EDSA Shangri- La: Fabulous Hotel, Bad Camera

EDSA Shangri- La  

Fabulous Hotel, Bad Camera

Stay 

We arrived late on Edsa Shangri- La after

being delayed on a flight from Naga City.

I was longing to blog about this posh hotel

and found out that my camera battery was

discharged and I forgot to bring my charger.

So I decided to use my really old camera phone

which I have not used for a long time and I know

the photos would not make justice on how beautiful

the hotel was, but there was not much that I can do.

I cannot remember how many times we have been

to EDSA Shangri- La as we check in  this hotel

almost every year every time I am Manila

since I moved to Naga City in the mid- 1990’s.

I get to stay in the hotel as the annual meeting of the

Philippine Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism,

in which I am a member, is being here every March.

We also got to stay here a lot when we were building

our house in Naga in the early 2000 because of its

close proximity to EDSA Shangri La- Mall and

the Ortigas Home Depo where we got most of our

construction materials  and home furnishings.

 

EDSA Shangri - La was listed as one of the best hotels

in the world by prestigious Conde Nast and indeed

with the esteemed travel magazine saying so-

who am I, a lesser mortal (that I am) to disagree?

Shangri La is one hotel that I don’t mind booking

in their standard rooms (they call it premier rooms)

as they are always spacious compared to other hotels

of the same star rating, standard and category.

Their rooms have contemporary design with Asian touch

with a view of  the booming but chaotic Ortigas skyline.

Our room came with two comfortable

huge double beds where my whole family

of four (2 adults and 2 kids) could fit snugly.

 

It  had a fabulous bathroom-

 

… lavished with luxurious toiletries

that Shangri-La in known for,

…and  a huge closet with

useful amenities.

 

Connectivity was not a problem as

there are three telephone landlines,

in the room- the first one on the desk,

…second by the bedside,

…and third at the toilet.

There is also a free Wi Fi and broadband  internet 

connections and a well stocked mini bar.

It had a huge working desk,

…a comfy, warm lounge chair,

 

…a huge chic  vanity mirror.

…and a flat screen but vintage analogue TV,

and had it not for this old outdated box type model,
 hotel guests wouldn’t notice at all that

 the  room was old and needs upgrading.

 

The old room’s excellent condition of looking like

it was spanking new despite being very old,

 

...is a testament on how impressive the 

hotel’s housekeeping maintenance was.

 

.Stray

The hotel is located between two major malls,

the Edsa Shagri- La Mall in one side,

 
Source: housinginteractive.com
 

… and the SM Mega Mall on the other side,


Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sm_megamall.jpg

…but there is really no need to go out of the

hotel as it was built as a resort hotel

right in the middle of an urban jungle.

It had a fabulous garden where one can

have a leisurely walk, or just laze around

admiring the tropical greenery around you.

 

The hotel had several in house shops- so there is

 really no need to hit the nearby malls to shop

 

The hotel is also known for its fabulous Chi Spa

where one can have a relaxing massage

or guests may avail of their numerous luxurious

health and beauty therapeutic regimens.

Play

The EDSA Shangri La pool, is a place full of

memories for me and my young family.

 

I cannot count the number of times that my eldest

 teen daughter frolicked there as a toddler,

…it was also the same pool where we discovered

that my then two- year old son Timothy could swim

on his own without using any floaters.

 

The pools remained the same- beautiful,

clean and superbly maintained amidst the

amazingly vast greenery in the middle of  the

busiest and chaotic district of urban Manila.///

 

The hotel also has a well equipped gym

that guests can use for free.

 

Feast

Although there are countless of dining options

and posh restaurants at the nearby Shangri- La Mall

and SM Mega Mall, there is really no need to

go out of the hotel as EDSA Shangri- La has

an excellent in house restaurant called Heat.

We actually pigged out on our first night at the hotel

as we were tired and starving after the delayed flight

from Naga City and being stuck in the horrendous traffic

in legendary EDSA highway on the way to the hotel.

The restaurant buffet had a wonderful spread of

international dishes and was crowded with diners,

and considering that I had a very bad camera that

deosn’t work well on dim light I wasn’t able

to take photos except for the first serving on my plate.

We had an early breakfast the next day and I was

able to take photos as there were very few people then, 

 

…but I felt so guilty on my gluttonious binging

the night before ,so I decided to eat light made up

of fruit flavored cream cheese with crackers,

 

…and a platter for fresh fruits,

…despite the superb buffet spread for breakfast.



Edsa Shangri- La is an well maintained hotel 
and remained  as beautiflul the as the very first time
I set foot on this hotel in 1994, a  young, unmarried man.



It has been almost two decades,  the hotel looked 
exactly   the same twenty years ago 
and still made it to the Conde Nast list.

This goes to show that being on the top does not 
necessarily mean having the latest TV model.

Read Here For Related Posts:

EDSA Shangri- La:  Horizon Club Room  
Gorgeous Hotel, Fabulous Amenities 

The Best Family Hotel in the Philippines:
Shangri La Hotels    
The Best of Stay, Stray, Play and Feast  
  First Anniversary Posts 
  (Series 6) 

Trader’s Hotel, Manila
Shangri- la Cover up - Revealed

Trader’s Hotel, Manila

 a Shangri- la in Disguise

Red Platter Home Grown Cuisine, Homey Ambiance

Red Platter, Naga City

Home Grown Cuisine, Homey Ambiance

 

Red Platter is a part of a Naga based

Graceland Group, a company that owns

a chain of dining establishments in Bicol.



…that includes the Geewan, a popular turo turo

style restaurant in Naga Centro that offers

pre- cooked Bicolano specialty dishes

set in a more sanitary and stylish ambiance.

…Graceland, their fast food chain arm with

branches in major cities in the Bicol Region,

…Baker’s Plaza, a chain of specialty bake shop

their most prolific store so far, that has  branches

in almost all major towns and cities  in the Bicol.

 

…and the Red Platter, their fine dining arm located 
at Cereza in Naga City’s famous Magsaysay Strip.

 

We never get tired of dining in Red Platter

as it offers delicious Filipino Fusion Cuisine

set in a homey, old English Cottage setting,

…with touches of Filipino,

…and modern contemporary interiors.

 

They also offer affordable set meals good

for a family of six and we ordered their

All Filipino Favorites this time.

The All Filipino favorite includes

the very delicious Nilagang Baka.

This was the first time that we tried this

tasty Red Platter dish and what sets it apart

is that  the beef is so lean and tender and leaves

a flavorful beefy aftertaste at the back of

your mouth in every sip of the very hot soup.

The set meal also included Beef Kare Kare.

this Red Platter version uses pure beef

instead of the traditional oxtail, and fresh veggies

 and they perfectly  blended with the sauce

that have just the right tinge of peanuts.

There was Adobong Lechon Kangkong.

I would say that the adobong kangkong alone

was so delicious but they still topped  it with

crispy Lechon Kawali and who would say no

for the additional, delectably sinful generosity.

My family is not a fan of Pork Sisig but we

cannot do anything as this greasy dish  was

 included on the package meal and  we had a lot  

of leftover that  we had it wrapped in a doggy bag.

Although rice was included on the set meals,

I ordered an additional Arroz a’la Valenciana

as we always love this Spanish dish and the

Red Platter version of this rice dish is to die for

and one of the most delicious in the city.

The meal deal also came with a free Leche Plan

for dessert and a pitcher of Iced Tea to boot.

How’s that for only 1,480 pesos?


Read Here for Related Posts:

Red Platter 
Bicol Cuisine in an Old English Setting

Daddy’s Grill: Best Seafood Restaurant in the City

Daddy’s Grill Seafood Galore 

Best Seafood Restaurant in the City

We we’re aware when Daddy’s Grill opened

several months ago but never really considered

dining in the restaurant as  it was an open – air

kiosk type without air conditioning.



It was the same reason why we also avoided dining

in similar popular dining establishments in the city

 like Kambingan and Ilaw sa Dahon as they are

the native “kamalig” type un- air conditioned huts.

But we were tempted to dine here when

we saw some photos  of Daddy’s Grill  posted
 on the internet showing a counter top

full  of fresh seafood...



... where  the diners would choose for their 
orders  and  the food would be cooked
 right before their very eyes.

  

It was seafood galore.

I have never seen seafood in such abundance

anywhere else in the city.

We saw a similar concept in the Catherine’s Restaurant

in Bagasbas, Daet where the seafood are displayed

on a glass enclosed freezer but it is not as abundant.

Daddy’s Grill may not be as sophisticated

but the seafood selection was enormous.

The extensive choice of seafood makes it difficult

for the diner to choose what to eat as it makes

you feel like you wanted to try and order everything.

I asked my wife to help me do the ordering

as it was not easy to decide due to the immense

 assortment of seafood choices.

 

She ordered half kilogram of Green Clams or Tahong 

which’ she instructed the chef to cook as a soup.

 

And it was served as a very tasty Clam Soup

with bits and pieces  of Malunggay.


 
We all loved the dish as it tasted very fresh

and very natural devoid of seasoning’s aftertaste.

 

We also ordered one kilogram of Fresh Oysters

and  the chef asked if we want to eat then raw or grilled.

We wanted the oysters grilled and he topped

 them with butter and some garnishings.

It was so delicious that we ordered

another half kilogram of grilled Oysters.

We also ordered one kilogram 

of fresh and plump Prawns,

…and it was served sautéed in Oyster Sauce.

We so loved this dish as it did not have a

 hint of any oil residue where it was sautéed.

We had a  half kilogram of Malasugui Belly,

…and they grilled it to a perfect chewiness

but still very juicy and tender.

They  served complimentary Roasted Peanuts
while they were cooking  our orders.

 

And we had a delicious 
Mango Float for our dessert.



The place is not as fancy as compared to

other restaurants in the city, as it was
hot, humid and did not have air-conditioning,

But who cares- everything that was served to us

was so delicious that you wouldn’t mind

the humidity, the heat, and the mayhem of

this open air restaurant.

They serve the most delicious food in this
 part of the world- and this is one restaurant 
that I could dine everyday in my life.


Read below for similar posts:

Daddy’s Grill Seafood Galore

Best Seafood Restaurant in the City

 

Daddy’s Grill Bestsellers

Bestsellers are not Necessarily the Best Dishes