Heat-Shangri-la Edsa Manila

Talk about a good way to spend our Christmas bonus. This is what my friends and I did on December 19, 2009. We treated ourselves to the sumptuous buffet offered by Heat, Shangri-la Edsa Manila. Heat offers a range of Asian and Continental dishes that vary from time to time. Below are just a few of the dishes that were offered.

Main Dishes:
Beer-battered deep-fried Seabass served with Caper and Gherkin Mayonnaise Salmon Fillet with choice of Garlic Mash and Steamed Rice, Local Greens and Bearnaise, Pepper or Red Wine sauce)
Nasi Goring; Spicy Rice with Prawns, Chicken Satay topped with fried egg.

Dessert:
Mango Crepe, Vanilla Pod Sabayon
Chocolate Mudcake, White Chocolate Spear
HEAT’s Cheesecake, Fresh Mango, Raspberry Sauce



We talked over copious amounts of seafood, pasta and other Filipino dishes. In order to savor all the dishes, one has to pace oneself. So we had dinner over 3 hours and still we were not able to consume all that was served.
I especially liked the crabs and shrimp. Being allergic to seafood it was a temptation I could not resist. I was in an “enjoy now and pay later” mode. The dimsum and sushi stations were a constant for me. I had to keep on going back for a bit of sushi or dumpling together with other food I wanted to sample. For the price of about 1,450 pesos I really have to say this was a very good deal. Needless to say, I had stuffed up on the main courses that I had almost no room for dessert. The only one I sampled wasn’t very good. I usually love mango and banana crepes topped with chocolate syrup but this time the crepes were too thick for my taste. It made my tummy even heavier than it already was.
Who am I to complain about the ambiance? It was perfect. The dimly lit restaurant was soothing to the eyes. Who would want to eat in a brightly lit place anyway right? And see you devouring your food like there was no tomorrow? No way! So if I were to rate this place, it would be:

Food: 4.5
Service : 4
Ambiance : 5
Value : 4
Overall Rating: 4

On Mary Poppins

I spent the few hours of my Sunday afternoon watching Mary Poppins. I had always loved this movie as a kid. Until now it still leaves me mesmerized by its magic and then the underlying lesson. I didn’t know until I did a bit of research that there were a series of books that were published in 1934, 1935, 1952 and 1962. I have not come across any book about it and would rather just watch the movie. In the earlier books, Mary Poppins was portrayed as a vain, stern and almost always cross. And who wouldn’t be if you were caring for 4 children. Aside from the rather unwanted attitude, the storyline is still the same in that Mary Poppins and the children go on countless adventures.
In 1964, the version of Mary Poppins starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke featured an adventure or episode from the earlier novels but portrayed a much kinder nanny.
I didn’t know whether to be sad or not. My neighbor’s kids usually spend Sunday afternoons with me and they did not enjoy the movie in the least. They were rather interested in playing on the computer and playing other games. So there I go thinking to myself just how much things have changed from before. I used to be very happy with a good book. A movie was a treat. But then that’s what happens with change. Everything is fast paced. The kids are so in to technology and by the time they are about 10 years old, blogging would be a thing of the past for them. So I will just content myself with my blog or so called journal. No worries. Sunday will go on and I will relax for the rest of the day.