The Best of A la Carte at Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo

With Chinese New Year, Dinagyang Festival and Valentine's Day - all within a week of each other, there's really no stopping the food coma we will be experiencing from all the buffets, dimsum and street food.

So despite the personal goal of dieting, I cannot say no to the invitation extended by Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo for it's latest gastronomic offering - Best of A la Carte.

Replacing the lunch and dinner buffets every Tuesdays and Wednesdays is a four-course set meal with a pre-selected menu that comes in 4 "themes" - Healthy, Italian, Thai and Filipino. And we got to taste two of these sets a few hours ago - Healthy (personal choice) and Italian (just sharing with my co-bloggers)

Each set starts with a SALAD. For the Healthy menu it was a mix of vegetables and fruits - tomato, cucumber, onion, carrots, onions and lettuce with feta cheese and lemon dressing.

The Italian side had the Caprese Salad - layers of tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese garnished with basil leaves and drizzled in balsamic reduction.

The SOUP comes next and served when you finished your salad. It was a light soup for the Healthy set consisting of fish (blue marlin?) with mushrooms in a lemongrass base broth. I just love its refreshing taste yet flavourful but not too overpowering. And smells nice too.

In contrast but still not too heavy is the Italian set's creamy tomato and chicken soup. While I expected it to be a heavy soup at first glance, it turned to be lighter version but still having the signature Italian taste.

For the MAIN DISH, it was grilled chicken (breast) in the Healthy set served with roasted potato and tomato-sweet corn salsa. Despite the urged for an extra order of rice (lol) I had to keep reminding myself to stay on course. Later, I found out that it was heavy on their own - the chicken and potatoes!

But there was rice on the Italian set as it was a seafood risotto. This specialty from Northern Italy may consist of meat, vegetables or seafood (but can combined too) in creamy rice but it was shrimps, mussels, squid and fish that made it to the plate!

Finally, DESSERTS! So how to end your meal but stay Healthy? Have some fruit and yoghurt in the form of a tart! This was another portion where I wished I had another serving or a third one but that would defeat the "healthiness" of the set.

How about some Panna Cotta with caramel and strawberry sauce?The sweetened cream dessert thickened by gelatin is a fitting finale for those who chose to go Italian.

So, make your Tuesdays and Wednesdays special with the Best of A la Carte for lunch or dinner! Enjoy this four-course dining experience with your soup, salad, main course and dessert in one special set menu at the Runway Kitchen at Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo.

The Best of A la Carte starts February 2019 valid until June 2019. Price starts at PhP 450 (Healthy) and PhP 550 (Italian).

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