WATERFRONT Insular Hotel-Davao’s celebration of Davao City’s annual Kadayawan Festival was, indeed, remarkable. Kadayawan is, after all, a festival for the celebration of life; and thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the richness of Mindanaoan culture, the bounties of harvest, and peace in our hometown.
One of the highlights in the hotel’s celebration of the Kadayawan Festival last mid-August was its offering of Mindanao’s indigenous cuisine using the same local ingredients in traditional recipes of the tribes. It was truly a welcome culinary offering for both the domestic and foreign guests of the hotel.
This month, the icon of Davao hotels is again celebrating the mid-Autumn Festival, more popularly known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, as a traditional festival in honor of our Chinoy brothers and sisters but also for the Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese residents in our beloved city. “Through the centuries, Filipinos and Chinese have maintained a predominantly warm and cordial relationship bound with love and respect for each other. As such, the Waterfront Insular Hotel joins the celebration for the love of family solidarity and the well-being of all by serving its deep roasted, rich and thick-filled mooncakes,” informed Wilfredo Paolo M. Rosello, the hotel’s OIC Sales & Marketing Manager when he came to personally deliver the Waterfront Insular Hotel’s beautifully packaged mooncakes to me. Pao was accompanied by Jeanne Gabrielle Arieta, the new Marketing Communications Assistant who is a Cum Laude graduate of UP Mindanao.
The mooncakes are available in traditional and not so traditional flavors. The traditional mooncake has lotus seed paste, sweet red bean paste or ube paste for filling to choose from. Take note that the non-traditional ones are available in various flavors such as mango cheesecake, red velvet, double chocolate, and of course, durian. These nouvelle mooncakes I would really like to taste. The special mooncakes are available for gift-giving only until September 22, 2022, at the booth fronting Café Uno.
“In line with the celebration of the mid-Autumn Festival, our very own Pizzaiolo currently offers a limited edition pizza called the Char Siu (pork barbecue). This particular mouth-watering, flat, open-faced baked pie consists of a thin layer of bread dough topped with finely sliced savory char siu pieces and drizzled with hoisin, honey, soy sauce, sherry and a sprinkling of the Chinese five spice powder,” described Jeanne Arieta.
Over at the flagship Café Uno, chef Gilbert Banday is currently featuring a weekend Chinese buffet consisting of the all-time favorite Chinese dishes of both the Chinoys and Pinoys. “We are committed to offering all our highly valued clients the ultimate in degustation satisfaction,” promises Pao Rosello.
Since the start of the Kadayawan Festival last August, Waterfront Insular Hotel-Davao has appointed an OIC Hotel Manager in the person of Ali P. Banting to “take over the responsibility of overseeing the growth and development of the 61-year-old iconic institution.” The showbiz looking Ali P. Banting started as a Rooms Manager at the four-star G Hotel Manila by Waterfront. He then worked at the Waterfront Manila Pavilion as a Front Office Manager. In 2015, he became the Rooms Division Manager at the Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino in Cebu City. Ali P. Banting is determined to continue serving the Waterfront Insular Hotel guests, clients and patrons with all his proven might to achieve the ultimate in customer service satisfaction. Indeed, Life is Here!
To all the Chinoys, Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese residents of Davao, a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to you all.
