The Ultimate

The for-members-only Tower Club in Makati (earlier written about by this chronicler), has the Taipan Restaurant which, as the name suggests, offers the ultimate in Chinese cuisine, and the Continental which serves the ultimate, likewise, in Western.

At the opposite end of Tower Club is the newest, also for-members-only dining club, the 9501 in Q.C. It was inaugurated in mid-November. Having started from Makati, Beth Day Romulo and I thought we’d never get through the long, "hazardous" ride. But it was well worth it.

The 9501 is on the 14th floor of the Eugenio Lopez, Jr. Communications Center, ABS-CBN compound. The occasion then was part of a weeklong festival of Canadian food, with Ambassador Robert Collette and Gabby Lopez welcoming the guests. Restaurateur Myrna Segismundo, 9501 managing director, and Peninsula Manila Executive Chef Gordon Landy had collaborated on the superb finger foods. While drinking and nibbling we noticed –and admired–the plush velvet and modern steel-and-glass interiors, some of the best Filipino contemporary art works, and a splendid view of the metropolis. The complex has even a modern spa and an impressive mini-theater! Actually, 9501 serves what ranges from "simple to stylish, from Asian favorites including home-grown Filipino specialties to Continental classics".

The second big night at 9501 was a wine degustation dinner with Tita M. Trillo, the "Wine Queen" who manages Anthony’s Wines and Spirits, and Jeff Cook of Robert Mondavi Wines doing the honors. Mr. Cook had expressly flown in for the dinner so he could choose the wines that would complement Myrna Segismundo’s epicurean delights.

Tita described Myrna’s dinner as "one that combined continental cuisine with an Asian twist–reminiscent of New York’s Vong which started French-Asian fusion which broke all the rules of traditional classic French cuisine".

Appetizers–tartare of tanguingue and cucumber rolls, triple decker pork asado, goose liver pouches, banana and sesame seed skewers and nage of sole tinola went with Robert Mondavi-Vichon Chardonay or Vichon-Merlot.

The dinner consisted of clam chowder, toasted stuffed turkey, cranberry sherbet, and the most awaited prime course–barbecued lamb cutlet poached in guava and Robert Mondavi wine on a bed of wild rice risotto with grilled asparagus on the side–this relished along with Coastal Chardonay or Cabernet Sauvignon.

Guests thought the combination of East and West in food and drinks the "ultimate" after they had drunk, with an array of desserts, the piece de resistance: Moscato d’Oro, a wine made entirely of Muscat Canelli grapes.

Unwittingly, they had imbibed so much of it that having reached "a euphoric high", they sang karaoke till the wee hours. Among the happy creatures were Michaela Fenix, Elaine Sta. Maria, Myra Angeles, Chit Lijauco, Claude and Mary Ann Tayag, Freddie Pio de Roda, Mitos Araneta, and not the least, Glenda Baretto.