Opalyn was one of the several close friends and school mates of daughter Charmaine.
Their friendship started during their childhood days. Together with Abs and Saila, they experienced the joys and pains of growing up, student life, and married bliss or woes.
Even now that each of them has their own careers and kids, they remained in touch and once in a while probably reminisce their naughty young days when they would make their evening escape from the house through the windows to party and meet up with other friends in the bar-scene of the city.
As daughter Menggay would say, “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who my friends are!”
But that is not what this is all about.
Opalyn called Maine to invite the family to the recently opened SotoGrande Hotel along Leonard Wood Road where her brother-in-law Edmund Danug is the head chef.
So, on Mother’s Day, the “mommies” in the family were given a treat, the eat-all-you-can-type, some sort of reward for all the sacrifices and hard work they had unselfishly and unconditionally done for their children.
A good breakfast buffet to perk up the celebration was timely, so off we went entering the massive condominium and soon-to-be finished hotel structures with a wide basement parking enough to accommodate at least 70 cars or so. That alone is a plus as we all know; parking is precious as gold in this city.
The cover was P450 per person and after paying off the bill for seven “pax”, a table beside the swimming pool was prepared and the setting was ready for the feast!
The trendsetters of breakfast buffet in the city are of course Baguio Country Club, Lafayette, and Manor, where you can eat whatever your heart or stomach desires with their wide dish selection, the scenic view, and the familiar faces of friends.
Doc Willy’s Newtown-Elements of course penetrated the market with a marketing strategy at half the cost. By the way, if Mahatma Gandhi would open an eat-all-you-can restaurant, it should be named “Gandhi’s when Hunger Strikes!”
Segway: A politician dies. A spirit tells him that, rather than being judged for his sins, he can choose between heaven and hell but he has to visit both places so each one will get a fair chance.
First heaven. Pretty nice. Big fluffy clouds, angels singing, playing harps, everyone enjoying themselves. He was pleased though bit underwhelmed. Hell, on the other hand, was magnificent. T’was a beautiful place, everyone having the time of their lives. It had an eat-all-you-can-buffet-table, plenty of booze, a dance floor, massage parlor, and more. It made heaven look dull and boring.
Thus, he chose to go to hell. Inside it appeared to be completely different. All of the attractions were gone, everything was on fire and people were screaming in agony. “I don’t understand!” cried the politician. “This isn’t what you showed me before!” The spirit replied “Well, that was the campaign, now you have voted!”
SotoGrande, a jewel in the heart of the city is developed by Sta. Lucia Lands. It might just give them a good competition as a new player in the buffet industry. It offers select variety of dishes at a reasonable low price. It has a Baguio Boys’ High alumnus for a manager who would know the feel of what the locals want.
Last Sunday, they had corned beef, bangus ala-pobre but no beef tapa, longanisa (you can order from Nicole Dipasupil-Bautista) or tocino though. They had usual eggs, omelette, pancakes, and hot cakes.
Erap joke: How would you like your eggs? Well done! They too had the street “taho” with its sweet syrup and had strawberry flavor pa.
They had crispy fried “pusit” but there was no “danggit”, although when mentioned to Chef Edmund, he waived his magic wand then lo and behold, it was served in less than two minutes. Of course, there was a bounty of fresh fruits and unlimited coffee or tea.
They are about to open two function rooms which can accommodate large groups so this is a must-try resto for Baguio peeps.
Going to an eat-all-you can does not mean you pig out until you drop dead. Quality of food is every bit as important as quantity and value for money. SotoGrande would be a good alternative to go to. Kampanya ‘to, try n’yo!
Sigh.
July 27, 2024
