Of Bacon and Waffles: Breakfast at the Sails

The deadly delicious waffle

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I never skip it. It kick-starts my day and prepares me for whatever battle I’m off to later on. At night, before I even shut my eyes to sleep, I could already imagine the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the smell of buttery bread, with poached or sunny side up eggs on the side. Or the garlicky goodness of fried rice with crispy dried fish or deadly bacon. Continental breakfast is not for me. I eat heavy breakfast. I heart heavy breakfast.

So each time I am out of town or on a staycation, I highly appreciate if the hotel or resort I am staying in has at least a decent spread of early morning tummy fillers. And at Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu’s Sails Restaurant, I was more than pleased. Read on to know why.

The buffet spread might not be as expansive as the others, but the items are well curated. It’s not overwhelming, but just perfectly balanced — it has the basics and some items with a nice twist.

I usually start my day with a cup of brewed coffee and a piping hot bowl of soup to awaken my senses and prepare my tummy for yet another heavy meal. For breakfast, I prefer clear soups, and it’s a good thing that there’s miso soup complete with wakame seaweeds, chives, and Japanese tofu. It’s a good start, indeed.

Miso  soup

Next, I checked out the cheese and cold cuts station. It’s a sweet bonus that they have my favorite Brie, along with many others like Camembert, Edam, Cheddar, and Akisha’s favorite – Laughing Cow. I love my Brie together with raisins or some blueberries. The soft cheese and the fruity sweetness are the best combo.

Brie, my lovely Brie

At the cold cuts station, each serving is given to you freshly sliced. I found the beef pastrami best to pair with Brie and Cheddar. If cold cuts is not your thing, and you love that sinfully-crispy-oozing-with-fatty-goodness-pork-belly otherwise known as BACON, well you’re in the right place. The Sails’ homemade bacon is fried to perfection, and is rich in smoky flavors and a bit of that well-loved fat. I had more than 3 slices, man!

Cold cuts station

There was also a lady roaming around to offer guests with the power shot of the day. It was moringa-pineapple during that time, and everyone in the table got to try a shot (except me, sorry! I’m not into veggies). It looks healthy though, so for health buffs, you can have as many shots as you want to jumpstart your day!

Moringa-Pineapple Power Shot

The bread station is the yummiest-smelling station at the Sails. The intoxicating aroma of butter and cinnamon will definitely drive you crazy. I got one Danish and it was delicious – not too sweet, flaky just the way I want it. A soft roll with butter is also a staple.

Bread station

I was roaming around the other stations when I saw these cute little eggs benedict! I got one of course! The poached eggs drizzled with hollandaise sauce is love! I should have eaten more than one piece!

Eggs Benedict

There’s also a carvery station where they serve warm slices of meat. I didn’t have a slice but it looks delish too!

At the carvery

There’s also a fruits and cereals station where my friends had this pomelo and some pineapple slices among others. I’m not a big fan of fruits but I had a cup of yogurt for my daily fiber requirements. Hubby would sure be happy here as he loves fruits so much.

Pomelo

Make sure to save space for Sails’ ever famous waffles. I had one and it was the best waffle I’ve ever had — soft and buttery on the inside  and a bit crisp on the outside. Top it with blueberries and cream and you’re off to waffle wonderland. I wanted to put some vanilla ice cream on top but told myself to save  the ice cream for later.

I was already full to the brim when I finished my waffle and the last sip of my coffee. Overall, just like my first impression, the breakfast buffet at the Sails may not be as expansive but you can be sure you’ll have your old-time favorites here. There are enough options for adults and kids, alike, as well as for carnivores, vegans, health buffs and those with a sweet tooth. Bon appetit!

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Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu

Punta Engaño, Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines

+6332.492.7777

http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com

Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/moevenpickhotelmactanislandcebu

Twitter: @MoevenpickCebu

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Scrumptious Breakfast at Cafe d’Asie

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I just can’t live without it. I usually eat heavy breakfast, except at times when I know I’ll be doing a lot of physical activities in the morning. So, when we go out of town, or when we stay at hotels, I really look forward to a hearty, tummy-filling breakfast!

Our stay at The Bellevue Manila includes buffet breakfast for two at Cafe D’Asie. The buffet spread is quite impressive, as it offers an array of Filipino, Continental and American breakfast favorites. There was  an entire corner with Filipino specialties like danggit (dried fish), dilis (anchovies), longganisa (local sausage) and dried squid. To complete the Filipino breakfast experience, sinangag (garlic rice) is also available.

Hubby’s Pinoy Breakfast

While hubby opted to kickstart with his favorite Filipino fare, I chose to start with a warm bowl of congee with garlic, egg, sesame oil and spring onions. My dear Akisha loved it, too!

Congee

After savoring my bowl of congee, I got some Western favorites like bacon, Hungarian sausage (a bot spicy but I love it) and potatoes. I also had fried rice and dried fish. An egg and omelette station is also on standby, so I asked the chef to make some ham, cheese and mushroom omelette for us. The serving size is good to share.

My sort of a Western plate

There are also some healthy breakfast options like yogurt, peaches, lychees and who;e table full of assorted breads.

Healthy options

Fruit bowl

The dessert buffet is almost similar to the night before, only with the addition of some Danish pastries and cheesy ensaymadas.

Breads galore

Buffet breakfast at Cafe D’Asie also comes with a choice of refillable coffee, tea, hot chocolate and fresh fruit juices. My baby indulged in the delectable hot chocolate, while I had tea and apple juice. What a way to start the day!

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The Bellevue Manila

North Bridgeway, Northgate Cyberzone, Filinvest Corporate City, 

Alabang, Muntinlupa City

For more inquiries, please contact 7718181 or email tbmnl@thebellevue.com

Special thanks to Mr. Ryan Chan and Ms. Jehn Domingo for this wonderful staycation

Good Morning, Aplaya!

Nothing beats a hearty breakfast for me. Some opt to skip the first meal of the day, but for me, it’s a must to have a sumptuous, heavy breakfast to kick start my day. So, before we said hello to the corals and fishes of Balicasag Island in Bohol, we filled ourselves to the brim with Aplaya’s morning buffet.

There was a bountiful spread of healthy delights. A salad bar with crisp veggies and fresh fruits, a bread station with a selection of jams, marmalade and butter, and my favorite – a create your own pancake station.

While hubby and I were browsing at the buffet stations, we pre-ordered our brewed coffee. The aroma alone made me awake! 

There are also some Oriental finds available like congee complete with condiments, siomai, and another create your own – a stir-fried noodle station.

I asked the wait staff to whip some stir-fried egg noodles for me. I selected some mushrooms, shrimp. squid, chicken, lots of garlic and spring onions. The finished product was a super yummy Pancit Canton! I love it that I even asked the wait staff to create the same for me the next day.

For heavy breakfast eaters like me, you might ask, do they have rice? Of course! There’s plain and Shanghai rice perfect to combine with these sinful bacon slices! 

And the Visayas is known for seafoods and dried fish,  so at Aplaya, a fine selection of dried stuff is the  main attraction. Name it: dried dilis, dried danggit, dried pusit!

Are you wondering how my plate looks like? Here is a glimpse:

Of course, I had cheese slices, too! 

To cap our hearty breakfast, I got three pieces of rice cakes and dipped it into a warm and thick tablea chocolate sauce. The rice cake (or is it the tablea?) has a hint of lemongrass in it. Yum! This is the reason why I made sure I have  some tablea from Bohol to bring home!

Special thanks to Ms. Margie Munsayac for making our stay at Bluewater Panglao all worthwhile.

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For reservations, please contact:

BLUEWATER PANGLAO

BEACH RESORT

Danao, Panglao Island

Bohol, Philippines 6340

Phone: (63 38) 416 0695 or 416 0696

Fax: (63 38) 416 0697

panglao@bluewater.com.ph

http://www.bluewater.com.ph

MANILA SALES OFFICE

Rm. 704 Cityland Herrera Tower

Rufino cor. Valero Sts., Salcedo Village

Makati City, Philippines

Phone: (63 2) 817-5751 / 887-1348

Fax: (63 2) 893-5391

rsvn03.manila@bluewater.com.ph

Revisiting Cafe by the Ruins, Baguio City

I once asked my hubby this question: “Which resto in Baguio is your all-time favorite?” Without a doubt he answered, “Cafe.” By that he meant “Cafe by the Ruins”. And I so agree. I have the same answer, too. So each time we go to Baguio, we always pay a “visit” to our favorite resto.

Nothing much has changed since we last visited Cafe by the Ruins except that the construction site beside it has already risen into a new hotel (Eurotel). The tables and the garden are still the same. I just noticed that the antique electric chair was removed from the garden theater.

We ordered our favorite pan de sal with herbed cheese spread. I was actually looking for the whole wheat pan de sal which really goes well with the herbed cheese spread but it was out of stock. The herbed cheese spread is made of ricotta cheese and yogurt blended with butter, garlic, chives and paprika. If only they sell this in a bottle, I will definitely hoard!

Cafe by the Ruins is also famous for its Rizal’s Tsokolate-e, a hero’s cup of hot carabao milk blended with chocolate. If you are a fan of tablea like us, you will love this. They also have a version that’s more diluted for those who doesn’t like bittersweet chocolate, and a version that’s thick and concentrated served in a shot glass.

To jumpstart the day, I ordered a hearty breakfast – Farmer’s Morning Feast. It is a generous serving of home-made bacon, organic brown rice and egg. The bacon is not salty like those you get from the supermarket. The organic brown rice is as soft as white rice, and is actually violet in color, not brown.

We also ordered Fisherman’s Breakfast, a combination of unsalted dried fish, organic brown rice and egg. This comes with their signature Ruins Coffee – a concoction made of cardamom, whipped cream, muscovado sugar and cinnamon powder. Btw, the hot chocolate and coffee comes with a piece of a hard caramel candy that I really love!

And I just read that they also have a Choco Lava Cake. I will definitely try this next time I go to Baguio. Promise.

Power Breakfast at Restaurant 5

Our stay at the Serendipity Suites comes with a free buffet breakfast for two at Restaurant 5. We woke up early to have some power breakfast to start our day.

It has a variety of breakfast items to choose from – fresh fruits, yogurt, breads, soup, cereals and a lot more.

There is a pancake and omelet station where you could ask them to make your pancakes and omelets while you choose the toppings.

I chose blueberries and cream pancakes while hubby chose to have strawberries and peaches.

There are also pizzas, bacon, corndogs and hash browns. For those who likes Filipino breakfast, they also have fried rice, tocino and eggs.

My favorite cold cuts and cheese.

They have unlimited coffee and hot chocolate as well, plus fruit juices, too!