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thehungrykat1 · 7 years

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City of Dreams Manila Celebrates October Beer Festival

It was a evening filled with overflowing beer, authentic German delicacies, rock and roll bands, plus a whole lot of fun and excitement as City of Dreams Manila held its third annual October Beer Festival last October 12, 2017. This was just the first of two special nights for the Oktoberfest-themed party that was hosted by one of the country’s largest luxury integrated resorts.

The Grand Ballroom of City of Dreams Manila was transformed into a beer garden featuring all sorts of local and international beer brands for everyone to enjoy. There were several booths set up around the cocktail area and guests could simply grab all the beers they wanted. The Hungry Kat was quite busy that night because I had just come from another Oktoberfest event earlier that afternoon (Read: Oktoberfest Happy Hour at Long Bar in Raffles Makati) so I really needed to follow the directions before I got lost in all the October beer madness.

The party had already started inside the main ballroom when I arrived at 9:00pm. Everyone was holding their giant beer mugs and immersed in the annual German Oktoberfest which is celebrated around the world. The festive ballroom was complete with colorful buntings, long wooden tables and benches, similar to how they do it in Munich, Germany. Gates opened at 7:00pm, so I had a lot of catching up to do and decided to first check out some of the booths and activities outside.

A selection of premium international beers were available, each with their own booths and offerings such as Weihenstephaner from the oldest brewery in Germany, Sapporo from Japan, and Heineken from Netherlands.

Local beers were also represented by San Miguel Brewery which offered San Miguel Pale Pilsen, San Miguel Light, and San Miguel Flavored Beers. Guests could get as many bottles as they want.

One of the most popular local craft beers were also present during the October Beer Festival of City of Dreams Manila. Pedro is a Philippine craft beer from Laguna which can rival any foreign brand. Nadine Howell-Fanlo, who I first met at 2nd’s Restaurant, a place she used to manage in Bonifacio Global City, is one of owners of Pedro Brewcrafters and I found her manning the Pedro booth.

They had a very unique and fun way of sharing the Oktoberfest fever, and that was getting your own bottle of Pedro craft beer with your face on the label! There were a lot of people in line to get their specialized Pedro beers so I wasn’t able to get my own bottle. I always bump into Nadine during events where Pedro craft beer is present, so maybe I’ll get another chance next time. If you are wondering where Nadine got her celebrity looks, she is the older sister of Rhian Ramos.

The festivities were heating up inside the main ballroom, where TV personality Rovilson Fernandez and Chaos Manila Entertainment Manager Cristina Coloma were hosting a variety of beer games and entertaining activities for the guests.

The event on October 12 was by-invitation only for the resort’s key corporate and travel accounts plus selected media partners. Property President Geoff Andres underscored the resort’s awards and accomplishments in 2017 and the importance of the support of industry partners. He led the toast and the beer pouring ceremony to formally kick-off the October beer fest.

Welcoming me to the party was Ms. Romina Gervacio, Director of Public Relations for City of Dreams Manila. Aside from the beers, a Bavarian buffet was also set up inside the ballroom for a truly authentic Oktoberfest experience.

The Appetizers station included Schinken (Black Forest Ham), Landjager (smoked sausages), Schinken (smoked ham speck), Stadwurst mit Musick (vinegar and onion marinated sausage), Obatzter (Bavarian marinated cheese with laugensticks), and Apfel-Grieben-schmalz (marinated onion lard spread with caramelized onions).

German food aficionados also had their hearty share of sausages and Bavarian specialties like the Weisswurst (traditional Bavarian white sausage), Bratwurst (grilled German sausage), Nürnberger (finger-sized bratwurst sausages), Knacker (short and stubby smoked beef sausage), Bockwurst (boiled Frankfurt veal sausage), Wiener Würstchen (Vienna sausage), and Thuringer - a traditional German sausage made of finely chopped lean pork packed into hog or sheep casings, with a recipe dating back to 1404.

There were other savory dishes which included Sauerbraten (vinegar marinated braised beef) and Wienerschnitzel mit Preiselbeeren (breaded veal escalope with lingonberry) paired with Zwiebelkuchen (german onion tarts) and a variety of breads and pretzels with butter.

Meat lovers indulged in a live carving station of Spanferkel (roasted suckling pig), Schweinerollbraten in Biersoße mit gefülltem Wirsing (pork roll in beer sauce with stuffed savoy cabbage), Brathendl (German-style roast chicken), and Grillhaxe (roast pork knuckle),

As a sweet treat, the Bavarian buffet also featured desserts such as the fresh Viennese Apple Strudel fresh from the oven topped with vanilla, German berry compote, and Chantilly crème.

There were also these cute heart-shaped ginger bread called Lebkuchen Herzen to go along with more cakes like the Sacher cake (Austrian chocolate cake), Schnecken (German cinnamon rolls), Linzer Cake (Austrian torte), Bavarian crème, Milchreis (German rice pudding), Black Forrest Gateau and Bienenstich (Bee Sting cake).

The most exciting part of the evening would have to be the Oktoberfest games which included beer-chugging from a boot-shaped mug, “Bring Me”, and a pretzel-eating contest participated in by The Food Alphabet Stonibert Lim. I’m sure being with The KTG means that he already has a lot of practice, but unfortunately, his group did not win the round. I think he’ll be back to compete next year. Several exciting prizes were also raffled off to all the guests which included Chaos KTV packages and Overnight Stays at Nobu Hotel.

There was non-stop entertainment throughout the evening. OPM pop band True Faith performed their classic 90’s hits like “Perfect,” “Paano Ka Magiging Akin,” “Dahil Ikaw” and “Huwag Nalang Kaya” together with the Part 3 Band and the Eye Candies.

The second night of the October Beer Festival on October 13 was made open to the public who got to experience the same expansive array of German fare, beer offerings and thrilling games. For that evening, Popular rock band Parokya ni Edgar brought the house down with their rock ballads followed by Gloc 9 and the Eye Candies. Tickets to the event were priced at P2,700 net per person.

There’s no need to travel to Germany to experience a true Oktoberfest party because the October Beer Festival at City of Dreams Manila is as close as you can get. It was my first time to join this spectacular event and I’m looking forward to more exciting years ahead.

#CODOctoberBeerFest #CityofDreams #CityofDreamsManila #Oktoberfest #OctoberBeerFest #Beer #GrandBallroom

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