L’opera turns 12!

Manila‘s premiere Italian restaurant L’Opera celebrated its 12th anniversary at its home in The Fort at the Bonifacio Global City, with partners Paolo Nesi, Conrad Acedillo, and Ermil Napa throwing an elegant gala dinner for their best patrons. The menu read like a royal Tuscan feast of five beautifully prepared courses deftly whipped up by chef and partner Moreno Mattei.

Guests were treated to assorted crostini and canape with foie gras and caviar accompanied by the sweet sparkling Bellagio white wine.

The al fresco doors were opened, extending the banquet seating to usher in a joyous atmosphere to celebrate 12 great years of fine Italian dining. The dinner menu included a selection of antipasti together with a perfectly chilled Placido Pinot Grigio which complemented the in-house marinated Norwegian salmon gravlax, fresh seafood salad bounty in fresh limone and vino bianco, deboned steamed crabmeat with lemon and Tuscan cold press olive oil on a bed of thinly sliced zucchini and eggplant grilled and marinated with a balsamic reduction. Served after was the homemade ravioli of duck in truffle sauce topped with slices of smoked duck breast, accompanied by a smooth medium-bodied Rosso di Montalcino. The main consisted of a generous serving of Grilled US Angus beef tenderloin stuffed with seared foie gras in truffle sauce served with spinach a la Parmesan and porcini and fresh champignon mushrooms, partnered with the full-bodied red Barbera di Asti. All courses were served with a selection of wine, sponsored by one of L’Opera’s loyal wine suppliers, WineDirect.

A refreshing dessert of lemon sherbet with slices of fresh mandarin oranges in Grand Marnier sauce was served before everyone moved outside for the festivities of fireworks, which everybody enjoyed from the entrance foyer of the restaurant.

To cap the perfect evening was the blowing of the candles on the beautiful and specially made Venetian mask chocolate anniversary cake made by Marta Matute.

Here’s to many more years of the best Tuscan cuisine! Salute!

(L’Opera is located at The Fort, Taguig City. For reservations call 8893963 or 8892784.)

Sparkling trends for 2007/2008

It was a sparkling night as Swarovski unveiled its newest trends for the Fall/Winter 2007/08 season led by the company’s regional market manager for North and SEA Pacific Bernice Quiambao and country manager for Singapore Cindy Ng. The season’s collection is comprised of elaborate and refined designs, reflecting the return to simplicity and uniqueness.

Host Daphne Oseña-Paez introduced the new color and innovations for AW07 one by one. Guests went up to each of the trend corners to have a feel of the crystals. The "Muse" theme celebrates tough, carefree but romantic women who create design artistry by interweaving classicism, art deco and simplicity. "Android" protects herself with sharp silhouettes and sculptural details. Crystallized, armor-like jewelry extends body parts and fuse with organic forms. The "Nomad’s" single garment capes and coats are warm and functional and are as characteristic as natural forms of embellishment. The "Diva" is like modern with sharp origami-like structures in which red and pinkish crystal gradients lend the soft seriousness of Asian poetry to her stylized, classic flower ornaments. The "Creature" has crystals on her jewelry and sculptured gowns adorn her. Her body, with its fake black shields protects her shimmering dark gold and bronze ambience inspired by art nouveau.

The event was attended by Manila’s top designers including cake designer Penk Ching, bag designer Amina Aranaz and furniture designer Carlo Tanseco. Others seen were Pixie Olivares, Robert Yang, Robert Khouny, Inky Nakpil, Ingrid Chua-Go, Solea’s Emi Jorge and furniture designer Ann Pamintuan.

(Check out www.swarovski.com)

Her sense and style

My good friend, fellow Star writer, and fashion plate Celine Lopez is set to show off her sense of style as the new muse of top fashion brand Plains & Prints.

Celine was given the ultimate welcome as the brand’s newest image model in a fashion show/party held at M Café.

Roxanne Farillas, owner of Plains & Prints, says "Celine Lopez perfectly personifies our 2006 Holiday Collection which is a lot sexier, versatile and caters to the different personalities and sense of style of our young fashionable professionals. Just like Celine, they can now experiment with different styles, fuse the classics with trendier pieces, and still exude confidence and individuality with our wide range of designs, styles and fabrics."

Celine says: "What I like about Plains & Prints is that their materials are Philippine-made, and they really cater to the different personalities of women. Being a staunch supporter of Filipino fashion makes me really proud to be their new image model."

Present to give their support were Celine’s parents Albertito and Emily Lopez, who looked just as stylish as their daughter. Also seen were Resty Vergara, Bea Ledesma, Mario Dumawal, Lhar Santiago, Tina Tinio, Myrza Sison, Pauline Suaco-Juan, Dinah Ventura, Mia Fausto-Cruz, Rhett Eala, Faith Amigo, Robby Mananquil and Rustan’s U’s Hindy Weber-Tantoco.

The show was directed by Jackie Aquino, styled by no less than former model Izza Gonzales-Agana and was organized by Marilen Nuñez and her team from Lenplus.

With Celine Lopez as the new face of Plains & Prints, classic fashion has definitely gone more fun and chic.

(Email me at [email protected])