Fuel your ideas in CONNECT, lyf Funan's chic coworking lounge—featuring comfy desks, power plugs, high-speed WiFi, and playful seesaws amid the buzz of downtown Singapore, perfect for collaborative sessions or solo sparks. Connect, create, and conquer your day!
May is for Mother's Day at Marco Polo Ortigas Manila
Recognizing how important mothers are to each and every one of us, Marco Polo Ortigas Manila put together a longer, and more grand celebration in honour of the queen of the home, and what she holds closest to her heart, in May. Award-winning Lung Hin created a mouthwatering 10-dish Lauriat feast fit for royalty. From May 01 to 12, groups of five and ten will enjoy a heartwarming, authentic Cantonese banquet the whole family will truly savor, including succulent Braised Slipper Lobster with Porcini Mushroom Sauce, tasty Deep-Fried Beef Brisket with Sweet and Chili Sauce, flavourful Steamed Black Grouper, Parma Ham and Shitake Mushroom in Premium Oyster Sauce, and the bestselling Baked Macau Egg Tart dessert.
Gather the family on Sunday, May 12, for a memorable buffet lunch or dinner at the hotel's all-day dining restaurant, Cucina, as it showcases Asia's best dishes. Regional favorites, including Thailand's Pad Thai Noodles, Singapore's Laksa Soup, Indonesia's Chicken Satay with Peanut Butter Sauce, Vietnam's Rau Muong Xao Toi, China's Suckling Pig and India's Lamb Rogonjosh take centerstage on the lavish culinary table. Appetizers and salads, newly baked bread and delicious charcuterie, fresh seafood on ice, Japanese sushi and sashimi station, noodles station, premium meat carvings, and extensive dessert spread completes the exceptional culinary experience. Book a table for five, and one dines for free! Likewise, children below seven years old are free of charge.
Cafe Pronto offers a delicate cake that speaks volume of maternal love. Let Mom know how special she is with a gift of our Mom's Everlasting Velvet made of delicious, moist red velvet and cream cheese frosting. The 6-inch cake is available daily from May 01 to 12. Hip and cool mommies will find the perfect sips at Connect Lounge from May 01 to 12. Try the flirty vodka and Grenadine Momtini, or the vivacious tequila, triple sec and lemon juice concoction Momgarita for fit. These cocktails are also dressed for the occasion in decadent red, to add fun to a great bonding time.
Pamper Mom with an exquisite two-night stay experience, and let her be welcomes with a round of cocktails at Vu's Sky Bar or the Connect Lounge. Chocolates add a special touch to her turn-down service at each night, following a scrumptious meal of international favorites at all-day dining restaurant, Cucina, or authentic Cantonese cuisine at Lung Hin, at 25% off. For room reservations, please call (+63 2) 7720 7777. To #ExploreDiscoverExperience more about what the hotel has to offer, follow Marco Polo Ortigas Manila on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Connect Lounge at Marco Polo Ortigas Launches a New Kind of Afternoon Tea
I have always wondered how other people can finish their work or studies inside coffee shops. I guess I’m not that much of a millenial since I find coffee outlets too noisy and distracting, especially with all those people coming and going. I’m also not much of a coffee drinker, so that should also explain why I would rather spend a cozy afternoon drinking tea in a more refined and elegant location.
Connect Lounge, Marco Polo Ortigas Manila’s signature lobby lounge, introduces a new and more sophisticated approach on afternoon drinks and snacks with its Afternoon Tea. Located on the 24th Floor of Marco Polo Ortigas - the country’s first "Sky Hotel,” the Connect Lounge is open daily from 11:00am to 11:00pm and offers hotel guests and visitors a bright and charming environment that is very conducive to meetings, small get-togethers, or even personal “me” times where you can finish your work, deadlines, or that Christmas shopping list.
The Connect Lounge has an innovative design, combining a spacious gallery with an integrated business centre that provides guests a modern work and social space. This contemporary hub is just beside the hotel’s Front Desk and offers delectable light meals, snacks, desserts, coffees, teas and wine.
Guests will immediately notice the bright natural light which envelopes the Connect Lounge through its huge floor-to-ceiling windows. This gives the lounge its unique character that can only be matched by the gorgeous views of the city from this high above the metropolis.
Marco Polo Ortigas recently launched a new kind of Afternoon Tea experience at the Connect Lounge and I wanted to try it out for myself. The Afternoon Tea set is available daily from 2:00pm to 6:00pm for only P788 which is already good for two persons. This is quite a good deal as other five-star hotels offer their afternoon teas at much higher prices. Served in a three-tier stand, guests can enjoy a customized set of pastries from a wide array of selections such as cakes and mini sandwiches, paired with your choice of brewed coffee or tea.
I believe Afternoon Tea should be taken with, of course, tea. Guests have a selection of Herbal Teas like Peppermint, Green tea or Jasmine and Black Teas like English Breakfast or Earl Grey among others. I chose one of my favorite tea variants, the Vanilla Tea.
Imagine sipping your own hot cup of tea with a spectacular view of the city below. This definitely beats those crowded coffee shops any day of the week. You don’t have to be staying at the hotel to enjoy this venue because it is available to the public. The Connect Lounge also gives you free and fast wifi access so you can finish a lot of your work and chores in a more quiet and luxurious environment.
The one thing that distinguishes Connect Lounge’s Afternoon Tea from all the others is its open kitchen and bar counter where all the food items are displayed. Guests can actually choose their own combination of sandwiches and pastries that will go inside your three-tiered stand.
This is the only Afternoon Tea in the city that lets you select the type of bread and sandwich that you want together with your other cakes and desserts.
First, you can choose from five colorful flavored baguettes displayed on the counter. There will be four pieces of open-faced sandwiches included in the Afternoon Tea set and you can choose any of the specially-made baguette flavors including (from left to right) corn, parsley, tomato, squid ink, and original.
Next, you can choose from among the many toppings for your sandwiches like smoked salmon, salami, prosciutto, shrimp, chicken, mortadella, emmental and gruyere cheeses. You can also top it off with some sauces and spreads to complete the sandwich. If you don’t feel like creating your own Afternoon Tea set, then just ask the servers to prepare the standard selections for you.
While they are assembling your sandwiches, the Amuse Bouche will be served on your table. This will be a pair of their Sherbet of the Day like Strawberry and Mango Sherbet served in a smokey ice bowl. Make sure you don’t have sensitive teeth when you bite into this cold treat.
The main tea set will then be served on your table. This is a three-layer tray that is typical of the Afternoon Tea sets you see in other luxury hotels around the world.
Let’s start with the topmost layer. A pair of Scones are served together with strawberry jam and heavy cream. The British perfected the Afternoon Tea experience and scones are often the first and most popular items in the set. Cut the scones open horizontally with your knife and place the strawberry jam and cream as you wish before taking a bite.
The second layer has the four open faced sandwiches made according to the guest’s preferences. I chose to have salmon and shrimp placed on top of cheese and their tomato and black squid ink baguettes. The colorful breads are again a unique feature of Marco Polo Manila’s Afternoon Tea. Choose the squid ink baguette for a taste of something special.
Meat lovers can go for their hams on top of your breads. You can choose to have a selection of four ham sandwiches if you like, and that’s what makes this Create-Your-Own Afternoon Tea experience truly different from the rest.
On the bottom later, you can find some sausage sandwiches and mini cakes which you can actually also customize to your liking. If you have a sweet tooth, then I’m sure you will have your tray full of sweets and desserts.
Another option for guests is that they can choose to upgrade their tea beverages to something more special like the Cocktail of the Week which in this case is the refreshing Hawaiian Island. Another option is the creamy Mango Smoothie of the Day.
Guests can also opt to get a glass of Champagne or wine instead. These beverage upgrades can be requested for an additional P300 per glass. There is also an option to change your hot tea to iced tea instead.
Lastly, after finishing off those delectable sandwiches and pastries, one final dessert awaits. The Chocolate Fondant comes with a soft chocolate crust which reveals a gooey molten chocolate lava inside. It is also served with custard and chocolate syrup for an even more indulgent treat.
The Connect Lounge at Marco Polo Ortigas is truly a great place to unwind and spend a productive afternoon by yourself or in the company of friends and officemates. If you are looking for a more refined place in the Ortigas district to conduct business or meet with clients or friends, then the Connect Lounge should be the perfect destination for you.
MARCO POLO ORTIGAS CONNECT LOUNGE
24/F Marco Polo Ortigas, Meralco Avenue & Sapphire Street, Ortigas Center, Pasig
720-7720 / 720-7777
www.marcopolohotels.com
www.facebook.com/MarcoPoloOrtigasManila
