Chic and filling

I JUST managed to catch four songs of The Philippine Madrigal Singers when they sang at SM Lanang Premiere last week. Still, I consider myself lucky to have watched them for free. This called for a celebration, nah, make that a treat. It’s difficult to celebrate when you’re not with a big group. Where?

The new hotel out there must be worth a try…

RBG (Restaurant Bar and Grill) at Park Inn by Radisson, that is. It’s just a short walk from the mall.

Posh. Nice. Zen-ish. That’s the impression you get at you enter the hotel lobby and turn right toward the restaurant.

Some crew were still setting up some lights at the open-air section of the restaurant and hotel executives were busy. People were arriving by groups. Flights were delayed and people from all over were just coming in. It was quietly busy.

It’s gonna be a light dinner since I’ve broke my diet the past two days.
Ergo, pasta is it. Davao Pasta! That should be interesting. First, it’s tomato sauce based, just the way I like it; and it’s seafood.

The seafood salad should be good too, and yes, a seafood chowder.

The Davao Pasta, which the attendant said was a good choice, is indeed a good choice. It’s seafood with the distinct taste of tuna bagaybay. Unique.

The seafood salad is light vinaigrette with pomelo, and of course, seafood.

I love the dressing. I spent minutes tasting it, trying to separate the ingredients and hoping to make some at home. I’ll have to try it again, though, just to be familiar with the taste.

Brewed coffee came next, and several more minutes to savor the quiet… except that my presence was already spotted and the waitress arrived with a new set of plates.

“We’re serving dessert on the house, ma’am, courtesy of the chef,” she said.

Big trouble! Kiss diet goodbye.

In came the dessert platter, three kinds of pastries – mangosteen cheesecake, a chocolate that was so rich, you’d feel your hips expand just by looking at it, and then a Pavlova, a meringue with a dollop of cream sandwiched in it topped with thin slices of mango.

It was sinful, yummy, and… surprisingly affordable at only P180.

But it definitely was not something you’d order if you were on a diet.
“It’s fruit naman, eh,” Park Inn’s Meg said, saying that the mangosteen cheesecake is her fave.

I went home knowing I have tucked in more calories than I should be tucking in again for the day. Tough.

But yes, there are more stuff in the menu that is worth exploring. I just have to figure out how I can sneak in without being spotted next time. I wonder how much plastic surgery costs.