Tourism’s best

My beautiful editor Joanne Rae Ramirez recently received the Lifestyle Tourism award at the 10th Tourism Awards presentation of the Rotary Club of Manila (RCM) at the New World Makati Hotel. The event’s committee chairman, Robert “Bobby” Lim Joseph, said, Joanne was recognized for her outstanding contributions in the tourism sector through her widely read column “People” in The STAR.

Joanne said in her acceptance speech, “Tourism is really a celebration of what is beautiful and it brings happiness to families as well as to the national treasury. We, in media, celebrate this and trumpet this personal and national  happiness by writing about tourism.”

The Rotary Club of Manila Tourism Awards, according to RCM president Rudy Bediones, recognizes the contributions of remarkable individuals who have shown exemplary involvement in promoting the advancement of tourism in the country.

Other awardees were French Ambassador Gilles Garachon for tourism diplomacy; AML Hotel Consultancy owner Arthur Lopez for hotel tourism; Qatar Airways country manager Abdallah Okasha for airlines category; Makati Medical Center president and CEO Rosalie Montenegro for medical tourism; Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto for government tourism; GMA Network Inc. president and CEO Felipe Gozon for television tourism; Ayala Corp. president and CEO Fernando Zobel de Ayala for resorts category; Tourism Promotions Board chief operating officer Domingo Ramon Enerio III for tourism category; Shoemart Inc. chairman Henry Sy Sr. for meeting, incentives, conventions, exhibitions; and Gawad Kalinga chairman Antonio Meloto for social tourism.

Congratulations!

Detectives for a night

When theater’s artistic lure is mixed with a sumptuous meal, expect a great formula that can easily bring one a delightful and unforgettable experience. 

Such experience was brought to the fore by EDSA Shangri-La recently when it staged “Murder Mystery: A Dinner Theatre Production” at the hotel’s Paparazzi restaurant. The venue was transformed to become the fateful Cooked Goose Tavern.

Seasoned actors of the Get Real Theatre HK performed the story of The Deadly Night in 1898, to which guests were invited to share theories and ultimately solve the mind-boggling murder mystery.

Fun and spine-tingling revelations filled the night as guests reveled in this unique and enthralling activity while enjoying a mouthwatering four-course meal prepared by chef Robert Cauchi. The menu consisted of a traditional caprese, seared scallops in a martini rosso orange reduction with pancetta, a 16-hour slow-cooked wagyu beef cheek and a dessert of Catalan cream with crispy, caramelized sugar crust and strawberries.