ERICJAZ FOODIES: WILBERT AND JAMIE'S SOFITEL WEDDING

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

WILBERT AND JAMIE'S SOFITEL WEDDING

The Chinese Adonis, Master Mati, and I, recently attended the wedding celebration of his first cousin, Wilbert, in Sofitel Manila.

Since most of his family members will not be able to attend, we decided to bring little ol' Matster with us so that he'll experience a Chinese Lauriat.

And there it is.

SOFITEL MANILA!

We have actually stayed in SOFITEL for a family staycation and tried their SPIRAL buffet with friends. But this is the first time that we'll be attending a wedding so we're pretty excited at what the night will hold for us.

And the sign says it all.

When we got the spacious ballroom, most of the guests and the entourage haven't arrived yet.

We were actually late already for 30 minutes so I guess the others were held up in the church. Anyway, we just settled ourselves to an empty table and admired the view.

The view above...

And the view of the lovely floral centerpieces!

We're in good ol' table number 33!!!

Master Mati, me, and the Chinese Adonis!

We didn't bring Andrei with us since the wedding fell on a Sunday and we wanted him to sleep early for school the next day.

Later on, the wedding guests came!

Even though the meal hasn't started yet, the SOFITEL waiter was kind enough to serve wedding guests coffee or tea while waiting.

I really didn't mind though. While the Yubsker went around to chat up with relatives, me and Master Mati entertained ourselves.

We also took pictures!

My date and I clean up well don't we?

Later on, Yub's younger brother Allan, and his wife Ivy, joined us.

My sister-in-law Ivy is one of the nicest ladies I know and I just love her! :)

After about 5 minutes, the groom and bride are here!

Hello Wilbert and Jamie!

Upon their arrival, the waiters of SOFITEL had a ceremonial parade to officially start their Lauriat dinner.

And now the reception of Wilbert and Jamie begins!

The menu for tonight!

The SOFITEL wedding dinner was served Lauriat style -- something that we are familiar with to signify "special occasions" in Chinese. Usually a Lauriat dinner lasts about 2 to 3 hours and consists about 10 dishes that is served one after the other.

First on the table were some sliced pork belly with jelly fish and garlic dressing.

I gotta hand it to SOFITEL! They sure do know how to present a dish!

Good thing too that they included some century eggs with pickled ginger!

The great thing about my Master Mati is that he is willing to try anything and helped himself to some of the meats and seaweed.

My dearest foodie LOVED it and asked for another helping!

Up next was a cup of Double Broiled Chicken soup with Fresh Ginseng.

I was actually prepared not to like this because the thought of something used in medical drinks grosses me out. Plus, I'm not a fan of clear soup!

Lo and behold this did not taste like your grandmother's herbal serum at all! The chicken broth WAS very tasty and comforting in a cold night!

One of my strong favorites that night in SOFITEL was the Sauteed Prawn with Sweet Walnut and XO sauce! The glistening saucy seafood was served over a bed of crunchy noodles which soaked up all the flavorful juices of the dish!

In the first place, this dish has all my favorites... Prawns! Walnuts! Asparagus! Noodles!

It will NEVER go wrong in my book!

Woaaaah... Could I have seconds and thirds please?

SOFITEL Brocolli with Crab Meat and Egg White Sauce!

Light yet creamy. It's great that the braised brocolli still packed a lot of crunch!

SOFITEL's Deep Fried Crispy Seafood Roll with Salad sauce.

This is always one of my favorites off the dimsum carts. So glad that it had a role for tonight's wedding.

SOFITEL's Steamed Lapu Lapu with Soy Sauce!

What Chinese celebration wouldn't have THIS on the table?

Roasted Crispy Chicken with Red Bean Curd Sauce!

Truly sarap to the bones!

The wedding didn't have rice but this platter of SOFITEL Braised E-Fu noodles with Chicken and Vegetables certainly made up for it!

So slurp worthy!

While we were enjoying our dinner, the wedding reception had a game for all of the guests. In our table, Mati insisted to be the representative!

I know it may be trivial to some but I admired Mati's confidence. There were only about 3 participants left and they were all just guessing their answers. Even if Mati was the lone guy to vote for this answer, he still went for it. He wasn't fazed at all! He certainly knows how to gamble and take risks!

Mati lost that game but I was still so happy and proud of him. I think it's so cool how he went for what he believed in and didn't just go with the flow.

Go my Master Mati!

Table number 33 for WILBERT and JAMIE'S wedding!

Almost done with the mains!

Mati kept on teasing how I'm the last one always eating. Well excoooooze me if I love savoring my food!

Our SOFITEL desserts were 2 kinds of pastries and chilled fruit cocktail.

I wonder if they'll be sharing the cake? Tee hee!

After eating, we went for the photobooth! If there wasn't a long line, we would've had more!!

It was fun catching up with Yub's pretty cousin, Mela! If I have a girl, I hope she will be as pristine and slim as she is!

Congratulations to the newly weds Wilbert and Jamie! It was such a beautiful wedding.

Thanks for having us!

I really had fun playing dress-up with my guys. Too bad that little Andrei wasn't able to join us. If seating reservation permits, we will certainly drag my bunsoy with THE YAPPY BUNCH next time!

So THERE.

SOFITEL PHILIPPINE PLAZA, MANILA

Barangay 1, Ccp Complex Roxas Boulevard,

Pasay - Manila, 1099 Metro Manila