‘Mr. M’ turns a year older with a twin celebration
The joint festivity was held last Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Happy 8, Newport World Resorts. The gathering was hosted by PR maverick Keren Pascual, part of our close-knit dining group that included Law Tan (who shares the same birthday as Mr. M), Mariole Alberto, Enrico Santos, Joel Mercado, Leo Katigbak, Korina Sanchez-Roxas, Roselle Monteverde, Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng and Ricco Ocampo, looking so much lighter and hip after losing over 40 pounds! Unfortunately, Lisa’s older sister, Robina, had ninang duties that evening and was unable to join us.
Among Mr. M’s “babies” in attendance were Bea Alonzo, who came with her boyfriend Vincent Co, son of retail magnates Lucio and Susan Co of Puregold and S&R; Jericho Rosales, riding high on the triumphant box-office success of “The Loved One,” who attended solo as Janine Gutierrez was at a wedding; and Maja Salvador, looking slim and radiant and sharing that she hopes to have another baby soon.
Completing Mr. M’s circle were talent handlers from ABS-CBN’s Star Magic: Lulu Romero, Monch Novales, Gidget dela Cuesta, Alan Real, Abby Niesta, Cris Navarro, Love and Ed Capulong and Grace Yap.
The evening began at 6 p.m. with cocktails at the Sonata Lounge on the third floor of Newport World Resorts. Drinks flowed freely as guests mingled, caught up and settled into the celebratory mood. Around 7:30 p.m., everyone moved to Happy 8, where the host invited guests to participate in the Salmon Yee Sang, also known as the Prosperity Toss.
Popular in Malaysia and Singapore, the festive salad is tossed high into the air with the belief that the higher the toss, the greater the luck for the coming year.
Gamely taking part were Mr. M, Bea, Jericho and Maja, joined by members of the hotel’s management and sales team.
Dinner followed, beginning with Hokkien meat roll, jellyfish, truffle har gow and salted egg yolk seaweed crackers. The soup course featured shredded cod fish in broth with dried scallops, bok choy and bean curd.
For the main dishes, guests enjoyed crispy garlic roasted chicken, wok-fried king prawns with oatmeal, and crispy longevity noodles topped with quail eggs. Dessert was a comforting duo of taro sago pudding and egg custard birthday buns.
During dinner, the hotel’s resident geomancer entertained guests with insights into what to expect in the Year of the Fire Horse, along with forecasts for each of the 12 animal signs in the Chinese zodiac.
Everyone was hopeful that the Fire Horse would help gallop them toward positive change and much-needed reforms.
Before the night ended, guests headed home with grateful hearts — thankful for decades of friendship that have stood the test of time — and with thoughtful loot bags prepared by Mariole, filled with assorted Japanese candies and chocolates, along with lapis lazuli bracelets to serve as keepsakes of a truly memorable evening.
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