First "Impressions" at Maxims Hotel - Hungry Geeks

Earlier this year, we played with other bloggers and celebrities in a Texas No Holdem’ tournament. We managed to grab 4th place and won ourselves an overnight stay at Maxims with a free dinner at Impressions. Last week, we grabbed that chance to relax and unwind from all the stress that have been piling up.

To start of, let us give a brief introduction of the hotel itself. Maxims is an upscale hotel brand of Genting Group, Malaysia’s leading corporation that focuses on leisure and hospitality. The hotel is equipped with 172 spacious and lavishly-furnished suits.

Hotel Room and Amenities

The room was lavishly supplied with all the amenities you would need for a great stay. They provided us with internet access for four gadgets, free fruits, a king size bed, movies, music already uploaded on their TV, a work table and a spacious couch complete with coffee table. A very spacious room indeedTheir lobby is located on the 5th floor as the first floor is connected with Resorts World Manila with access to luxury stores and the casino.

You may find the gym, The Terrace restaurant where you could get your complimentary breakfast, and the pool at the 5th floor as well.

Impressions

The highlight of stay was the dinner at Impressions. Impressions is a French restaurant. We are bluntly saying for that this restaurant is strictly for high class diners willing to shell out cash. They operate from Monday to Saturday, 6PM to 12MN, Sunday brunch, from 11AM to 3PM, Sunday dinner from 6PM to 10PM. It is located inside Maxims Hotel on the 3rd floor, just beside Genting’s Club.

Headed by “Master Chef of France”, Chef Cyrille Soenen; Impressions take pride of their mouthwatering menu that includes roasted duck, Angus prime rib, Angus tenderloin and t-bone steak and grilled sea bass; as well as a vast collection of wine for your classy palette. We actually had the chance to meet with the chef, but only to say hi and ask us about the food. We no longer had the chance to do small talks with him as the food were already served and we were famished.

Moving on, Resorts World Manila have already pre-prepared a set menu for us to enjoy.

Appetizer

First came on the table were their house bread, paired with butter and olive oil with parmesan cheese and chopped anchovies.

About the same time, the server poured two cold glasses of Montes Sauvignon Blanc.

Appetizer

Roasted Duck Liver – with Black Garlic Puree, Oyster Tartar and Leek Campote with Ceviche of Beetroot.

Oh my God! This was one of the best Foie Gras I’ve ever ate! The taste was just too heavenly for me. What I hate about other restaurant’s liver dishes is the texture. Most of the time, it is a bit firm with crunchy texture inside. This dish however was different, it is soft, very flavorful and the mix of Oyster tartar, Leek Campote and Ceviche of Beetroot gave it different mouthwatering flavors for each bite. Only a hint of liver texture remains which is awesome since you don’t have to eat a whole lot of liver spread.

Soup

Cream of Chanterelle – Green Pea Mosseline with Sauteed Peas

Never been a fan of Green Pea, especially not of paste-d green Pea, but the mushroom soup is really something. Served hot straight from a boiling clay pot, the mushroom soup was a refreshing flavor that calmed the cholesterol level from the Foie Gras readying your tongue and your stomach for the next round – Main Course. Lovely!

Main Course

We were given the following choices for our main course:

Roasted French Duck Breast – With Duck Liver Roll, Beetroot Puree, Petal Cabbage and Cherry-Duck Sauce.

Glazed Roasted Chilean Seabass- With Truffle Risotto, Cepes Mushroom, and Parsley Cream Sauce.

Now… This dishes were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Let us start with discussing the fish. I personally love truffle, risotto, mushroom and cream sauce. So what could go wrong? NOTHING! The seabass was flavorful soft and has a bit of a crunch from being fried or grilled. The mix of the meat’s texture and the saltiness and flavor of the truffle, mushroom and cream will really give you that overall fish goodness with no lansa whatsoever. The only thing I wished when I was eating the dish was for our “ate” to be able to cook the same dish with Tilapia or Bangus at home.

The duck, on the other hand, was DELICIOUS! The meat was cooked to a medium, topped with sea salt. It was a bit firm, but that’s how I like it. At first you would not think of it as roasted duck as the meat was cooked to a pinkish color like that of a steak. As for the texture and firmness was also of beef. I wonder how they turned white meat to this kind of color. The Beetroot puree and Cherry-duck sauce was on point, it gave you a choice where your duck should be dipped in. You may opt not to dip it in any sauce as it is delicious and tasty as it is but for variation you may do so.

Both dishes are superb in both presentation, satisfying hunger and flavor. This is an epitome of a great meal! So far this have been my most flavorful, and delicious meal in my life.

Mignardises and Dessert

Mignardises is French bite-sized dessert served at the end of a meal. In our case, we were served three types of chocolate and two macaroons. Chef Dwight (Chef Cyrille’s number 2, most probably), gave us a walk-through with our meal just before we started. He specifically told us that the dessert was going to be something. And it was really something!

Dark Chocolate Mousse 70% with Hazelnut Bar, Salted Caramel Jelly and Hazelnut Sponge Cake.

This was off the menu, specifically prepared for us and was certainly an experience. I’ve never eaten this big and this rich of a chocolate mousse. Swiping it with the salted caramel jelly is amazingly beautiful. The bitterness of the chocolote mousse, the sweetness of everything with a dash of saltiness mixing in your mouth is a whole new experience. Hopefully they add to this extensive line of choices in their menu.

Verdict

It took us two hours to get the hotel from the northern part of Metro Manila. Traffic is that bad, I was tired and a bit frustrated. Then when I came in the room…. It was luxurious, more than I could’ve imagined. King-size bed, smart TV, a living room and a work table. The TV has pre-installed movies, and you may surf the net if you want too with a remote keyboard. The bathroom had a his and hers vanity mirror, a bathtub, a shower and rainfall shower (yep! two shower heads) and a nice toilet bowl with an existing bidet. LUXURIOUS!

Dinner at Impressions was as amazing and impressive as the suite. The place was quiet and romantic, servers are well-trained and very courteous. The food… The best place I’ve ever eaten out so far in my life.

I don’t usually do staycations in hotels, I don’t even eat at luxurious expensive ala carte restauants. When my family eat at hotels, it usually happens on birthday celebrations of a specific and important family member. It is usually held at hotel buffet restaurants like Heat, and Spirals. Maxims and Impressions changed all this. At 26 years old, I try to find the best vacation to relax and think. I am no longer fond of going to clubs and drinking my way out. I enjoy a trip to the closes beach with my friends, but that is quite troublesome to organize and long drives poses some dangers. Maxims gave me another option; staycations. At first, paying for an expensive hotel room and eating at a very expensive restaurant seems to be very inconvenient and inefficient; but staying for a night at Maxims made it all psychological.

If you are looking to book your next vacation somewhere outside the country or outside the city and is heaving a hard time doing so because of work and schedule, make sure you try out a good stay at one of the luxurious hotels in the Philippines; especially Maxims. I am sure that you’ll get the relaxation and adventure you need not needing to ride a plane, or drive for numerous hours.