Imagine culinary nirvana

Imagine indulging in your favorite food from the appetizer to the entrée to the dessert. Then imagine this culinary nirvana at 30 percent off with your Citi card! This is just a sample of what Citi cardholders can expect when they dine, for instance, at Felix restaurant during weekends as part of the new Citi Dining Privileges.

Citi Dining Privileges is a cross-border dining program, which promises cardholders the best dining deals at over 1,000 dining establishments in the country and in over 5,000 dining locations in the Asia-Pacific region.

In a launch held at Felix restaurant, Citi country business head Sanjiv Vohra said: “As the most global bank, Citi is leveraging its strength internationally to offer only the best programs and services that customers will enjoy wherever they are in the world. With Citi Dining Privileges, we make sure they will get to indulge in attractive and exciting dining offers that truly meet their passion for food and will truly give them the best and most rewarding dining experiences every time they use their Citi cards.”

Cards marketing head Bea Teh-Tan also explained: “We’ve partnered with more restaurants in over five countries — the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand — where they can enjoy preferential treatment and dine-for-free specials and discounts to make dining a truly rewarding experience for them. Citi cardholders from the Philippines get the same preferential treatment when they travel to Singapore as well as in all the other participating countries in the region — in the same way that a Citi cardholder from Indonesia can come to the Philippines and enjoy the same privileges.” I actually have gotten discounts and freebies when I dined abroad using my Citi card issued here in the Philippines!

The guarantee of getting the ultimate dining experience doesn’t stop there. With the program’s Best Deal Promise, Citi gives cardholders an exclusive offer when they dine in local partner restaurants, which enables them to get a reimbursement from their dining bill if another credit card offers something better than what Citi offers in any dining establishment that carries the Citi Dining Privileges sign. 

Chef Florabel Co, one of Citi’s partner chefs for the program, prepared an exclusive Citi lunch. The appetizer was soft pao with Chinese ham and crispy bean curd. Guests lined up at the main course buffet table to choose from baby back ribs with Philippine mango topping, braised beef short ribs with figs, linguine pasta with truffle cream sauce and crispy parma ham, three grains risotto and crispy white fish fillet in lemon caviar butter sauce. Also served was the especially concocted guyabano-based Citi iced tea that will also be included under the offer. For dessert, guests indulged in dark and white chocolate mousse with caramel popcorn and Abi, the classic torched crème brulee.

The menu is part of the Citi Weekend Special Offer for cardholders dining at Felix, where they can enjoy 30 percent off on these entrées and a free appetizer for a minimum spend of P2,000.

Citi has also partnered with other renowned chefs in the metro to ensure that cardholders only get the best dining offers, among them are chef Niño Laus of Ninyo, chef Ariel Manuel of Lolo Dad’s, chef Roland Laudico of Bistro Filipino and chef Gene Gonzalez of Café Ysabel.

(The Citi Dining Privileges Program will be offered until June 30, 2011. For the complete list of restaurants where you can enjoy the best dining deals, call the 24-Hour CitiPhone at 995-9999 or visit www.citibank.com.ph.)

Talking about the latest masterpiece

Ayala Land Premier launched the West Tower at One Serendra. Nestled in the heart of Bonifacio Global City, the luxury high-rise features thoughtfully planned living areas, lush greenery and open spaces, and is just a step away from The Shops at Serendra and the many more shopping and dining choices at Bonifacio High Street.

Ayala Land, Inc. president Antonino Aquino says: “There is no other prime location such as Bonifacio Global City that is close to Makati but still gives you the feeling of an urban oasis. West Tower at One Serendra combines unparalleled comforts that you usually enjoy in subdivisions with the conveniences of access only an urban location this BGC provides.”

The 47-story high West Tower at One Serendra boasts floor-to-ceiling windows in each living room and private balconies in almost every unit. Each unit also has oak floors, granite countertops, homogenous tiles and bath fixtures from Kohler and Grohe and Blum pull-out drawers in the main kitchen. 

Guests at the event enjoyed a spread of satisfying hors d’oeuvres and were serenaded by singer Ogie Alcasid and jazz band Baihana.

An Eastern promise to rejuvenation

Spa lovers of Devarana Spa at Dusit Thani Manila can once again take pleasure in an exclusive treatment, which is offered only once a year by a special guest Thai therapist. Apinya Buajapoh, this year’s visiting therapist from Devarana Spa in Pattaya, Thailand, will share her expertise on the Eastern healing philosophies through the 90-minute Eastern Promise Therapy package until Oct. 31.

In traditional Eastern remedies, illness is believed to be caused by unbalanced energy within the body. With energy pathways blocked, sickness begins to take form in the body. The core principle of Eastern therapy is to unblock and stimulate the energy meridians, aiming to maintain health and wellness.

The Eastern Promise Therapy starts with the Passive Yoga bodywork where stretching, twisting and acupressure techniques are used to help stretch and warm up muscles and improve flexibility. Then a warm ginger compress is applied on the lumbar spine of the lower back area where heat and aromatic properties of the compress help ease the strain and promote circulation. A special Ayurvedic treatment for lower backache Kati Vasti is done when a round receptacle made of dough is built up on the lower back area before hot healing oil is poured into the receptacle. The warm oil is left there for about five minutes to enhance the tension, relieving the back and legs pain.

Within an hour and a half, Apinya will ensure that you will emerge from this oriental therapy session feeling nurtured, relaxed and re-energized.

(For inquiries and reservations, please e-mail [email protected] or call +632 818-7081 or +632 867-333.)