City living at its finest

City living need not be all hustle and bustle, especially if one finds a perfect dwelling place to suit one’s busy city lifestyle.

CDC Holdings Inc. recently launched its latest development, CDC Millennium Ortigas. This development is in partnership with long-time serviced residence owner-operator, The Ascott Ltd. The CDC Millennium Ortigas is packed with lofty spaces, excellent amenities and built-in green features in accordance with Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority Green Mark Assessment Criteria.

The 32-story development features a combination of serviced apartments and residential units. It provides ample room to live and grow. Separate amenities ensure the utmost privacy for those who would like to enjoy a moment of quiet in the bustling city.

Regional general manager for The Ascott Ltd. in the Philippines and Thailand Arthur Gindap was present to talk about his company’s involvement in the development. Aside from discussing the operations of the Citadines-branded serviced residence portion of the undertaking, Gindap also elaborated on its suitability and comfort for both long- and short-term stays.

Gindap was seconded by CDC Holdings president and CEO Elsie Chua who highlighted the strength of a solid collaboration built on previous success. She took note of her company’s previous fruitful venture, the Somerset Millennium Makati, before going on to discuss the strengths of CDC Millennium Ortigas. She then urged the visitors to step into the showroom units.

The CDC Millennium Ortigas is slated for completion in December 2015. The showroom is currently open for viewing at Ortigas Avenue corner Sapphire Road.

A Louis XIII dinner

Cognac enthusiasts were in joyful mood recently when Louis XIII Grande Champagne Cognac, the exclusive cognac brand from the House of Remy Martin, hosted a dinner for them at Vask Gallery Room. 

A rare luxury spirit, Louis XIII is widely considered as the “King of Cognacs” because it only uses grapes from the Grande Champagne territory of Cognac, France. It is specially blended from 1,200 eaux-de-vie. It is further aged in tiercons, oak barrels that are several hundred years old, in its own cellar and then placed in special crystal decanters exclusively handcrafted by Baccarat.

A sumptuous dinner menu was especially prepared by chef J. Luis Gonzalez just for the evening. It featured a brilliant pairing of exquisite food and Remy Martin cognac that started with Magellan’s Dimsum, which is a Parmesan xiao long bao with gorgonzola moshi and apple wanton. This was followed by Tuna Pod, which is composed of Kalamata olives, basil tuna and lemon grass ice cream. Next came Boquerones (calamansi-marinated anchovies, beetroot frozen powder, olive marmalade and bread crumbs) followed by Beer Urchin (sea urchin, beer clams and foie gras orange). School of Peas and Toothfish (grilled sea bass, green beans basil jus, Iberian tocino and spherification peas) came next.

To clear the palate, Palm Crisp coconut sorbet was served.  Cochinillo, a 16-hour sous vide baby pork with pumpkin gnocchi, vanilla sauce landed on the table to the delight of the guests. Then came dessert… Roger Rabbit composed of baby carrots sous vide, nutmeg-Greek cardamon yogurt, truffle crumbs and tomato basil sorbet. It was followed by Summer Breeze (creamy tapioca, café, cardamon, violet, kefir lime, green tea ice cream) and was capped off with chocolates, chocolates, chocolates!

The pièce de résistance and the evening’s most anticipated highlight was a special sampling of Louis XIII Grande Champagne Cognac masterfully officiated by regional director of Louis XIII, Remy Cointreau International Christophe Bourrie who proffered interesting anecdotes and special pointers on how to best appreciate this rare luxury cognac.

Amidst the revelry, Joey Pineda, Remy Cointreau International commercial manager for the Philippines, enthused, “How beautifully engaging it is that fine Spanish cuisine and cognac would achieve such a perfect flavor balance.”

Basketball’s ‘Best’

Basketball is one way of instilling discipline and promoting best health and wellness practices to the youth. 

In celebration of its 35 years of producing basketball legends, the award-winning Basketball Efficiency Scientific Training (BEST) Center closes this year’s SBP-Passerelle Twin Tournament with a finish courtesy of national champs La Salle Green Hills and Chiang Kai Shek College.

Both NCR representatives, La Salle Green Hills claimed the SBP (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas) title while Chiang Kai Shek College grabbed the Passerelle championship.

Under the guidance of Nic Jorge, the man behind the luster of countless basketball stars and founder of BEST Center, the basketball competition sponsored by energy drink MILO, in cooperation with RCBC Savings Bank, aims to promote health and wellness among the youth.

Jorge said, “As promised, this year’s championship has been an exciting competition with budding young players getting better with their basketball skills, as well as with their values toward their teammates, opponents, coaches and parents.”

This year, the five-month long SBP-Passerelle Twin Tournament has assembled 600 of the country’s most promising cagers with qualifying events held nationwide and regional games in NCR, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. It culminated with the much-anticipated national championship games.