Revisiting the vintage charm of Escolta

MANILA, Philippines - You can’t throw a bread roll these days without hitting a hotel buffet in Manila. They pop up wherever hotel lobbies exist, usually offering snaky lines of international cuisine in overwhelming quantity.

When The Peninsula Manila decided to remodel its 15-year-old Nielsen’s restaurant, it was thinking all-day dining — but the creative team had something completely different in mind. They decided to focus on a Filipino theme, and the result is new dining outlet Escolta, which is set to open tomorrow. Located at the right wing of the lobby, Escolta suggests the relaxed, casual salons of post-colonial and prewar Manila.

Escolta — suggesting old Manila’s shopping and financial district as well as the name used for escorts of royalty during Spanish times — has a new twist on the contempo phenomenon of hotel buffets: bring everything down a notch, use lots of wood (instead of marble and glass) to provide warmth, and design the dining space with lots of cozy coves and booths so people can relax and enjoy the view overlooking the leafy Ayala Triangle Gardens. But it’s not a restaurant stuck in the past, despite the vintage-looking La Victoria Arduino coffee maker near the entrance (the biggest of any hotel buffet in Manila, according to Peninsula Manila’s head of PR, Mariano “Garch” Garchitorena). There’s an “art wall” with video displays designed by four local artists: this provides a soothing backdrop to one of the buffet’s well-lit dining areas, and also features a stage that will host live jazz combos on Wednesday nights.

“Nielsen’s had expired its run in terms of décor and it needed a renovation,” explains Jonathan Crook, general manager of The Peninsula Manila. “Our inspiration was the Escolta district, the heyday of Manila in the ’30s and ’40s.”

They consulted people like artist-chef Claude Tayag to get input on authentic regional dishes and consulted Hong Kong-based architectural and design firm Zanghellini & Holt to come up with suitably Filipino interiors. 

All Philippine hardwoods were used for the wooden floors (sourced from leftover recycled wood), wooden tables, lots of woven mat decorative touches; even the placemats and napkins have a woven, old-Manila look. It actually reminds you of an antique Filipino homestead by way of Architectural Digest. Says Crook, “With modern hotel buffets, they usually go with lots of clean marble. We wanted something with more of a Filipino feel to add to the dining experience.”

The wood serves another purpose: absorbing excess sound, always a problem in hotel buffets. For now, the buffet music seems to be a mix of piped-in OPM, such as Regine Velasquez — pretty mellow stuff.

Says design consultant Zanghellini Hernan: “The planners wanted a non-stiff, non-formal environment. They wanted something that would feel warm, like a breakfast vibe, but also for dinner.”

And Escolta will be adding a festive touch, bringing back Sunday brunch, even a champagne breakfast where free-flowing Moet & Chandon is served, “which at P2,100 is not a bad value at all,” says the Peninsula GM.

Those who don’t drink can opt for breakfast shooters of various healthful juices. While it’s a buffet with five stations, there’s also an à la carte menu offering Filipino specialties like bagnet with authentic Ilocos vinegar, along with Continental dishes like tomato and olive bruschetta (a fine appetizer served heaping on a crusty bread oval).

Beside the best tables in the house, with big picture windows overlooking Makati Avenue, one wall sports a blown-up black and white photo of Escolta as it looked in 1870. A new skylight, including a beautiful waterfall and wide-open vistas, provides sweeping outdoor views of the outdoor pool. There’s also the aviation-themed Nielson room — which has actually been misspelled all this time (“We discovered Nielson was actually the correct spelling,” says Garch) — commemorating the old airport and tower built by New Zealander Laurie Reuben Nielson, the best-equipped of its kind back in the late ’30s.

Food-wise, what sets Escolta apart?

The Filipino comfort foods on the menu, for sure, like champorado made from scratch with native chocolate, seafood sinigang soup, Bicol Express, bangus Sarangani (“a delicious barbecued bangus,” according to Garch) and arroz caldo.

The place is also a bread lover’s dream. There’s a wood-fired oven for bread and pizza and a whole station devoted to Escolta’s artisanal breads: special cheese bread, pecan-raisin rolls, chorizo and longganisa hard rolls, and Escolta’s special pugon pan de sal. On the table are three dips for the bread: a mango dip, adobo paté and salsa monja.

We also liked the paella station (your choice of seafood or meat paella cooked to order). F&B manager Laurent Le Deu says he’s a big fan of the Moroccan lamb tagine cooked in a conical clay pot. Coffee drinkers will love the Italian espresso machine serving Benguet brew and alamid (civet coffee — you know about that one) for a more exotic experience.

In all, Escolta has five dining stations — the usual counter for salads (try the Caesar’s and insalata caprese with its mozzarella buffala), roasted meats (beef and pork), favorite flavors from all over Asia like sushi and sashimi, roast duck, naan bread and noodles. For dessert lovers, there’s a teppanyaki ice cream station (gelato mixed with toppings on a cold-stone concept), a chocolate fountain and all kinds of mousses, cakes and fresh fruits.

With an open kitchen (doing away with Nielsen’s large exhaust fans), the live-action grilling and prep stations offer a wide array of cuisines and a “farm-to-table” concept utilizing meat, poultry, eggs, fruit and vegetables (some of it organic) from surrounding provinces.

All in all, the buffet doesn’t scream for your attention; it’s tasteful, elegantly displayed, if not overwhelming in variety.

“No. 1 for us is quality more than the selection,” says executive chef Adam Mathis. “No. 2 is consistency, which is the hardest thing in the kitchen, and No. 3 is maintenance. We open at 6 a.m., and when I come in at 10 a.m., I want to see the same buffet as I did at 6.” Escolta’s staff underwent three months of training — it’s the final step in a six-month renovation of this old-favorite restaurant into a 21st-century remodel.

For the longest time, before they opened up the Ayala Triangle park, says Le Deu, “the view outside was hidden. Now Makati is visible again.”

“We wanted to bring the natural light in, plus the Filipino sound, design and materials, to create a restaurant that is big enough but where you still feel homey, comfortable,” Le Deu concludes. “There are big niches here, but you can also have your own little corner where you can bring your friends, like your own private salon.”