Exotic seafoods and more at Hong Kong Golden Pavilion Restaurant
December 4, 2003 | 12:00am
The moment you step inside the Hong Kong Golden Pavilion Restaurant, located at the ground floor of the Heritage Hotel Manila in Pasay City, it is as if you’ve been transported to the cosmopolitan pre-war Shanghai. The décor isn’t what you will normally see in a Chinese restaurant. The walls are papered with a crimson patterned treatment, while frames of antique Chinese posters with beautiful women hang all over the place. There are lots of chandeliers in the restaurant, while the carpet is a rich red. Through the window display just as you enter the restaurant, neon lights are arranged to replicate Shanghai’s famous skyline. Perhaps, it is this predominance of red that reminds you that you are indeed in a Chinese restaurant.
Hong Kong Golden Pavilion Restaurant general manager Joman Chan admits that the restaurant management wanted to evoke the Shanghai of the ’30s and ’40s when what used to be the Heritage Hotel’s Chinese, Japanese and European restaurants were renovated into the restaurant. With the change also came a new management. The Golden Pavilion’s holding company, Jimei Hotels International Ltd., is leasing the entire space for now.
Since Golden Pavilion opened in Nov. 23, 2002, it has been serving not just Cantonese cooking, but also Korean and Japanese specials. Since the bulk of the restaurant’s clientele come from the casino within the premises, mostly Asian high rollers, it was advisable to cater to the tastes of as large a market as possible. Since the hotel already operates an extensive lunch and dinner buffet, which has been dubbed the mother of all buffets by some food writers, the focus on Asian cooking was intentional.
Aside from the plush main dining area, the restaurant has eight function rooms, all varying in size to provide diners with a more intimate setup in the privacy of their own rooms.
However, some guests do prefer the limelight… well the restaurant’s version of it. From 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., those wearing their dancing shoes may choose to trip the light fantastic to ballroom and dance music dished out by a regular DJ. On Friday nights, the music is live, courtesy of a band. Those who prefer a quiet night should book a table before ballroom dancing hours. A chanteuse offers a program of light music, mostly ballads and hits, to entertain guests.
The setting, the music and the entertainment may be considerations for some, but for those who value food, much depends on dinner.
Chan says the restaurant serves traditional Chinese food, prepared by a Hong Kong chef and his staff. This is an assurance that the food served is as authentic as food served in the former Crown Colony or in mainland China.
All ingredients and produce used in the restaurant’s kitchen are sourced from reputable suppliers in the country. The only ingredients imported from China would probably be sauces and condiments.
Chan points to the big tanks at the rear of the dining area. He says all seafoods served are fresh. The seafood is kept for as long as two days in the tank to assure guests that they are getting the real thing.
There have been no complaints so far, something he attributes to the management’s policy of only offering good food and good service.
This is the first restaurant of its kind Jimei Hotels is operating in Metro Manila. It also runs a similarly-named Golden Pavilion Restaurant in Hong Kong, manages the Fort Ilocandia Resort and Casino in Ilocos Norte and operates the Jimei cruise ship, which is docked in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
Chan says the firm is mulling the possibility of opening another restaurant in Metro Manila.
Despite the crisis during the past few years, he says business has been brisk at Golden Pavilion. The lunchtime service might be a little slow, but in the evenings, they are very busy.
This early, they already have a number of reservations for the Christmas holidays, with bookings for their Christmas eve and New Year’s eve party. And that’s just for special occasions. The restaurant is also regularly busy with wedding receptions and birthday parties, mostly from the Filipino-Chinese community.
Hong Kong Golden Pavilion Restaurant is located at the ground floor of the Heritage Hotel Manila, at the corner of EDSA and Roxas Blvd., Pasay City. For inquiries and reservations, call 852-0826 or telefax 852-0820.
Hong Kong Golden Pavilion Restaurant general manager Joman Chan admits that the restaurant management wanted to evoke the Shanghai of the ’30s and ’40s when what used to be the Heritage Hotel’s Chinese, Japanese and European restaurants were renovated into the restaurant. With the change also came a new management. The Golden Pavilion’s holding company, Jimei Hotels International Ltd., is leasing the entire space for now.
Since Golden Pavilion opened in Nov. 23, 2002, it has been serving not just Cantonese cooking, but also Korean and Japanese specials. Since the bulk of the restaurant’s clientele come from the casino within the premises, mostly Asian high rollers, it was advisable to cater to the tastes of as large a market as possible. Since the hotel already operates an extensive lunch and dinner buffet, which has been dubbed the mother of all buffets by some food writers, the focus on Asian cooking was intentional.
Aside from the plush main dining area, the restaurant has eight function rooms, all varying in size to provide diners with a more intimate setup in the privacy of their own rooms.
However, some guests do prefer the limelight… well the restaurant’s version of it. From 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., those wearing their dancing shoes may choose to trip the light fantastic to ballroom and dance music dished out by a regular DJ. On Friday nights, the music is live, courtesy of a band. Those who prefer a quiet night should book a table before ballroom dancing hours. A chanteuse offers a program of light music, mostly ballads and hits, to entertain guests.
The setting, the music and the entertainment may be considerations for some, but for those who value food, much depends on dinner.
Chan says the restaurant serves traditional Chinese food, prepared by a Hong Kong chef and his staff. This is an assurance that the food served is as authentic as food served in the former Crown Colony or in mainland China.
All ingredients and produce used in the restaurant’s kitchen are sourced from reputable suppliers in the country. The only ingredients imported from China would probably be sauces and condiments.
Chan points to the big tanks at the rear of the dining area. He says all seafoods served are fresh. The seafood is kept for as long as two days in the tank to assure guests that they are getting the real thing.
There have been no complaints so far, something he attributes to the management’s policy of only offering good food and good service.
This is the first restaurant of its kind Jimei Hotels is operating in Metro Manila. It also runs a similarly-named Golden Pavilion Restaurant in Hong Kong, manages the Fort Ilocandia Resort and Casino in Ilocos Norte and operates the Jimei cruise ship, which is docked in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
Chan says the firm is mulling the possibility of opening another restaurant in Metro Manila.
Despite the crisis during the past few years, he says business has been brisk at Golden Pavilion. The lunchtime service might be a little slow, but in the evenings, they are very busy.
This early, they already have a number of reservations for the Christmas holidays, with bookings for their Christmas eve and New Year’s eve party. And that’s just for special occasions. The restaurant is also regularly busy with wedding receptions and birthday parties, mostly from the Filipino-Chinese community.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
