Selling experience at the new Lobby Lounge

A lunch meeting to announce of the grand opening of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino's new Lobby Lounge - now with its more sophisticated, contemporary feel - come July 27, as well as its absolutely stunning, new checking lounge proved to have "sold the experience" this early.

WCCH general manager Alfred Portenschlager wouldn't want to give away all details, but he promises to host a cocktail event to delight everyone who will share the sleek experience, as guests will be toured around new facilities.

The luncheon opened up to a superb menu prepared by Group Pastry Chef Daniel Lajoux.

My first pick was the Tomato Soup - roasted tomato soup served with fresh cream and pesto crostini. As always, I find delight in the munching of tomato-based dishes. There is this sourness in it that attacks the palate with pleasure; it gives a whole new meaning to the word "fullness."

There is also Fettucini Carbonara - pasta of your choice with carbonara sauce, served with garlic, on the table; a basket of Buffalo wings, and the Quattro Formaggi - a fusion of Italian cheeses.

But the most interesting mouth-watering piece that brought rapture to the vagus nerves is the Flambé of the Day. A mix of fresh fruits (including kiwi which I'm crazy about) met its infernal visual presentation when tongues of flame licked it to a caramel smooth finish, accompanied by that whiff of orange liquor sauce, poured over and at the side of an Italian meringue in pistachio sponge with four layers of ice cream. Chef Lajoux calls the fiery masterpiece the Volcano Surprise!

The Lobby Lounge is also the best place to have afternoon tea (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.), offering fantastic concoctions that play up with the mind such as the chocolate tea that offers the aroma of chocolate but tastes tea when drank. Says Portenschlager (an Austrian national), it has this "sophisticated fusion that's not so crazy."

TWG Tea, a prestigious name in the finest teas of the world, offers a variety of black tea (English breakfast, French Earl Grey, and Comptoir des Indes); green tea (Silver moon, Sexy tea, Moroccan mint, Sencha, and Jasmine queen); red tea (Crème Caramel), as well as herbal tea (chamomile).

A little farther down the tea can display counter is this sophisticated wine dispenser. Waterfront Hotel takes pride in being the first to have fully utilized this state-of-the-art contraption in the entire country. Now, wine flavors from hint of citrus, hint of oak, velvety smooth, hint of lemon; and fruity, cheesy can now be sampled first in 25 ml (taster) before the guest decides to upgrade to medium (60 ml) or a full glass (120 ml).