Sheraton Manila Bay launches gourmet delivery

With all the travel restrictions these days, the thought of going on a luxurious hotel staycation in the city and dining on gourmet cuisine is something that a lot of people are looking forward to. Staying in hotels can give you that sense of travel we’re all missing these days and a momentary escape from the quarantine lifestyle of going out just for essentials. But while we still can’t check into hotels for leisure, it’s still possible to get a taste of some hotel’s gourmet offerings through takeaways and delivery services.

Since special events like weddings, birthdays and anniversaries have had to be canceled, a lot of people are turning to food delivery as their main cause for celebration at home.

Sheraton Manila Bay, an upscale hotel located in Malate, recently launched the “Culinary Courier,” offering some of the hotel’s in-house restaurant’s bestsellers for takeout and delivery. Their seasoned culinary team has assembled an array of signature recipes, refreshing healthy options, and the comforting taste of authentic local cuisine to satiate diners and families at home. The hotel recently invited me to sample some of their bestsellers in the comfort of our home.

Their selection features home-cooked dishes good for sharing, rice specialties, salads, pastas, sandwiches, breads, pastries, and cakes. For meat-lovers, they offer items like Pot Roast Beef, Lengua Estofado, Pepper Roasted Pork Loin, Whole Spanish Roasted Chicken, and “Buchon” Pork Belly Roulade.

For light meals and snacks, they have sandwiches such as Beef Shawarma, Chicken Shawarma, and their bestseller Pulled Pork A la Cubano. For healthy options, diners have four options including the Mango Kani Salad, Vegan Aubergine Salad, Caesar Salad, and their new Caesar By The Bay.

For festive celebrations at home, they’re offering the Sheraton Gourmet Rice Box or Seafood Paella which pairs well with a side order of garlic mashed potato, ranch fries, rustic herb sautéed potatoes, Asian fried rice, and steamed rice.

Foodies looking for lighter meals can indulge in pasta specialties of Spaghetti Shrimp Scampi, Fettucine Carbonara, and Penne Puttanesca with Blackened Chicken.

The hotel also offers items for breakfast cravings including freshly baked Dark Chocolate Brownies, Homemade Banana Bread, Farmer’s Bread Loaf, Hand Crafted Doughnuts, Assorted Muffins, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Soft Rolls and Hard Rolls. In keeping up with quarantine food trends, they’ve also launched their own version of the Ube Cheese Pandesal. Diners can make home celebrations sweeter with pastries and cakes-to go including the hotel’s Signature Mango Tart, Dalgona Tiramisu, Dark Chocolate Supreme, and Mango Cheesecake.

While we’ve been cooking a lot more at home lately, I’ve realized that a lot of effort really goes into making even the simplest dish. It was nice to take a break from all the marketing, food prep, washing dishes, etc. which just pile up.

While the hotel is geographically far from my residence, I think these “Culinary Courier” menu items would be a good option for families who live in or near Manila, especially for weekends or special occasions, small gatherings, or virtual meetings and events.

A lot of companies have transitioned their operations to Work From Home set-ups, while different brands now opt to launch products online through Facebook Livestream. Normally, attending real-life meetings, conferences, and events held in hotels usually involves free food. I think brands holding events in the future could opt to send food to resource speakers or guests instead of the usual tokens.

For now, gourmet takeaways are available for pick-up daily from 9am to 6pm and advance orders are required. Please allow 45-minutes lead time for salad, sandwiches, pastas and rice dishes, and 1-day lead time for breads, pastries, cakes, and home-cooked dishes. Diners can arrange pick-ups with their courier of choice. Cash and credit card payments are accepted. The hotel will strictly implement a No Mask, No Pick-up Policy and has designated a pick-up point at the hotel’s main entrance canopy area to ensure social distancing measures are followed and health and safety precautions are met.

For a full listing of the gourmet takeaways menu, please visit http://bit.ly/theculinarycouriermenu.