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Old Swiss Inn Paco Branch |
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It
was like a blast from the past. Or
how else could I have a sizable
portion of Peppersteak for PhP23?
Yes, I was back in 1946, when the
Philippines just emerged from the
rubble of war, when UNICEF was
founded, when George W. Bush, and
Cher, and Donald Trump… were born,
when bikinis were first introduced,
when the Cannes Film |
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Festival was first held… okay,
enough of the trip down memory lane.
Although I wasn’t old enough to be
born in 1946, I sort of figured that
there was much going on around that
time. And if it’s any hint, the
culinary world in 1946 sure had
something flaming going on!
Old Swiss Inn recently let me in on
what it was like dining 61 years
ago. In celebration of their
anniversary and to
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Recipe of the Week
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Santol is a
pulp fruit usually eaten for
its sweet white flesh
surrounding the seeds. The
thick brown covering is
balancing on the sour and
bland side and is discarded
by some. In this week’s
recipe of the week, What’s
On Dining brings you
Ginataang Santol, a coconut
cream-based dish that plays
with the tangy taste of the
local santol.
Ingredients:
300 grams santol pulp
1.5 cups water
1 cup kakang gata (coconut
cream)
1 piece finger chili, sliced
diagonally
1 pouch Mama Sita’s Pang
Gisa Mix
How-to:
Soak santol in a good enough
amount of water and set
aside. Combine water and
half of the coconut cream
and bring to boil while
stirring. Squeeze out the
water from the santol and
add to the coconut cream
mix. Add the chili and Mama
Sita’s Pang Gisa Mix. Cook
over low heat until the
sauce thickens. Add the
remaining coconut cream and
cook for a minute before
serving. |
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Here are
the latest updates on hotel
offerings and more: |
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Sip the fines
wines of Grant Burge from
the exquisite stemware of
Schott Zwiesel as you savor
the fine Italian dishes of
Dusit Hotel Nikko’s new
restaurant Tosca. Experience
“A Schott of Burge” on
September 17 as wine
enthusiasts learn what wine
will perfectly match a
particular dish and what
type of stem ware goes with
it. As diners sip their
Summer Eden Chardonnay,
Barossa Vines Shiraz, Miamba
Shiraz, Filsell Shiraz and
Grant Burge 10 year port, no
less than Schott Zwiesel
would introduce guests to
the theory behind the
development of wine glasses.
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Guests at the
Pan
Pacific Hotel in
Manila will have a
chance to win an
all-expense paid
trip around the
world on first class
tickets and enjoy
presidential |
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accommodation
with every step of their
journey. Tagged as Travel
the World in Style, guests
booked from July 16 to
November 30 will be
automatically entered into
the competition. This promo
is brought to you by Global
Hotel Alliance under which
Pan Pacific is one of the
seven luxury brands, in
partnership with the Star
Alliance Network, an airline
alliance, on a mission to
bring guests to Berlin,
Beijing and throughout the
world.
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Mandarin Oriental
Hotel celebrates the
auspicious
Mid-Autumn Moon
Festival with its Sheung Yuet night on
September 23, 6m.
Geomancer Joseph
Chau will conduct
the ritualistic paai
shan at the
Captain’s Bar,
followed by musical
performances by the
92AD band to the
tune of Chinese
melodies. |
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commemorate the Swiss National Day, the old
diner rolled back its prices for a special
one-night only deal. That means, an order of
Hungarian Sausage could be had for PhP17, a
good slab of Prime Rib priced at PhP35,
Corned Beef at PhP14, Gnagi (pork knuckles,
like crispy pata) at PhP17, Schublig (Swiss
sausage) at PhP11 and Veal Sausage at PhP11.
Now that’s a roll-roll back if you ask me.
The prices reflect how things used to be in
the 1940s. It’s a rough estimate, the
special menu states. And “cash basis only.
There were no credit cards in 1946.”
The rollback had me thinking about how a
restaurant could survive more than half a
century. History has it that a Swiss
national named Emil Landhert founded the
restaurant on Dewey (now Roxas) Boulevard to
serve authentic and traditional dishes from
his homeland. It then moved to Paco, Manila
which has an adjacent hotel. Just when
Landhert had plans of closing his diner
down, the Filipino Limacaoco |
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and of
course, the good company I was with wrapped
up a filling evening which was meant to be
repeated again.
In fact, there’s no stopping me from going
there anytime. The restaurant’s Makati
branch is open for 24 hours, much like a
7-11 or McDonald’s. “We initially catered to
hotel guests, but since we’ve been 24 hours
for 12 years now, we also get a lot of
walk-ins from night owls,” Limcaoco
explains. “We get a lot of advertising
people who keep late hours, insomniacs who
use our free WiFi to chat overseas, yuppies
who need to wind down after a night of
clubbing and even ballroom dancing
aficionados who want a place to rest after
dancing the night away,” she adds. Hmmm… now
that’s giving me an idea… I might just head
back again and again to the Old Swiss Inn.
But of course, until the next price
rollback, I wouldn’t mind having to shell
out PhP427 more for my peppersteak. |
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family bought the rigths and up
until now manages the place. Soon,
Old Swiss Inn took in more following
and had two more branches put up, in
Makati and Alabang.
Managing
director Katrina Limcaoco says that
through the years, bestsellers,
remain to be the corned beef, gnagi,
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Old Swiss Inn
Makati Branch Interior |
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peppersteak
and fondues. Two years ago,
Old Swiss Inn launched the
Angus Prime Rib family style
portions and is now
“steadily gaining
popularity. Our unlimited
Angus Fried Rice is a big
draw,” she says.
I’ve only been to the Inn
once and the peppersteak I
had was a sure hit. Words
could only describe the
taste, texture and flavor of
what I was eating. But more
importantly, Old Swiss Inn’s
cozy-but-not-crowded
ambiance, the smoky air from
the flaming grills hovering
above our wooden tables and
chairs, |
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Old
Swiss Inn Makati
Branch Exterior |
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