When good friends wine and dine

Moet-Hennessy Asia Pacific (MHAP) Philippines gathered some of its dearest friends from the media, the connoisseurs and other key business partners to Mandarin Oriental’s Tivoli to celebrate the success of the Philippine champagne business. The gastronomic delight brought to wine and food lovers a splendid gourmet wine-dinner experience of “Nights of Wine and Fine Dining.” The event presented six to seven sublime courses that were paired with an unlimited pouring of the evening’s featured bottles of champagne.

The dinner featured prestigious creations from the northeastern France region. Paired with Champagne-marinated salmon, dill and eggplant caviar was Veuve Cliquot Brut. Seared sea scallops with ginger and spring onions and grilled slipper lobster with olive oil were paired with Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial. Slow-cooked farm chicken breast with vegetable pearls was served with Krug Grand Cuvee. The 2000 Dom Perignon was matched with warm goat cheese salad, paprika and pumpkin seed oil. The dinner was capped off with red berry gratin with Champagne sabayon paired with 2000 Moet et Chandon Vintage Rose. Each serving was supervised by Tivoli’s Mirko De Giorgi.

There were no speeches or presentations made as MHAP Philippines’ chief representative Olga Azarcon simply said that this was the company’s way of thanking their business partners for the company’s success in 2008. Everyone at the dinner wished them an even more fruitful 2009.

Citi welcomes the Year of the Ox

Citigold, the wealth management banking service of Citibank in the country, held Chinese New Year celebrations as hundreds of its clients gathered at Le Pavilion to hear what’s in store for them in 2009. The affair, highly anticipated each year, served as a good venue for Citigold clients to know the latest on local and global market conditions, investment strategies to guide them through the year, as well as feng shui forecasts for the Year of the Ox.

Country business manager for Citibank Philippines Mark Jones said, “One of the many happy occasions we make sure to celebrate in Citibank is welcoming the Chinese New Year with our Citigold clients. There is a tremendous amount of media coverage, analyst reports and market commentary on what the global financial system has in store for us in the New Year. Amidst this mountain of information, which sometimes leads to confusion, Citibank is here to help our clients cut through the clutter and make sense of all of this.”

At the entrance, traditional Chinese music filled the air as guests were welcomed by Chinese opera-inspired characters who posed with guests for souvenir pictures. At the reception area, guests were treated to Chinese goodies and delicacies. They also got to explore their investment options at the Citigold booths, where relationship managers were on hand to familiarize them on the world-class banking services that Citigold offers.

A traditional dragon dance opened the afternoon’s program. Guests were also entertained by a circus presentation reminiscent of the carnivals in ancient China.

Geomancer Joseph Chau gave guests the fortunes for all the signs in Chinese astrology, plus recommendations on how to attract luck and prosperity in 2009. There was a raffle that allowed guests to go home with premium Tumi items courtesy of The Travel Club.

Besides periodic briefings, Citigold also conducts portfolio reviews for clients to help them stay on top of their investments and the risks and rewards they offer. 

(You may learn more about Citigold Wealth Management today by calling 995-9888 in Metro Manila or 234-9888 in Cebu.)

Mane event

The Davines’ World Style Contest (WSC) revealed the country’s best of the best in hair design. Of all the Filipino hairdressers who joined, 12 finalists stood out and were given the chance to showcase their creations that interpreted the Davines lifestyle.

Top three hair designers emerged as winners: second runner-up Josephine Laviano from David’s Salon-Bacoor, first runner-up Ruel Samonte of David’s Salon-SM Bicutan and the grand winner Anthony Erlano of David’s Salon-Eastwood. Aside from receiving P80,000 cash plus P75,000 worth of Davines products for his originating salon, Erlano will also represent the Philippines in the Asian semi-finals presented by Davines International. This can also be his ticket for the coveted spot in the grand finals in Italy alongside famed international hair designers if he qualifies for the international finals.

Hosted by Marc Nelson, the event kicked off with the presentation of the World Style Contest 2007 grand winner Lourd Ramos. The top 12 finalists then demonstrated on stage their knowledge in cutting, styling and coloring. Participating salons included Salon de Orient, Azta Urban Salon, Paradigm Salon, various branches of David’s Salon, Accentrix Salon, Salon de Ayala and FMV Salon.

New colors and hair style trends were also featured as Davines presented its latest product range, the Matinee Collection, as interpreted by the creative teams of Manila’s elite salons — Basement Salon, Emphasis Salon, Chevelure formerly known as Salon de Ken, Salon de Manila and Henri Calayag Salon.

Judging the technical aspects of the competition were hair mavericks Henri Calayag, Stefan Wilzynski, Kenti Tam and Victor Ortega, while critiques of the hairstyle’s wearablity and “davinesity” were model, fashion writer and Project Runway Philippines judge Apples Aberin-Sadhwani, Globe Asiatique VP for international sales and marketing Divine Lee and Australasia at Davines Spa GM and management consultant Sergio Cavazzana. WSC is Davines Philippines’ second time to participate in the most important global annual event by Davines, the World Wide Hair Tour. Official sponsors of the Davines WSC were Ralph’s Wine and Spirits and Infinit Cocktails.

Natalie Cole live in Manila

Natalie Cole enjoyed several memorable moments at the Recording Academy’s 51st annual awards ceremony in Los Angeles where she added another Grammy Award to her already decorated mantle for her latest album Still Unforgettable. The highly successful artist earned awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist for Here’s That Rainy Day bringing the total number of Grammy Awards she has earned to nine. 

She says, “This honor is especially gratifying because of the health issues I had in the last year. It is a wonderful thing to have the acknowledgement of my peers.” 

The new album is the follow-up to her 1991 Unforgettable With Love, an album of standards from the American Songbook that included a duet with her late father Nat King Cole on the title track. Still Unforgettable continues her exploration of American pop standards with 14 selections that spotlight her instantly recognizable voice and immaculate phrasing. It features classic tracks such as The Best Is Yet To Come, Nice ‘N’ Easy and Something’s Gotta Give as well as a memorable duet with her late father on Walkin’ My Baby Back Home. Still Unforgettable is in stores now from Warner Music Philippines. 

The multi-awarded vocalist Natalie Cole is set to perform live at the Araneta Coliseum on March 11.

(For tickets, call 911-5555.)

Brothers in art... again

Dutch brothers Alex and Han Van Hagen will reprise their highly-successful 2007 art exhibit starting this Thursday, from March 5 to 10 at The Gallery of The Peninsula Manila. Dubbed Van Hagen & Van Hagen: Brothers in Art Part 2, the exhibit is supported by Nokia and will showcase striking photographs by Alex and exquisite copper etchings by Han. Part of the proceeds of the exhibit will benefit the Real Life Foundation, an educational advocacy organization dedicated to serving the poor.

A mainstay in practically all of Manila’s social gatherings, Alex is a much respected photographer who beautifully captures the faces and memories of each glamorous event. Han is one of the founders of The Etch-club of The Hague and is widely regarded as one of the contemporary masters of copper etching art throughout Europe.

Also supporting the exhibit are The Peninsula Manila, Philippine Tatler, Bench, Fila, Belo Medical Group, Inc., KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings Corp., HSBC, Moet & Chandon, Technomarine and Eastwood Mall.