Sofitel Philippine Plaza: Health & Wellness

Photo from www.sofitelmanila.com

Scents of chrysanthemum float through the warmly lit open space while the sophisticated simplicity of the Asian-inspired spa with bamboo details and lulling water fountains set the tone for a serene salon experience. And here at the Philippines’ newest medical tourism destination, Sofitel Philippine Plaza’s Philippe’s Salon, LeSpa and The Zen Institute – only the latest and the best in medical facilities and beauty expertise are offered. 

"We wanted to bring in only the best,” says Sofitel’s general manager Goran Aleks about the luxury hotel’s grand plans to position itself as a medical tourism destination. “We did our research in Manila and found that the most knowledgeable celebrity hair salon was Philippe’s Salon, Manila’s premiere luxury salon, and for medical spa, (it) was The Zen Institute.”

Aleks explains that as a world-class hotel, they wanted to offer a really great beauty, health and wellness package to guests. “If you’re having something (cosmetic) done, might as well be pampered in the process,” Aleks beams, “And here at Sofitel, we cover all the bases.”

Photo from www.facebook.com/PhilippeTordjmanSalon

Philippe’s Salon: A French Touch

Philippe’s Salon and its staff, led by celebrated French hair artist Philippe Tordjman, brings artistry into hair care, using the very best and latest in hair care techniques and technology. As L’Oreal’s Artistic Ambassador in Asia, Tordjman has personally styled Hollywood celebrities like Antonio Banderas, Justin Timberlake, Jojo, Julio Iglesias, Meg Ryan and Melanie Griffith – just to name a few. He has even attended to heads of state like former President GMA and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she visited the Philippines. 

From cutting to coloring to styling, Tordjman boasts that his fully equipped salon and internationally-trained staff is prepared to take on any task, even the most daunting and under the most stressing of conditions like weddings. “Anyone who is getting married can be really pleased because we can organize everything at once. Before it was a one-year preparation but now we can do treatments on the day itself if needed.” If the bride wants to turn from a brunette to a red head on her magical day, Philippe can ensure that her dream comes true. 

Must Try: Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy

Philippe’s Salon is one of the few salons worldwide that offers the Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy, the number one smoothing system in the world developed by world-renowned stylist, salon owner and television personality, Peter Coppola. The treatment infuses natural keratin deep into hair’s cuticle; taking care of 95 percent of your hair’s frizz and 60 percent of its dryness. By removing all of the impurities, the Keratin Complex Smooth Therapy leaves your mane silky smooth and manageable with an evident added shine. 

The Zen Institute: Feeling of Zen

LeSpa and The Zen Institute (located within the LeSpa) is where the best of massage therapy and medical technology meet. Advocating a holistic approach to beauty and wellness, Dr. Mary Jane “MJ” Torres-Valdecañas, head doctor, does not only offer natural, non-surgical and non-invasive beauty solutions like facial contouring and body sculpting, but also helps develop weight management programs for her clients, educating them on nutrition and diet. 

Must try: Resonax

Europe’s latest non-surgical technology for face and body sculpting called Resonax is every hectic businesswoman’s dream treatment because the procedure can be squeezed into your coffee break. The Resonax introduces electrode doses into the body that hasten the process of dissolving fat and help tighten the skin, Dr. MJ explains. Used in combination with the weight management program of SoFit, Sofitel’s fitness center, Resonax can instantly trim inches off from the waist, abdomen and face. Lipotherapy treatments such as Resonax will entail around 5-12 sessions but sessions can be customized to fit the client’s schedule. 

Spatastic: LeSpa

At LeSpa, clients can delight in a combination of traditional pampering rituals and modern treatments set in the tranquil Asian setting. Exclusive signature treatments and pampering body rituals, using unique French techniques and premium French products can be enjoyed further by booking the exclusive spa suites, which have spectacular views of the Manila Bay. LeSpa offers numerous non-therapeutic procedures designed to encourage feelings of wellness, from soothing facials that leave the skin looking firmer and radiant to stimulating massages and body treatments. 

Must Try: Mayon Wrapsody & Kerala’s Smile

The Mayon Wrapsody, one of Sofitel’s unique traditional treatments, is an hour and a half long massage that uses clay from our own Mayon volcano. The remineralising volcano clay wrap aids in increasing body temperature, which in effect helps increase body metabolism. The treatment also utilizes the combined benefits of natural skin-lightening calamansi and papaya scrub to detoxify, soothe and attain balance. 

On the other hand, Kerala’s Smile treatment eliminates muscular tension, fatigue, body heat, digestion problems as well as rejuvenates one’s body from jet lag. The signature soothing entails a remineralising and stimulating rubdown that’s finished off with a foot massage using a Kansu bowl. An additional benefit is that it is said to improve sleep quality.

Fortunately today, “A beautiful woman doesn’t have to choose between living a great life and looking 10 years younger – but living a great life can lead to looking 10 years younger.” Sofitel Philippine Plaza’s beauty and wellness triumvirate: Philippe’s Salon, LeSpa and The Zen Institute – the newest medical tourism destination – won’t hesitate to pull out all the stops to make sure that a woman is beautiful, inside and out. 

First published in PeopleAsia Magazine.

Sugarleaf: The Beauty of Raw

In the same way that food can harm our body, food can heal as well. And in the path towards self-improvement/enlightenment, healing can be found in the way of the raw. 

To help us first understand the importance of eating raw, raw food gourmet chef and lifestyle coach Mona Lisa Neuboeck introduces the concept of “the life force” to an intimate media group. The life force is loosely defined as the “live enzymes and nutrients” that are naturally present in fruits, roots and vegetables. Though our bodies already have enzymes to help specifically with metabolism, live foods lend an extra hand by essentially digesting themselves.

Once raw food is digested, the body is able to absorb 100 percent of its goodness unlike the measly 20 percent which is left after conventional cooking. With conventional cooking, what we have may be a tasty dish, but it is a lifeless one. The body will also need to work double time to digest cooked food. (Note: a piece of steak takes up to four days to digest, essentially rotting inside the intestines, whereas fruits and vegetables are out of the body in just 12 hours.)

Though eating raw food and becoming vegetarians have their good points, the overriding thought on everyone’s carnivorous minds is “How could I turn vegan? Healthy food rarely tastes good!” Chef Mona Lisa, reading our hesitant and begrudging faces, spends no time enchanting us with the yummy possibilities of raw food. She even goes so far as to say that raw cuisine can be as flavorful and healthier than the gourmet dishes that we enjoy in five-star restaurants – and we can make them ourselves! 

Mona Lisa shows us how and pulls out from behind the counter her weapons of choice: a knife, a high-powered blender and a juicer. Chef Mona Lisa whips up first the grapefruit ginger blast smoothie, which she shares is her and her partner’s favorite breakfast drink. Compact with vitamins and nutrients, the grapefruit ginger blast is said to cure even the most intense of hangovers. To make the beautiful fruit blend, she chucks in a few pieces of ginger, grapefruit, lemon zest, apples, vanilla beans, bananas for that yogurt texture, cayenne pepper, which aids in fat metabolism, and ice into the high-powered blender. And after a few good seconds, what we have is a light, frothy citrus medley that can wake up any tired body and palate. 

As we flip through the handouts that Angelo Songco, the marketing and business development head of Sugarleaf restaurant, distributed beforehand, Mona Lisa is quick to share that there is so much room to experiment with flavors when “cooking” with raw food, which is why one shouldn’t be too stringent with measurements. “Close the handouts, have fun and rely on your taste buds,” she instructs. 

Apart from blending and juicing, raw food cuisine also entails a lot of marinating. One has the flexibility to prepare food ahead of time, even a day or two. Mona Lisa brings to the table her delightful dishes which she prepared the day before – a lovely pesto and tomato “raw-violi,” baby bok choy shitake un-stir fry and raw daikon un-fried rice.

The raw-violi is Mona Lisa’s interpretation of the Italian favorite but instead of pasta, pesto paste and sun dried tomatoes are sandwiched between thin slices of cucumber. Drizzled with golden extra virgin olive oil, the raw-violi makes a beautiful entrée. 

The baby bok choy with shitake mushrooms and the daikon un-fried rice, on the other hand, satiate the Filipino palate for something more “substantial.” Visually, the bok choy resembles beef and broccoli but one cannot mistake the taste. A little sweet, a little sour but undoubtedly satisfying, the explosion of fresh flavors reverberate on the taste buds. The daikon un-fried rice, made from turnips and daikon, which tastes likecoconut meat after it's been squeezed of its juices, complements the “meaty” viand. 

To end the meal on a sweet note, we relish a comforting slice of the sweet potato mocha torte pie topped with dark, cacao chips and dried blueberries. “I can eat this forever!” we all exclaim. Desserts, undoubtedly, is where the strength of raw food lies. 

Mona Lisa and Angelo understand that it might be a tall order for some Filipinos to quit cold turkey on our favorite lechon and sisig. But even for the most hardcore meat-eaters, turning vegan is possible. Take for example, Mona Lisa. This renowned raw food chef ironically hails from a long line of famous Innsbruck butchers in Austria. From being surrounded by beef to becoming anti-meat, Mona Lisa proves that despite a carnivorous upbringing, it’s never too late to start eating healthy.

Whether you decide to turn vegetarian or remain a carnivore, what is important, Chef Mona Lisa says, is that we lessen our consumption of food filled with empty calories, preservatives and health-sabotaging substances and try to incorporate more raw food into our diet. Living life starts with eating right. 

For more information on how to join the Raw Food Workshop, email angelo@sugarleafph.com or call 0917 8039055. You may also visit Sugarleaf at the MEDICard Lifestyle Center at 51 Paseo de Roxas corner Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Urdaneta Village, Makati City 

First published in PeopleAsia magazine. 

The Chinese Chowdown: PF Changs

Philip Chiang’s odd combination of Asian looks and heavy American twang is disarming, but not half as disarming as the culinary experience that awaits his customers with every bite. Who would have thought that there’s something new to be experienced with Chinese food — minus the expected heavy, bloated feeling — and that it can only be had at P.F. Chang’s? 

It never ends well — or pretty — when I eat Chinese food. Lethargic with the greasy, MSG-laden deliciousness of it all, I find it hard not to eat myself into a food coma especially when taunted with a smorgasbord of Chinese cuisine laid down before me. But after feasting on P.F. Chang’s bestselling dishes during the restaurant’s grand opening on The Street at the Alabang Town Center, I felt incredibly — and surprisingly — clearheaded.

“That is our secret!” interjects Philip Chiang with a clap. “We don’t use any MSG in our dishes,” he stresses. The tall bespectacled man before me is the renowned “Chang” in “P.F. Chang’s” and one of the partners of the famed US bistro. “P.F.” on the other hand, are the initials of his partner Paul Fleming.

Staying true to P.F. Chang’s no-MSG policy and stringent food philosophy, he believes in using only the freshest of ingredients. “Whatever is not used at the end of the day, we throw away. It’s precision preparation. Our chefs are only allowed to use the Chinese cleaver and wok in cooking,” he explains. Yes, Chiang believes that this raw simplicity in presentation (“No garnishing unless it’s necessary!”) will make P.F. Chang’s a hit in the Philippines. 

Archie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Global Restaurant Concepts, Inc., the company responsible for bringing in P.F. Chang’s to the Philippines, shares the same sentiment. “You may say we serve typical Chinese dishes, but we raise the bar for dining experience because we prepare it with American fine dining precision and service,” Rodriguez says. 

As we wait for the dishes to emerge from the kitchen, Chiang doesn’t hide the fact that one has to be patient when dining at the restaurant. “As a fine dining place, we have a particular standard we keep. From preparing the ingredients, to cooking and plating, we make sure that nothing is lost, flavor is intact.” In not so many words, one can’t rush perfection. And as the parade of dishes round the corner from the kitchen to our table, we realize that it pays to wait. 

(On an important side note: When I returned to P.F. Chang’s the following weekend, the service improved greatly. The service was quick, the staff was superb and the food, as expected, was nothing

less than delicious.)

The first to come around is P.F. Chang’s signature Chicken Lettuce Wrap. The lightly minced water chestnuts, shitake mushrooms and chicken are laid on a bed of fried noodle sticks. Eaten like a taco, the

Chicken Lettuce Wrap was a refreshing and filling appetizer. Feel free to stuff your own wrap and dip it in the sweet soy sauce-based dip, which the servers are happy to mix for you.

As we busy ourselves perfecting our own version of the chicken taco, Chiang shares more of the restaurant’s secrets: “What we really want our food to be is very simple but flavorful. We use no more than three ingredients in each dish as to make sure that the dishes look, feel and taste as fresh and as natural as possible.”

If the group was a bit timid and shy while eating our appetizers, by the time the Dynamite Shrimp and Northern Style Spare Ribs came to the table, we were loudly passing the dishes from one end to the

other, shamelessly devouring the food. We popped the sweet morsels of Dynamite Shrimp like popcorn (the sweet, tangy sauce packs a bit of heat) and we took to the Northern Style Spare Ribs with much

gusto. No need for knives and other utensils as the succulent meat neatly fell off the bone. On the table was an assortment of sauces and condiments — chili paste, chili oil, soy sauce, hot mustard and vinegar — which we all instinctively reached for (Oh how we Filipinos love drowning our food in sauces!). But Archie stops us midway and gently suggests that instead of the soy sauce, we put some of their

5-spice rub to accentuate the flavors. The rub, a mix of various herbs and spices, was indeed the better choice!

Needless-to-say, we flew through the other dishes – Crab Wontons, Chang’s Spicy Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Chengdu Spiced Lamb (Divine!), Lo Mein and Sichuan-Style Asparagus — which too were perfectly prepared, presented and served. We washed it down with a refreshing — and might I add, addicting — glass of tamarind and jasmine iced tea. (Both were delicious, but the tamarind iced tea

is hands-down the undisputed favorite.)

From among the dishes, there is one that deserves special mention — the Shrimp with Candied Walnuts. Shrimp, prepared similarly to the Dynamite Shrimp, is tossed in a “salad” of honeydew melons and candied walnuts. The dish’s playful, fresh colors and surprisingly harmonious flavors bring out the child in you. If there is one dish that will have you coming back to P.F. Chang’s, it is this.

All in all, P.F. Chang’s does not disappoint. The dishes were simply superb — savory, filling but light and fit for a queen. Its meticulously prepared dishes packed with flavor redefine Chinese food. No more MSG-induced food comas and grease-loaded dishes; just really great Chinese-inspired food. With a clear head and a full stomach, I am convinced that it will take a few more trips for me to The Street to discover the other great secrets of P.F. Chang’s. And I think it won’t be long before I get another hankering for Chinese food.

PF Chang's can be found in Alabang Town Center and Bonifacio High Street. 

First published in PeopleAsia Magazine.