The yummy side of Boracay

MANILA, Philippines - Who says you need to wait for summer to go to Boracay? The attraction of its world-famous long stretch of powdery fine white sand does not start and end with the hottest months of the year. When the rains fall, the crystalline waters sparkle. The afterglow from the blazing sun seems softer, as it sets behind low-lying clouds drifting just above the horizon. Boracay does not lose its charm, even when seen in a different light.

Christmastime is as good a time as any to plan a holiday in this unique tropical island. In a country known to have the longest Christmas season, you find it celebrated in every barrio, in every town, in every island of the archipelago.

Christmas in Boracay is one more way to experience this joyful season.

Christmas Eve would not be complete without the traditional Filipino noche buena dinner.  “Filipinos look forward to noche buena. It’s that one special night when we gather for the simple joy of partaking of dinner with loved ones. We like our guests to feel they never left home by preparing for them all-time favorite Filipino Christmas meals,” says Mario Gatmaitan, food and beverage manager of Boracay Garden Resort, which recently introduced its noche buena dishes for the holidays.

“Guests will enjoy specially prepared traditional holiday dishes such as relyenong bangus, pork morcon, chicken embutido, sweet ham, chicken galantina, arroz valenciana, lumpiang sariwa and lumpiang ubod. Guests may also have their fill of much-loved Filipino comfort food like chicken and pork adobo, native chicken binakol, sinaing na isda, and oxtail kare-kare — all with a Boracay Garden twist, shares executive chef  Patrick Obia.

White and right: The white sand beach that is Boracay

Originally from Bicol, Chef Patrick has 22 years of experience under his apron strings, having worked in hotels and restaurants both here and abroad including Shanghai and the Middle East. He was inspired to be a chef by his mom, whom he used to watch as she cooked when he was a young boy growing up in Buhi, Camarines Sur, but it was his father who taught him how to cook.

His strength is in the hot kitchen, he says, while he has a very able pastry sous chef who prepares such delectable sweets for dessert like buko fruit salad, mango crepe flambé, sweet tooth macaroons and crème brulee in ginger or cinnamon flavors. The Brazo de Mercedes, with its unique flavor, — a secret ingredient, according to the chef — should not be missed. Naturally, there are native delicacies such as bibingka, maja blanca, leche flan, kutsinta, suman and tamales.

 Boracay Garden Resort’s new menu also include famous regional dishes such as papaitan soup, pansit molo, relyenong alimango, sinigang na ulo ng maya-maya, lechon kawali, chicken inasal, dinengdeng, adobong sugpo sa aligue, pesang isda sa miso, and ampalaya enchilada, among others.

For a more international appeal, Boracay Garden Resort also offers its own version of a surf and turf dish with grilled tiger prawns and beef tenderloin wrapped in crispy pork bacon, served with mushroom risotto, flowerets of vegetables and with an emulsion of burgundy wine jus. An original creation is a dish called duo of scallops and salmon served with pancake, sour crème and ponzu emulsion on a bed of mixed greens and cherry tomatoes, a resort recipe for guests craving healthy food on the island.

Boracay Garden Resort is a triple-A resort on a two-hectare property conveniently located at the heart of White Beach’s Boat Station 2. The more than 200 well-appointed rooms have terraces that open to or overlook an Olympic sized pool with a sunken pool bar, surrounded by greenery and landscaped gardens. The resort also has a private pathway with direct access to the beach.

Henry Chusuey, chairman of Henann Hotel Management, owner and operator of the Boracay Regency Group of Hotels, was not looking for a new property to develop on the island when the resort was offered to him in December last year by its original Korean owner. “It’s a good acquisition since there are no longer such large areas in such a prime location available on the island,” Chusuey noted. “Every area is buildable.” It has since undergone major renovation and upgrading in stages. Construction is underway for a convention center, an al fresco restaurant and koi pond. At least 40 to 50 percent of the property will be maintained as open space.

Chusuey first came to Boracay in the early ‘80s when the island still had no electricity. He could not find a decent place with air-conditioning where he could stay. So why not build his own? Chusuey hails from Iloilo where his family is engaged in the financing and real property business. The family was also into movie houses, but it’s a dying business now, he noted, what with new technology such as DVDs.

He has his own private plane (to save on time, he says), which brings him from Iloilo, where he is based on weekdays, to Boracay where he spends his weekends. He is a model corporate citizen, giving back to the community where he has his business. He has donated three elementary public schools in Boracay, two in Balabag and one in Manok Manok. No wonder he continues to be blessed. “Blessings come from hard work,” he remarked. He is comfortable in the hospitality industry. “I like to see people enjoy themselves,” he says.

The resort enjoys a high 80 percent occupancy even during the so-called slow season. “Guests keep coming back to us because of our reasonable rates, excellent food and top-notch service,” Chusuey noted. F&B manager Mario Gatmaitan’s biggest challenge is keeping his 360 strong resort staff well-trained and responsive to the guests’ needs. We personally found our stay even more pleasant with the attentive and friendly staff.

Henry Chusuey, chairman, Henann Hotel Management, owner and operator, Boracay Regency Group of Hotels

For the holiday season, Boracay Garden Resort presents its special Christmas promo package for only P7,097 per person. Based on triple sharing, this limited offer is inclusive of four days accommodation, daily breakfast and dinner, and roundtrip transfers. Promo period is from Dec. 25, 2010 to Jan. 2, 2011.

In partnership with Boracay Garden Resort, Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR), the country’s premier leisure airline, also offers exclusive vacation packages for as low as P10,095 per person valid until Dec. 19, 2010. The package includes roundtrip airfare to Caticlan, three days/two nights’ hotel accommodations with daily breakfast and roundtrip land and sea transfers via Caticlan. SEAIR announced that it will increase its flights to Caticlan to up to 20 times a day starting Dec. 8, 2010. With its new generation of jet-prop Dornier 328 aircraft, SEAIR has the fastest flights to Boracay, in just 35 minutes. It has the feel of a big jet, with its large seat pitch, designed with more interior volume per passenger than the 100-plus seat Boeing 737.

Travelers are also in for an early treat as Seair offers huge discounts on Caticlan flights in various promos for different travel periods up to the year 2011. This December, SEAIR offers promo fares starting at P62.50++ one-way ticket to Caticlan from Cebu, and as low as P635++ to Caticlan from Manila. Travelers can log on to www.FlySeair.com or visit the SEAIR Facebook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/flyseair for updates on the selling and travel periods.