A feast for the senses in the Year of the Ox

By Diana A. Uy

Feng shui practitioners believe that water symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

So when Eddie Yeo, general manager at Heritage Hotel, says conducting business, including hosting parties, is best done near bodies of water, no words could have ever been nearer to the truth.

Located on Roxas Boulevard near Manila Bay, the Heritage Hotel welcomed the Year of the Earth Ox with a party to usher in an auspicious 2009. Everyone who was everyone was in attendance?high society figures, diplomats, expats, members of the press and celebrities?packing the Artists Ballroom to bursting proportions. Heritage?s marketing communications manager Mina Gervacio hosted the affair wearing a Gerry Katigbak creation.

The party, in keeping with the theme ?a feast for the senses,? consisted of a Chinese New Year dinner, performances by the hotel staff, and a fashion show featuring upcoming designers from the La Salle College International and their interpretations of the cheongsam.

The festivities kicked off with a traditional Lion Dance. A Yu Sheng Prosperity Ceremony, a Singaporean traditional ?toss? for abundance, good health and good luck, followed. Servers came out of the wings carrying plates of ingredients like salmon, pomelo, pepper, oil, sliced carrots, shredded green and white radish, peanuts, sesame seeds, and deep-fried flour crisps. The eight-course dinner, prepared by executive chef Sunny Goh, consisted of shark?s fin soup with crabmeat, roast chicken with Hoi Sin sauce, steamed red lapu-lapu with light soya sauce, fried prawn with sweet chili braised back mushroom with dried oyster and fatt choi, braised ee fu noodles, and red bean paste with lotus seed for dessert.

Guests were bowled over by the hotel staff?s performances of popular dance and disco numbers spanning five decades?from the ?60s to the new millennium. Some spectators were actually bopping, swinging, and singing along with The Beatles? ?I Saw Her Standing There,? Michael Jackson?s ?Beat It,? Los Del Rio?s ?Macarena,? and the Pussycat Dolls? ?Don?t Cha.? And the performers even dressed the part! One imposter left some guests gaping at his mean Michael Jackson impression, it was almost hilarious given the seriousness of his face as he moonwalked, slid on the dance floor and snapped his crotch.

Other performances included song numbers from Faith Cuneta, the Heritage Twins, and Chiara King, sales manager at the hotel. Belly dancer Joyce Paguia, first prize winner at the Hotel and Restaurant Management Association of the Philippines dance contest, also wowed the crowd.

Gigi Gaw, director of sales and marketing, led the fashion show. Her team showed off each of the LSCI student?s vision of the Mandarin dress, unveiling designs from space-age/cosplay inspired numbers to body skimming cocktail dresses and free flowing silhouettes. Gervacio was the last model in a tailored, high-collared, T-shirt dress, made of silk with Chinese geometric and floral prints.

Gracing the event were Yeo and wife Mary; Sri Lankan Ambassador Aloy Ratnayake; Sadek Osman, Charge de Affaires, Embassy of Libya; Hadi Osman, Embassy of Libya; Singaporean Ambassador Selverajah; and Ambassador Dato? Ahmad Rasidi Hazizi, Malaysian Embassy, who led the Yu Sheng tossing ceremony, and his wife Rosilawati Rasidi.

Also spotted were Indonesian Ambassador Prof. Irzan Tandjung, Thai Airways general manager Nivat Chantarachoti, Singapore Airlines GM Clinton Tan, Singapore Tourism Board area director Lynelle Seow Lui-Chern, Russian Embassy?s Alexander Serov, Royal Thai Embassy?s Chacorn Suchiva, South Korea?s Col. Tug Ho Rhewy, US Embassy?s Arthur Lontoc, as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs? Raymund Toledo, La Salle College International director Gina Icanom, and socialites Fe Dixon, Geena Zablan and society columnists.

On the same night, The Heritage Hotel also launched its Wishing Earth Ox fund-raising drive to benefit the Shepherd of the Hills Foundation, a non-government organization dedicated to helping improve the lives of abandoned and street children.