Selection Is Key

Encouraged by the good food at The Fireplace, the fennel bulbs decided to do the Hyatt Hotel's buffet offering in one of their restaurants, Market Cafe.

Even at 8:30 in the evening, the place was still busy, with hotel guests and locals seemingly enjoying the formidable offerings: from Japanese sushi, sashimi, and tempura, to fresh oysters and local lobsters, to roast meats, as well as Chinese and Mediterranean cuisines were all waiting to be sampled.

One can also assemble their own salads. The vegetables were fresh, and the choices of dressings and toppings were likewise good. 

Shrimp, fish, and vegetable tempura were all available. Sushi and sashimi, albeit quite limited, can also be had.

We moved on to the fresh seafood. One can request some fresh local lobsters to be cooked in the grill. Fresh oysters, which were a bit on the small side and which probably came from Capiz, were available. It tasted fresh of the sea, but not as good as other varieties.

We moved on to the Mediterranean spread. One can lament that there were no vegetable dishes like tabbouleh, or dips like tzatziki or hummus, which are available in other competitive hotel buffets and at Viking's. However, there was stuffed pizza, some spreads including tapenade and various cheeses, paella, and one can request for pasta to be cooked with the sauce of their liking. The tapenade was a bit too salty for one's taste, and black olives, instead of green olives, were used. The stuffed pizza was particularly good, though.

The fennel bulbs proceeded to the Chinese spread. Some delicious viands like stir-fried spare ribs and roast pork cha-siu and some noodle soup were available. Overall, the Chinese selection was disappointing, despite the fact that the highly-acclaimed Lili restaurant is in the Hyatt Hotel.

We moved on to the steaks. Roast beef was cut right on the spot, and it was amazingly tender and delicious. For those who can't wait, steaks were readily placed on heated pans. Sadly, they were not cooked well and were all too tough to the bite. Consequently, a pile of sad-looking steaks remained on the pan. The lamb cutlets were more tender and delicious though.

Prawns thermidor was also available, but a dish like this is served best straight from the oven. Buffets should probably properly consider which dishes are optimally served on a buffet spread and which dishes lose character on a buffet spread.

Finally we moved on to the dessert selection. Various tarts, pastries, and puddings tasted good. Succulent strawberries dipped in chocolate looked mouthwatering, but the chocolate used lacked the rich and decadent taste that would have accompanied the tartness well. Even macarons were available, but those were a farce! They were as hard as arrowroot biscuits. Lastly, the milk that came with their brewed coffee was disappointingly cold.

Looking back, the buffet was a bit of a disappointment. At 2,100PHP++, more competitive buffets can be had at a cheaper price. The staff, however, were excellent. The fennel bulbs can only hope that the Market Cafe consider improving their buffet.

The Fireplace

Celebrating during the holidays can be quite a tricky thing. A lot of hotels would offer yuletide dining packages, often in the form of overpriced buffets. Restaurants are often full, as this time of the year can be the busiest and the most stressful. This time, the fennel bulbs decided to have dinner at The Fireplace, Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila's steak and seafood restaurant.

The Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila is situated in Malate along M. H. del Pilar, not exactly the prettiest place to find a five-star hotel. Nevertheless, the hotel's subtle, unassuming, and yet refined interiors invoke an elegance and sleekness of its own. And not to mention, the Hyatt is known for its top quality food.

The Fireplace has a dim ambience conjuring a sense of intimacy and confinement. The place is overall comfortable. The staff were friendly, if not they have quite overdone that aspect of customer treatment.

At first we were provided some complimentary bread with French butter - yes, the pale, sinfully rich butter that can only be French. The bread was sweet and the texture was perfect. The breads were quaintly queued on the counter just beside the kitchen, ready to be brought to the dinner tables.

We ordered firstly a salad of organic greens with scallops and foie gras in berlinoise sauce (Php1200). The salad is big enough to be shared by two people, and so we had it split. The greens were perfectly crisp and fresh, and the dainty portions of pan-seared foie gras were delightful. The scallops seem to have been sourced locally, and one would have wished for the plumper and richer kind from colder waters. Berlinoise sauce is mayonnaise-based with a fruity acquirement due to the addition of redcurrant jelly and lemon. The sauce imparted a sweet and sour taste to the salad, which just complements the richness of the foie gras and enhances the scallops. 

For the main course, the server suggested some dry-aged beef rib eye (Php3,700 for 380g). Dry-aging is a meticulous process where beef is simply wrapped and left in an environment where the temperature is strictly controlled to prevent molding for around 1 week. This aging process allows the beef to further intensify its flavours and at the same time the connective tissues of the beef break down, thus making the meat more tender. 

We had this dry-aged rib eye with a risotto of forest mushrooms (Php800), which we had split into two as well, as the servings were sufficient enough. The beef, at first, was heavenly in terms of texture and taste. We had it done "medium", and it was quite apparent that the quality of the beef was superb; otherwise, nothing else can be done to fortify this dish. One can imagine the steak might have been simply doused in an oil-based marinade; or just simply sprinkled with salt and pepper and grilled afterwards. The beef also came with a serving of boiled baby potatoes, and some rich mushroom sauce, although the beef itself was flavourful enough.

The risotto had some shiitake and button mushrooms, and other kinds which were not acquainted with; but definitely not chanterelles or morel mushrooms. The taste was mild and earthy, and the often strong-tasting shiitake was quite subdued and blended harmoniously with the cream, cheese, and the nutty-tasting arborio rice.

Although it served just as an embellishment, the marinated grilled red capsicum was just really delicious! The texture was soft, as it has been grilled, and then stored in olive oil in most likely a jar, where it further developed its tart and distinct capsicum flavour. The haricot vert and the asparagus were also good.

All this heavenliness was accompanied by a glass of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon (Php680 per glass). The taste is sweet and distinctly fruity, and is good for the palate as a breather from the hearty food.

For dessert, Chocolate soup was had (550Php). Once again, it was big enough to be split into two. It is not really liquefied chocolate - so that it resembled hot cocoa, but it was more like a souffle, with a gratinated and solid outer surface and a soupy and viscous interior. One can imagine Valrhona chocolate would have been used. The black pepper ice cream blends well with the rich chocolate. This dessert may not be visually appealing, but the flavour is sublime. Indeed, The Fireplace is a place where an extraordinary gastronomic experience can be had.