Around Southeast Asia in 80 dishes at Hotel H2O

MANILA, Philippines - Have you ever been on a food tour around Southeast Asia without leaving the Philippines? Yes, you can do that — and more — if you hop over to Makan Makan Asian Food Village at H2O Hotel, which is actually a hop, jump, and skip away from the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park. Inspired by the story of the English gentleman Phileas Fogg, who claimed he could circumnavigate the world in 80 days (no empty boast, really), we put ourselves up to the challenge of eating our way around Southeast Asia in 80 dishes.

First on our food itinerary is roti prata, a flaky, crispy Indian flatbread with zesty curry dip and a miniature Malaysian flag waving beside it. So light, just right for starters. But there are more appetizers to dazzle the taste buds: satay (pork, chicken, and beef on skewers served with peanut sauce) from Indonesia, seafood tom yum (sour and spicy lemongrass broth with seafood)  — it’s so yummy we swear we could finish a steaming bowlful of it! But of course, there’s laksa (spiced rice noodle soup topped with seafood and fish cake with coconut milk) from Singapore.

Now that our lethargic palates have been awakened, we’re ready for the main assault. A retinue of servers brings in some plates of pineapple fried rice (with juicy pineapple, shrimp, chicken chunks, and raisins, served in pineapple shells) from Thailand. As if we hadn’t had enough noodles (too much long life?), we’re offered Singapore’s cha hae mee (stir-fried bihon noodles with shrimps). Now comes the lord of the rings — that is, Malaysian sambal squid (squid rings with chili paste). Jojo Moises, F & B manager, who introduces every dish before we demolish it, shares that the squid (like small calamari) is cooked for three hours with bagoong and chili to ensure that each squiggle of squid is succulent to the bite. And from China comes the Makan fried chicken (this marinated deep-fried chicken is truly lutong Makan). Also from China is the steamed lapu-lapu (grouper) with soy sauce.

Finally, from the Philippines comes the Makan Makan lechon de leche (charcoal-roasted piglet). The lechon is tasty enough (with no help from Mang Tomas sarsa), but go ahead and dip it in spicy soy vinegar.

Now, after all that, do we still have room for dessert?

Of course, we chorus with a hearty burp! Dessert is a toothsome threesome consisting of Singapore’s taku (sago pearls topped with coconut cream) and mango pudding with sago, milk caramel syrup, and vanilla extract; bandung (a Balinese sweet treat made of rose syrup, evaporated milk, and grass jelly),  and Michael Jackson (soy milk and grass jelly) from Singapore. Makan Makan has its own soy-making machine so you’re sure to get your soy as fresh as can be.

As we polish off the last morsel of food on our plates, Hotel H2O lady GM Lily Santos-Adrid tells us we’ve barely scratched the surface. “We’re just giving you some samples of our typical offerings. Actually, there are more than 150 dishes to choose from at Makan Makan (quite an apt word, as it means ‘to eat’), a veritable pan-Asian village offering culinary delights from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.”

Get your own

So, does Makan Makan have Singaporean, Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian, and Filipino chefs to cook up all these specialties?

Nope, it’s got just a Filipino chef who can cook Indonesian, Singaporean, Malaysian, and Thai food with the same flair as he can whip up kare-kare and other native favorites. Actually, John Orit, who comes from Maasin, Southern Leyte, has cooked for royalty — he was the chef of the Sultan of Brunei and worked in Saudi Arabia, too. He trained under a Singapore chef to master Southeast Asian dishes.

With its awesome menu list, Makan Makan Village draws droves of local and foreign guests. Add to that the fact that the hotel has promo packages in conjunction with Philippine Airlines. “H2O is a partner hotel of PAL,” says Antonette Mitschiener, H2O director, sales and marketing.

H2O also has a club lounge serving Western cuisine and cocktails.

It’s beginning to look — and taste — a lot like Christmas at H2O, too, as it dishes up its banquet Christmas menus. For instance, the Christmas Party Package 1 (P1,400 net per head for a minimum of 100 persons) includes appetizer (a charcuterie of cold cuts) and salad, soup, carving station, pasta cooking station, main entrée (citrus basil grilled mahi-mahi with mango salsa, baby back ribs with bourbon barbecue sauce, Chicken Supreme, etc.), and a dessert station. The packages include overnight accommodation with buffet breakfast for two at Makan Makan, 10 hot bed vouchers at Zenyu Eco Spa, free use of the function room for four hours, standard open bar for two hours, photo booth (two hours of unlimited shots and prints), waived corkage fee (one piece pork lechon, two bottles of standard spirits and wine), and a flower arrangement on each table.

There’s never a dull moment at H2O as you get into the swim of things. Just go with the flow at H2O, the first marine-themed integrated resort hotel in the Philippines and a member of World Hotels, the largest Europe-based global hotel group for independent hotels and regional hotel brands.

You can start your day with an early morning jog (brisk walking is fine) at Rizal Park and maybe even join one of those groups doing tai chi or one of those exercise rituals. After that, if you can still muster enough energy, you can hit the hotel’s fitness center, which boasts a fully equipped gym. Or you can shop at the bazaars in nearby Malate that abounds with little charming shops selling curios and antiques.

But if you opt to stay within the complex, after a hearty lunch at Makan Makan, you can visit the Oceanarium (like the one at Sentosa in Singapore) at Manila Ocean Park, just an elevator ride away from your hotel room.

After a long day, you can de-stress at Zenyu Eco Spa and experience the negative ion treatment that makes this spa sought after in the wellness field.  Heated ceramic-tile beds and deoxidizers in the therapy room emit high doses of healthy negative ions that cleanse the air and rejuvenate the body. Let spa manager Eric Tan tell you more about these negative ions that have a wonderful, positive effect on one’s health. This treatment relaxes the body and soothes the soul.

Of course, you can opt to stay in your room and enjoy the view — lots of it (just remember to draw down the curtains if you want privacy)! Hotel H2O won third place in the Hotel with Best Room Design category at the AsiaRooms.com Hotel Awards 2013. “Our signature room is called Aqua Room, where one part of the room is an aquarium wall (imagine sleeping beside a giant aquarium with the fish swimming to and fro,” Lily describes. “We also have 20 suites, all of which have an indoor Jacuzzi. We only have 147 rooms (currently at 98-percent occupancy) and all our bayview rooms are facing Manila Bay so you get a good view of our famed sunset.”

So, fasten your (seat) belts and have the most exciting gustatory ride ever!

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For inquiries, call/fax 238-6100. Visit www.hotelh2o.com; Facebook/Hotel H2O.