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THE excitement is building up to a special date in
the relatively short but undoubtedly illustrious life of the
Renaissance Makati City Hotel when on July 8 it will host an
exclusive by-invitation only grand opening bash to launch M2M
(Morning to Midnight, in case you wondered) and Cinnabar—its
innovative and hip-hot contribution to the thriving culinary and
nocturnal life of Metro Manila.
Tall and stately Stephan Stoss,
the general manager of the hotel, and his team have been hard at it
for months to give this town something that will get people
talking—and frequenting.
This early the buzz is that
discerning patrons from the Greenbelt neigh-borhood, that is
Manila’s favored dining and nightlife rendezvous, are eagerly
waiting to see what the new culinary kid on the block will have to
offer by way of dining adventure.
For months now the far lobby area
of the hotel has been a hub of banging and clanging as the two new
establishments took shape. And the whole project has been kept very
much under warps, with the hotel’s effervescent communications
director Monique Tosa as the custodian of the secret
undertaking—with all inquiries from curious hacks met with her
trademark charm—and promise of lunch at a future date!
A Who’s Who of Manila’s
business, diplomatic and society circuits are expected to grace the
event, with the novel red-boxed invitation encompassing miniature
vials of essences to tantalize the sense of anticipation.
Leading director Robby Carmona
will orchestrate the opening party which will carry a “young
Hollywood” theme that will surely be befitting of the newest
glittering star in the lifestyle galaxy.
M2M (and anyone even remotely
suggesting other connotations to that name should immediately say
three Hail Marys in suitable penance!) will serve as the hotel’s
all-day and night dining restaurant, while Cinnabar is designed to
be tony lounge bar.
Private areas such as the Wine
Room, Bar Lounge, and Private Room will also be available at M2M for
those who seek more intimacy.
Since its opening in the mid
1990s, the Renaissance Makati City Hotel (formerly the New World
Hotel) has established itself as one of the leading business hotels
in the Philippines.
The launch of M2M and the
Cinnamon Bar in fact signals the first phase in the hotel’s
renovation program which kicks off with these two outlets.
To follow is a Cantonese
specialty restaurant called Jasmine set to open in October as a
replacement to Emperor Court.
Hyper-active businessman Achit
Kaw has established his corporate credentials as the man behind the
construction of the roofs of many of the SM department stores,
including the flagship Mall of Asia that saw him virtually sleeping
on the site in order to get the mammoth establishment completed.
But Kaw—chairman and CEO of AK7
Enterprises—is also making a name for himself on the basketball
court.
During the recent corporate
tourney titled 2GO Shippers Invitational League, a team lead by Kaw
called 100Plus defeated Zim Lines 107-72, with Kaw scoring 96 of the
points.
This landmark scoring feat marked
Kaw as the highest ever individual point scorer in the history of
the league that is now in its sixth year—with him breaking his
previous highest score of 53 points in the same league.
Next stop for Kaw is a listing in
the Guinness Book of Records as having constructed more shopping
mall roofs than any other builder in the world.
E-mail: bizzfizz_98@yahoo.com
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