Tuesday, 21 June 2011

Cherienne's 2nd Birthday: The Venue and the Food

Posted by clapalisoc | Tuesday, 21 June 2011 | Category: , , , , , , , | 0 comments

Late last year, Cherienne's birthday has been in my mental list of things to prepare for though it's still several months away. While we were passing by the stretch of restaurants in Paseo De Magallanes, we saw a banner from RACKS offering birthday party packages with Barnyard as the theme. I told my husband about it and he was not really thrilled about the idea because he has not yet tried the food in RACKS plus he thought that RACKS was a bit formal as a venue for a kiddie party. Thinking that the party is still months away, I let the idea pass for a while. 

Since our house is near Paseo de Magallanes and it has a good selection of restaurants plus a not so crowded Rustan's supermarket, we are frequent visitors of the place. January of this year, as we grabbed some grocery items in Rustan's, a flyer of RACKS birthday party packages landed on the windshield of our car. I checked out the prices and was surprised that the packages were really affordable! Okay, let me clear this out. When I say affordable, I do not mean Jollibee affordable packages but something much more than that. My husband gave in to the idea of a birthday party at RACKS but insisted on looking for other venues.

March came in and we only had 2 months to go before Cherienne's birthday. We checked other venues but since my bias is with RACKS, we decided that they have the best offer. After several phone calls to know more about the ins and outs of the packages, we decide to book the party.

We chose their Kiddie Package 1 and their Adult Buffet Style Package 2. We also opted to get Cherienne's cake and cupcake tower with Barnyard theme from their partner since if we will get our own, they will be charging us with 500php for corkage fee. They also have partners for Party Services, for clowns, bubble machines, face painting, balloon poppers, tarp, etc, Photo & Video coverage and chocolate fountain just in case you want them to do the coordinating for you. 

RACKS Barnyard Party Packages

KIDS
Package 1 - 160 php
Bolognese w/ 1 pc. Garlic Bread
1 pc. Fried Chicken
Glass of Coke
Ice Cream

Package 2 - 240 php
Bolognese w/ 1 pc. Garlic Bread
2 pcs. Fried Chicken
Glass of Coke
Ice Cream

ADULTS (BUFFET STYLE)
Package 1 ( good for 30 pax) - 295 php per head , 8850 php
Bolognese
Classic Pork Ribs
House Salad
4 Choices of Side Dish
Bottomless Coke

Package 2 ( good for 30 pax) - 395 php per head , 11850 php
Fish & Chips
Classic Pork Ribs
Hickory Smoked Chicken
Classic Ceasar Salad
4 Choices of Side Dish
Carbonara
Bottomless Coke

Package 3 ( good for 30 pax) - 465 php per head , 13950 php
Fish & Chips
Classic Pork Ribs
Hickory Smoked Chicken
Classic Ceasar Salad
4 Choices of Side Dish
Carbonara
Bottomless Coke
Memphis Pound Cake

Since hubby haven't tried their food yet, we decided to order those that were included in the Adult Package we chose. Sad thing is that they don't offer food tasting so we needed to order as regular paying customers. But that's not really a big deal because hubby fell in love with the food. Check out my blog about the food here. Since the only dessert that they offer is their Memphis Pound cake and is only available through their Adult Buffet Style Package 3, we opted to look for our own and just pay the corkage fee. We ended up serving homemade Panna Cotta, proudly made by me, for dessert. You can check out my recipe here.

Before we had our contract signing and "food tasting", we took some pictures of the party place so we will know how to decorate. Below are some of the pictures.

Main party area

Other side of the room

Smaller party area
 The party area of RACKS Magallanes is located in the 2nd level of their restaurant. They have two areas that can accommodate 100 pax when combined. The larger area can house around 75 people and is the venue for games and magic show. The smaller area is mainly for dining purposes. Between the two rooms is the buffet area. The place is quite small if you'll have food booths and if you're planning a big party. But since we have more adult visitors than kids and we wanted them to have a sumptuous meal, RACKS is the best choice.

Little girl got tired after the ocular. She's ready to taste the food!

Friday, 10 June 2011

Birthday Sweetness

Posted by clapalisoc | Friday, 10 June 2011 | Category: , , , , | 0 comments

I'm just a simple person who gets really delighted with food. If it's my birthday, I would prefer to receive cakes and other foodie items rather than material things. I find joy in satisfying my taste buds. During my birthday last month, I asked for only one thing - Mango Bravo from Contis. Knowing that my hubby can't say no to this, since he is also a fan of Contis, I insisted on having no other cakes than this. So, while waiting for hubby to come home from work, I was really anxious to see if he got me my birthday cake. As soon as I heard his car keys and foot steps right outside our bedroom door, my heart leaped out with excitement. I got what I wanted and more!!!

Mango Bravo - Contis
Light, refreshing and simply heavenly, this is how I would describe this cake. The icing is so light which means that air was perfectly incorporated while the ingredients were being mixed together. The cake has the right sweetness - not too sweet as what you will get from your ordinary chocolate or chiffon cakes. The fresh mango cubes gave the cake the refreshing finish making one ask for more. And oh not to forget about the chocolate drizzling from the top of the cake which not only gave more character to the cake but also added to the overall thumbs up taste.


Peach Walnut Torte - Contis
With generous heaping of peaches and walnuts, you can never go wrong with this cake. The icing is just like Mango Bravo's and the taste is equally good. This is a must try for peach lovers.


Mango Peach Cream Pie - Starbucks
Talk about combining mango and peach - this pie is definitely the answer. Made from crushed Graham crackers crust, this one is a little sweeter than the other two from Contis. But the combination of mangoes and peaches topped with whipped cream and drizzled with caramel syrup is not bad at all. I this this one is a perfect match for a cup of brewed coffee while relaxing in Starbucks.


Obviously, I got more than what I wanted :) I am more than satisfied!

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