3rd Anniversary Celebration for...CEBU PARKLANE HOTEL

According to economists, the United States of America has experienced four periods of recession since 1980 - July 1981 to November 1982 (14 months), July 1990 to March 1991 (8 months), March 2001 to November 2001, and December 2007 to present (22 months na and on going pa!).

My beloved readers know that recession is a “pronounced deceleration of economic activity” and this present recession was a result of “reckless and unsustainable lending practices” of real estate mortgages in the U.S. Very attentive in Economics 101, simply because my loyal followers were seated next to that cute classmate of theirs. When the US economy catches a cold, the rest of the world, pneumonia gyud! When you have over 200 million people unemployed in this planet and so many businesses going kaput, times are indeed very difficult.

So when an invitation is received to a “Black and White Affair,” for the 3rd anniversary of Cebu Parklane International Hotel (phone 234 7000, e mail www.parklanehotel.com.ph), that is, excuse me, very pleasant to read. It was also the occasion for the hotel to launch “The Plus Club Executive Lounge & Suites,” designed to pamper corporate clients and their top management plus one honeymoon suite to shore up the promotion for wedding packages.

As a guest to the club, you can avail of a long list of amenities like late check out (up to 5 pm), free pressing of one set of clothes per day, free mini bar consumption, access to the Executive Lounge, complimentary pica-pica and cocktails, complimentary 1-hour massage per night, etc., whew, so many niceties.

Concurrent with the celebrations was the Awarding of Top Accounts: Convergys, Wipro BPO Philippines, Asia Travel, Apo Cement, Dash Engineering, GTZ, Pentax (Cebu), San Miguel Corp., Globe Telecom and National Grid Corp.

Food is almost always served in many celebrations and this is one culinary accounting that your favorite food loves to share with his readers since most of the dishes served were very familiar. No exotic taste to dissect, no dishes difficult to pronounce or comprehend; just the best dishes within limited budgets.

I went for the selection of Cheese on Board, some sausages before the Waldorf salad (Mixture of Red and Green Apple with Roasted Candied Pecan Nuts) and Crabstick & Mango Salad. I tried the Selection of Beef, Pork and Chicken Satay, some spring rolls, one bite of the Cocktail Sausages wrapped with Bacon before ending the dinner with some carbohydrates, the Sea Food Lasagna. Very nice indeed!

Dessert was the Panna cotta with Raspberry and Caramelized Éclairs on Cream Puff, Blueberry Tiramisu, Peach Cheesecake, and Fruit kebab with Calvados wine. And I took only one small bite of each…honest! Later, I asked Parklane Hotel GM Cenelyn Manguilimotan about competition looming in the horizon (literally, a stones throw away!) and she said, with a smile, “Very challenging.”

000a Sales Manager Gemma Cunanan and GM Cenelyn Manguilimotan awards San Miguel Corp, one of the Top Account of 2008 received by Ms. Margarita Royo