar.com/ArticlePrinterFriendly.aspx?articleId=503743

Kamayan

EK thought that it would be a good idea for me to bring C and AK to Kamayan, because of the singing. I told her that there are other Pinoy restos, including a couple with yummier food, less variety--I was thinking of Via Mare and Milky Way.

Last Monday, CK, AK and I find ourselves in Megamall. We were hungry past 2 pm, after going to Karimadon, RAF Plains and Prints, Kultura, Cinderella (where I told them that my friend D would get her P 100-P 200 office black slacks on sale), and the preteen, infantwear, lingerie and evening bag departments of SM.

I could only think of Kamayan, as Barrio Fiesta's quality has deteriorated over the years.

We went to the third floor. No Kamayan. We saw Goldilocks, which has at least one branch in Canada, and Blenz, which DB had asked me about in March 2008--there were no Blenz cafes then.

A guard told us that Kamayan was on the fourth floor.

When we got there, CK got a table by the window, instead of one near the buffet table, for security reasons. She then told us of how she had just paid for her hotel and had lost some money in Paris. The waiter told us that the merienda buffet was starting in 20 minutes, that we could have it along with the lunch buffet. I thought only later that maybe we could have ordered something fast for lunch, shared it, then had the merienda instead of the lunch buffet.

I repeatedly told the Ks that since we were having only Kamayan, that we were to use the yellow plates. A sign said so almost in front of our table, but they could not see it.

We got utensils and napkins underneath them in nearby tables, after we were through with our spoons, forks and napkins. There was no napkin holder, just wet napkins wrapped in plastic, that cost P 4 each. C used two of them. I find P 8 income per table measly compared to the discomfort of the customer paying more than P 300. It's ok to place wet napkins that make money in every table, but it's another thing to not have a dry napkin holder. It was more than an hour later that I saw an employee wrapping spoons and forks, that I asked for some napkins.

A got bouillabaisse. No comment, so I guess she didn't like it. It tasted like Knorr cream soup.

I found the guava sinigang too salty. It could have been good.

C had to have her pork barbecue. I forgot to tell her about the atchara.

A asked me to teach her how to eat kuhol. I got a toothpick and told her not to eat the back portion. Good naman. I should have done it in slo-mo so it would be easy for her to follow.

A and I liked the spinach fried in flour, with tartar sauce, that I first ate at a party thrown by MPO's parents. Makati Skyline had catered the party. Or was it at another MS-catered party?

C and A liked the kangkong. I don't remember if I had had it or not.

I told A that she had to have kare-kare, with bagoong. She got a couple of pieces and said nothing.

They liked the fried kamote. I told them that you could ask any home cook to make that for you. They didn't know what it was at first.

I got halo-halo minus the colored beans.

The sliver of biko and my favorite dish elsewhere (Unimart coffee shop, Via Mare), arroz caldo with tokwat baboy, were so-so. The arroz caldo had no chicken pieces, which was fine with me. The tokwa was tough.

The lechon was surprisingly good, even though it was lukewarm, unlike the makunat and bland version that EK, DB and I had at Kamayan Glorietta in March 2008.

I didn't touch the beef stew and the like.

Nor did I touch the tahong, as I was afraid that it would smell like it did in Somethin' Fishy, where I had been to last month. A said that the mussels she had were ok.

We all had the unremarkable chocolate cake.

A liked the bibingka, which was cold. I should have waited for a hot one.

We were fourth in line for the puto bumbong, which was amazingly bland even with the nyog and asukal. A liked it, though, leaving lots of young coconut and sugar on the plate. I had asked the guy making the puto bumbong--also the one making bibingka, I think--to send us some. He did not.

The lumpia was disappointing. Instead of ubod, it was stuffed with carrots and greens. At least I got my vitamin dose. The sauce had no ground peanuts and minced garlic that you can get at Goldilocks.

The pandan salad had so much liquefied cream that it should be called pandan soup instead.

C and A liked the ginataang halo-halo, which only had malagkit, kamote and not much else, no saba or nangka, as far as I can tell. Don't remember if it had sago and gabi, as it was gone by the time I tried to get some for myself. Maybe there were some at the merienda buffet, which was full of people, I did not get to see the whole line. I should have gone there at 3 pm, since the place became crowded by 4.

C was worried about diarrhea. The waiter told us that the water was filtered.

While C and A had brewed coffee to cap the meal, I went back for a couple more rounds. C said that E had told her that I eat a lot and was skinny. Well, I'm not skinny anymore lol.

Although we had about a plate of leftovers total, including lechon that a waiter had brought us, we were not charged a leftover fee.

I wish Kamayan would offer fewer dishes and up the quality of each dish.

The washroom was cleaner than at the Glorietta branch, but Somethin' Fishy's was cleaner maybe.

Still, Kamayan/Dad/Saisaki's washroom was the cleanest in Megamall, as SM's was smelly and the ground floor mall washroom was so crowded, A decided to wait until Podium to go to the john.

My favorite Triple V--I heard that Mrs. Villavicencio now owns it--or ex-Triple V resto of the three is still Somethin' Fishy.

All three restos are terribly good value for money, especially since last week I spent P 400 in Pancake House for a so-so shrimp pasta in tomato sauce and a milkshake.

Thanks to C and A for the treat.

Had no luck looking for the buffet prices in their website:

http://www.kamayan.com.ph/menu.html

The website said that lunch was until 2 and merienda started at 3.

Walking in Megamall, A noted that Pinoys like wearing snug jeans. I asked her if she meant, not casual or formal slacks, and she said yes.

I guess it's because jeans are durable and Pinoys would rather look good than be comfortable. C said that Pinays have attractive reputations.

Vigan Chichacorn

Thanks to Efren for sending me chichacorn, after a long consultation with me on what I wanted! How spoiled can you get!

She had just come from Baguio, asked me if I wanted Romana's peanut brittle, something that she finds really special. I said she could give to other people, as this is too sweet for me. Besides, isn't this available here?

She said that she only brought sweet stuff with her. Then she said that her mom had some old Vigan chichacorn. Now you're talking!

I was surprised when I saw that it was sweet and spicy, as I was expecting something salty. I'm not really big on honey-roasted macadamias or peanuts, but I tried it anyway. Good! It was more spicy than sweet, and I keep on eating it even though it makes me cough. This is the mark of true yumminess, and true katakawan haha.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view/20080505-134591/For-sale-in-Makati-Laoags-chichacorn-Vigans-bagnet

Trader Giotto's Artichoke Antipasto

Thanks to MPOO for giving artichoke to my mom. I'm not really big on artichoke, but this certainly beats the funny-tasting chicken artichoke soup that we had when we went to Pen for KKC and AMY's wedding tasting.

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-79331454.html

Fried chicken

This is the fried chicken that FYdA requests CA to cook every time she's here in our house. Whenever her friends treat her to McDo or Jollibee chicken, she would give it to CYdA, as F prefers CA's chicken.

http://tysonjoe.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/meadow-vale-southern-fried-chicken.jpg

Chicken with mushroom and leeks

Ok for healthy food.

Learned only recently that epicurious is a Conde Nast site, from Jeopardy, I think:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-Mushroom-and-Leek-Fricassee-103509

Kozui Green Tea Cafe

Just wanted to interrupt the chicken series again to thank MPOO for lunch yesterday.

She had wanted to eat at Ilustrado. Huh? I texted back. There's one in the area? I had been to the Intramuros and Makati branches. Can we go to a more reasonably priced resto?

She had been thinking, ang tyaga ko naman to drive all the way to Intramuros, where she thought PETA was. On the other hand, I didn't know that PETA used to be in Intra.

Her daughter NOO, wanted sushi. M thought that we should park when we can. I thought of a Jap resto near the Chinese buffet and a spa, which M had heard of but had never been to. On the way there, we saw Teriyaki Boy, which I don't want to eat forever if I had my way due to my mom's love for it, Kimono Ken, which I vetoed because I had just been to Kimono Ken Shang last week. I wanted a place that was only in Morato. We saw Kozui, which CYdA said was ok. Parking was easy, right in front of the resto.

The place had soft, spa music. Even the servers were quiet, careful to keep the ambience. M liked the decor so much she wanted to use the color combi for her new house.

N went up because she wanted cushioned seats. So did I.

M pointed to the aloe vera bottles and wondered what they tasted like. She had used her garden's aloe vera for her face. I said that it wasn't as bad as they looked, that they tasted like gulaman. AdA had given us some.

N liked the potato balls the best. M and I liked it, too. Today, M is making potato balls with mashed potatoes, cheese, etc. When M told us that the sauce that was served with the potato balls was Bulldog, N asked, So we're eating dog?

I chose the seafood (ika, bonito flakes) ball, the Tokiyaki specialty, which was strong tasting but good. M said that it might have been better if the sauce had been served on the side. N did not like it at all.

The spinach soup had noodle in it, which made it extra filling. It was bland. We asked for black vinegar and salt, which the server brought from the condiments table on the same floor. M says today that our soup container had a narrow base, unlike the wider base served at other tables. I said that maybe it was just an illusion.

The chilled green tea zaru soba had ice underneath, served on a bamboo dimsum-container-looking circular container. It was served with sauce on the side. I put plenty of sauce to get flavor. We had lots of sauce left over. M preferred thicker noodles. I liked them the way they are, so they could absorb the sauce more.

Or did N like the hummus best? She folded it, inserted the lettuce and carrot, and ladled on the hummus. She said that bread must have been made for folding, as the lettuce was the exact fit.

We had two genmaicha (toasted rice) lemon teas. As I am not fond of toasted rice, I was afraid to try it, but went ahead with it, as this was what the cashier recommended. We liked it, M because she could really taste the toasted rice, me because it was not so evident.

I wouldn't mind having tea if it tasted like this.

Even though I felt full, my pants were thankfully not too tight, even though we had five dishes.

Our bill was P 500+. This is what it would have cost per person if we had gone to Ilustrado, right? Good, healthy deal!

M left a P 70 tip, which I felt was huge. She said that we had asked the server to go up to us twice.

The washroom was on the ground floor. It had the smell that male/female washrooms tend to have, with the exception of the smaller Patisserie Caroline's. Still tolerable, though. M pointed out the toilet paper outside the washroom to me. When I got in, I saw the toilet paper, hidden behind a metal flap.

I probably would not go back, because I don't think that there are too many dishes left on the menu to try, but I guess I would prefer staying here over Starbucks if it had wifi access. I remember CYdA saying that there was internet access here.

M asked me if this place was new, if I had been there. No, I had not been there, and C mentioned the place maybe more than a year ago.

The clickthecity review is dated 2007.

Before we left, we went almost nextdoor to Siglo, which accepts stamps. M asked about their lamps. They cost P 25 each. P 25? or P 25,000?

http://www.clickthecity.com/metro/?p=2170

http://food.clickthecity.com/b/wW1adb5