Days Hotel Iloilo goes Thai-Chi for the Mooncake Festival

Every Monday, The Promenade dishes up Thai cuisine as Days Hotel Iloilo welcomes guests to an “Amazing Thailand” dinner. The specialties of this Asian kingdom delight everyone as every dish is accented with the distinct spicy tang that’s characteristically Thai in a setting that is both comforting and elegant.

But it was a different gastronomic story last September 12 as Days Hotel Iloilo fused Chinese cuisine to its Thai buffet line up in celebration of the annual Mooncake Festival. The resulting mix of Asian specialties brings back the memories of their Flavors of Asia buffet last year.

As always I make it appoint to try every dish served and the Tom Khaa Kai (chicken in coconut cream soup) was a perfect start. A creamy and soup with lots of chicken chunks ignited my appetite.

I then feasted on Thai fish cakes, mini Thai pork balls and fresh vegetables springs rolls. The sauces that came with each of these dishes provided the blend that I took second helpings of each forgetting they were just appetizers.

Salads were next and there were three prepared salads on top of the salad bar featuring organic fruits and vegetables.

The grilled chicken spicy salad reminded everyone that Thai is basically a spicy cuisine as seen on the chillis dotting the dish. The mixed seafood salad with vermicelli noodles had a hot and sour sensation to it as opposed to the cold, sweet and creamy taste of the corn salad.

The grilling station had a variety of satays (barbecue) and we tried them all – pork, beef, and chicken. The pork barbecue became an instant favorite as it was piece of “bacon” placed on barbecue sticks and that I lost count on how many I had that night.

Beside it was a noodle station which at first I thought it serves Thai noodle soup. But when our order came it turned out to be a big serving of Pad Thai.

A Thai noodle specialty in the likes of pancit canton, chow mien and a lot more.

The main buffet had pineapple fried rice as the special rice. I was really expecting to have another go of their bago-ong rice I got to taste before during its launch. Good thing I was with “VIPs” that time that a special order of bago-ong rice found its way on the table.

A mix of two Asian cuisines were lined up at the main buffet station including roasted chicken with red curry and lychees, mushroom with tofu, chow mien noodles, stir fried pork and mandarin fish fillet.

The dessert station at Days Hotel is incomparable to other hotels buffets and as usual it didn’t fail. A choco peanut mousse cake was the center of it all with an array of dessert cups providing both visual and taste satisfaction.

Individual servings of almond-lychee jelly, dragon fruit jelly, Thai crème brulee, taro balls in coconut milk and coffee jelly.

A mixed fruit bowl in ginger syrup and despite the fact that I don’t like ginger, it was a refreshing dessert as I also had it with black gulaman and sago. Another new dessert that time was the Thai pumpkin custard which became a “hot pick” for me because of its simple but delicious taste. Dessert staples like pudding with caramel sauce, soufflé (orange flavour that time), apple crumble bars and peanut butter cookies complete the sweet stop.

The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo is haven of all things sumptuous with amiable and attentive staff plus the interiors that are chic and never distracting. Now every Monday, the restaurant is oozing with a distinct Thai delight, with the engaging classical Thai music that will set an engaging mood for a quiet and mouthwatering Thai dinner.

Or in this very special case, a Thai-Chi buffet. Or maybe Thai-nese. Perhaps Chi-Thai.

The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo is located at the 4th level of The Atrium, Gen. Luna Street, Iloilo City. For reservations, call (033) 337-3297 or visit their website www.dayshotel.com.ph.

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