Never knew a demolition party could be fun!

The invitation read "CIAO CIAO PAPARAZZI", a rock and roll celebration to mark the renovation of Ocean Wing which began last February 17, 2006. Unfortunately, before you can refurbish, you have first to demolish and the Italian restaurant of Shangri-La was the unwilling casualty that night.

And merely four days ago (Valentine's day), my wife, daughter and I were fortunate to be among the very last patrons of this restaurant that has been part of Cebu's culinary history. Director of Communications Sharon Samarista personally assisted me in planning this lovely Valentine's dinner for my family, making it indeed a cherished event.

If you have to go, you have to go! Paparazzi however made it with a big bang. With its last spurts of breath and smoke from the magnificent kitchen came the dazzling array of tasty Italian dishes under the supervision of Italian Chef Marco Anzani.

Since I was not really hungry that night, choking with emotions that Paparazzi's glorious reign was over, I merely nibbled on the crispy risotto croquette with sweet basil tomato sauce, sun-dried tomato bread roll with parmesan cheese and green apple, mini baguette with smoked salmon and cream cheese with herbs, sweet melon wrapped in Prosciutto di Parma, olive focaccia with anchovies, tomato and mozzarella and big grissoni with smoked salmon and cream cheese with herbs.

I took a deep breath and had my first - no, make that three glasses of Chardonnay Hardys in rapid succession - ready to drown my sorrows, while eyeing the breaded prawn in Tuscany herbs and sun dried tomato puree.

However, these delicate prawns were displayed on tables propped by hollow blocks, another sad reminder that my friendly resto was ready to be demolished. I had to rush and quickly refill my glass with Chardonnay Hardys to help strengthen my nerves. Only then was I brave enough to handle the prawns (I only had two of these really delicious prawns, since I really felt bad.) Remember, I was not really hungry!

With another glass of white wine (was it a Sauvignon Blanc Woodbridge or a Chardonnay Albizza?), I took a last look at the Paparazzi oven and this time memory cells are triggered to a much earlier time in my youth to a similar oven used by our neighbors, Ramona's Hojaldres. I clearly remember the bakers preparing the dough (hands on!), made supple with pork oil and colored yellow with the yolk of native chicken eggs. The oven was made of red earth bricks and only hard wood (bakhaw or mangrove) was used to bake the hojaldres. No wonder these delicacies always came out perfect! So difficult to recreate today, and pretenders to the throne will always be poor imitators.

Back to the present, I had my first bite of something wonderful and searing hot from the Shangri-la oven - the white Brie cheese and peppered smoked salmon. Shaped like mini pizzas, in my humble opinion, it easily became the best dish that night.

Usually, bells begin to toll, signaling that the end was near; but no bells were heard, instead the deafening sound of the jackhammer handled by the GM Timothy Wright finally triggered Paparazzi's demise. Armed with a glass of white wine, I bade adieu my dear friend resto and moved back to the oven to sample again those mini pizzas with cheese and salmon, a culinary masterpiece of Italian Chef Marco Anzani.

Since it was a rock and roll celebration, the kitchen and service brigade joined guests on the dance floor. All's well that ends well!