Garden Plaza presents dishes with hot spices

THE Garden Plaza Hotel's Isidro Coffeeshop features ''Sili-Chili,''

a sampling of dishes with hot spices. Chili Rellenos (bell pepper

stuffed with ground beef, chorizo bilbao) is served with yellow

rice and mixed vegetables. Other dishes offered are Chili con

Carne, Tilapia Fillet in Chili, Shrimps ? la Brazil, Panga ng Tuna

and Chicken Bicolandia. Located at G/L, The Garden Plaza Hotel

and Suites, 1030 Belen St. Paco, Manila. Call 522-4835 to -38.

RUSCHETTA PROMO. Discover how bruschetta (Italian

toasted bread with assorted toppings) can be more fun at

Manila Hotel's Lobby Lounge. Pick a favorite from the selection

of smoked salmon and eggplant caper tapenade bruschetta with

egg and black pepper cheese mousse; garlic and herb ciabatta

bruschetta flavored with balsamico topped with grilled parma

ham, marinated asparagus tips and parmesan; or almond butter

coated brioche with a mascarpone glazed topping of mango,

strawberries, lychees and pears. To go with these, the beverage

trolley at the Lobby Lounge also has a selection to please the

discriminating. Call 527-0011.

SPECIAL SET MENU. Manila Diamond Hotel's fine dining

Restaurant, Restaurant Le Bellevue, invites you to dine in style

on this month's special set menu. Choices of Grilled Sirloin in

Tomatoes and Anchovies or Poached Lapu-lapu Duglere are

offered until May 31. The set menu comes with a choice of

soup-of-the-day or fresh Garden Salad and capped off with a

dessert from the trolley. Complement your dining fare with

Australia's Jacob's Creek and Wyndham Estate Wines. Call

526-2211 local 1905.

MACARONI SALAD. Texas Chicken offers Macaroni Salad, a

shell macaroni pasta mixed with a tangy, creamy and chunky

salad dressing. Other items you can choose from are Crinkle-Cut

Fries, Honeybun, Coleslaw, Chicken Soup, Mashed Potato and

Mac 'N Cheese. Available at any Texas Chicken outlet.

WHITE ASPARAGUS. From May 17-23, Peninsula Manila's Old

Manila will fly in white asparagus spears fresh from Bruchsal,

Germany for its food festival. This is a repeat of last year's white

asparagus festival. Taking stellar turns in the menu are white

asparagus veloute with roasted goat's cheese croutons, roasted

John Dorry fillet with white asparagus and bacon-scented truffle

sauce, tournedos of duck stuffed with white asparagus with jus

infused with rosemary. For purists, there will be a repeat of the

classic white asparagus served with boiled potatoes,

hollandaise sauce or butter with side order of black forest ham,

smoked salmon, cooked ham, breaded sweetbreads, Russian

Sevruga caviar, sauteed foie gras. Call 887-2888 local 2953 and

2949.

ASEAN DELIGHTS. Manila Gallerie Suites' Raphael

Caf?-Restaurant offers Asean delights May 24 to June 5, lunch

or dinner. Relish seasoned Stirfried Beef with Cashew Nuts and

Green Ginger, sweet and juicy Stuffed Shrimps with Crab Meat,

Sauteed Lapu-Lapu Balls in Ginger and Red Wine Sauce and

exquisitely prepared Duck in Red Curry Sauce. Indulge in

unlimited scoops of Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Mondays and

Saturdays are Buffet Plunge days! Avail of a buffet and get a 25

percent discount. So hurry now and take a plunge!

DRINK ALL YOU CAN. Traders Hotel Manila with Kikufuji

Japanese Restaurant introduces the traffic beater--as much ice

cold draft beer as you can drink and a buffet of Japanese and

ihaw-ihaw items, everyday, 5-11 p.m. at Hotel's 3/F Poolside. Call

Traders Cafe at 523-7011 loc. 2402.

EURO-ASIAN CUISINE. Chef Menoy Jimenez, executive head

chef of C2 Restaurant and Bar, offers Grilled Balinese Chicken

with Shiitake Reduction and Sweet Potato Cake among other

East meets West cuisine. The all-Asian potato cake was given a

European touch by encasing it with Parmesan crust. Also Asian

are the shiitake reduction and the vegetable siding of our very

own saluyot beans. For the Seared Chilean Sea Bass with

Curried Carrot Glace and Potato Allume, the European carrot

was cooked using Indian spice. C2 is located at 5/L Acceed

Conference Center, Trasierre corner Benavidez Streets, Legaspi

Village Makati.

CAKES & PASTRIES. Holiday Inn Resort Clark Field's

one-stop snack shop, the Mequedeli, boasts an assortment of

fresh breads and pastries (ensaymada, empanada, muffins,

cupcakes, croissants and danish); cakes (blueberry, tiramisu,

Vanilla, chocolate, apple pie, strawberry) and coffee

concoctions. For coffee lovers, there's cafe mexicano and mocha

supreme, or the blends of coffee cooler, classic iced coffee and

black and white, or good old favorites like capuccino,

mochaccino or espresso. Mequedeli also offers 40 percent off

on all its pastries and breads, 7:45-8 p.m. daily.

AFTERNOON TEA. The Atrium of Century Park Hotel offers

Afternoon High-Tea for two. This includes a three-decker

pastry tray with finger sandwiches, baked fruit cheese tarts,

fruity eclairs and cream puffs, mini scones and baby Belgian

waffles. Call 528-5924.

ASPARAGUS FEST. Four specialty restaurants is holding an

Asparagus Festival: The Gold Ranch Continental Steakhouse,

Bianca's Cafe & Vinotek, Carpaccio Ristorante Italiano and

Zucchini's Grill & Vinotek. Using white asparagus flown in from

Germany, culinary experts have whipped up nine dishes. Have it

served cold with a variety of dressings, or boiled in its own

stock with three different sauces. Asparagus and veal chop with

forest mushrooms, drizzled with almond-herb sauce, and served

with potato pancake, make a sumptuous meal. Another dish is

asparagus paired with certified Angus beef skirt steak and a

pepperoncini-spiced hollandaise. Sample asparagus with grilled

Norwegian salmon anointed with an orange-flavored

hollandaise.

NEW LUNCH SPECIALS. TGIFriday's offers new lunch

specials. There's Sizzling Pork Chop coated in special spices,

char-grilled and served on a sizzling plate with Friday's country

gravy sauce; Grilled Chicken Teriyaki, tender chicken breast

char-broiled and battered with special teriyaki sauce;

Honey-Dipped Fried Chicken, quartered chicken crisp-fried and

dipped in honey. For a taste of grilled marinated beef with

Friday's own gravy, try the Sizzling Beef Salpicado. All are

served with veggies and rice. If you fancy seafood, there's New

Orleans Stir-Fry, a mix of stir-fried shrimp, calamari and fish with

Louisiana cream sauce and Spanish rice. Available at TGI

Friday's Glorietta, El Pueblo and Robinsons Place Mondays to

Fridays and at Makati Avenue Mondays to Sundays, 11 a.m.-3

p.m.

HALO-HALO FIESTA. The Patisserie offers special halo-halo

from May 1-31. Choose from an array of native condiments such

as gulaman, banana, ube, leche flan, kaong, garbanzos, sago,

macapuno, pinipig and mongo beans. Offered daily from 3-6

p.m. at The Patisserie. Call 526-1212 local 2326.

VALUE MEALS. Greenwich launched the ''Ang Sarap Noon!

Greenwich Lunch Value Meals,'' to help their lunchtime diners

choose from a variety of four pizza meals. Lunch Value Meal A,

a combo of spaghetti and regular soft drink, costs P19.75. Lunch

Value Meal B consists of Regular Ham and Cheese Pizza plus

regular soft drink and is available for P29.75. Lunch Value Meal

C includes Regular Hawaiian Pizza and regular soft drink for

P35.75. For power lunch, yuppies can try Lunch Value Meal D, a

combo of Regular Ham and Cheese Pizza, Spaghetti and regular

soft drink for P49.75. All prices are subject to 10 percent VAT.

Available daily until June 30, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

BUSINESS LUNCH. New World Renaissance Hotel's Bocarinos

features the Business Advantage Lunch, a new midday menu

designed for the busy businessman or woman. The lunch

consists of a three-course menu with a choice of soup or salad,

fish or meat dishes and sweet selections from the dessert buffet.

Bocarinos is known for the Apple-Nut Crusted Beef Tenderloin,

Scallop and Green Asparagus Salad, Sauteed Prawns with Wild

Rice Gnocchi. The Business Advantage is