Celebrating Five Years of Great Stories with Okada Manila

For Okada Manila, a year is measured by stories of real people from guests, team members and collaborators big and small that continues in its elegant rooms and spacious halls all the way to their gaming floor, gardens, The Fountain, The Cove and beyond. Manila's Grand Icon carved on 42 hectares of picturesque waterfront celebrates 5 memorable years in a continuing story with a promise of even better things yet come. Take a closer look at Okada Manila and reminisce with your own stories as the Five-Star integrated resort prepares to take on the next five and more with exciting programs and promotions. 

Since its launch back in 2016, Okada Manila was well on its way to becoming one of the metro's premier up and coming destinations where guests can stay, play, dine and relax in the luxurious comfort of a one-of-a-kind masterfully created space for Five-Star pleasure and leisure. Until the world stopped from the disruption of a global pandemic with a slow and painful transition to the new normal. The quarantine experience continues to change and transform our daily routine with shifting consumer habits now emerging like dining at home, the rise of the food delivery culture and increased online usage defining a difficult and challenging year. 

Okada Manila adapted and responded to the new normal with everyone's health and safety as the top priority. Through their efforts, Okada Manila earned its official status as a Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED destination awarded by Forbes Travel Guide and digital health leader Sharecare. But it doesn't stop there. The on-going efforts to maintain and improve in-property hygiene and safety measures earned the Grand Icon the coveted distinction from globally recognized World Travel and Tourism Council's Safe Travels Stamp in collaboration with the Department of Tourism that also granted the property with its own DOT Safety Seal.

Okada Manila's unique 3T program or True Clean, True Safe and True Heart inspired by the Japanese "magokoro" principle continues to evolve and take shape for added protection and peace of mind to guests and team members. Earlier this year, Okada Manila responded to the new normal by offering sumptuous meals conveniently delivered to your home or office (for more on Okada Manila's timely response to the quarantine experience, see my previous post, Sumptuous Meals Delivered To Your Doorstep or Office from Okada Plum Dining by Okada Manila from early this year). Okada Manila's Corporate Marketing and Communications team was awarded with the prestigious Quill Award for the 3T campaign. 

The transition to the new normal now adds to the colorful layers of great stories at Okada Manila marked by countless celebrations and collaborations from personal milestones like birthdays, anniversaries and weddings or simply staycations for special days all the way to highly publicized photo shoots. Who can forget Atasha Muhlach's first ever cover story and fashion shoot by Metro Style at Okada Manila? Or the equally memorable shoot of Liza Soberano marking her tenth year in show business by Metro? Other stories including John Arcilla winning the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival was celebrated right here at the elegant integrated resort, beauty queens Pia Wurtzbach, Kylie Versoza, Megan Young and Angela Ong gathering together for the Harper's Bazaar Vietnam cover shoot, and Vogue Italia's cover and spread of Kandama Collective with Pia Wurtzbach are just some of the many colorful stories woven into Okada Manila's tapestry of memories. 

Since 2019, the culinary team of Okada Manila has been a consistent winner in a national pastry competition. Dining at Okada Manila remains one of the integrated resort's primary attractions. On that special day marking five memorable years, the kitchens at La Piazza Ristorante of Okada Manila served sumptuous and elegant dishes to celebrate the milestone. The special lunch began with an intricately plated dish of Tuna Carpaccio with Lentil Salad drizzled with Soy Lime Vinaigrette...

...opening up the palate with fresh, clean and flavorful burst of rich notes. Thinly sliced, the premium tuna just melts in your mouth releasing a briny sweetness draping the palate with a lingering richness followed by the sharp and bold hints of the soy and lime vinaigrette. The lentil salad added both textural contrast and flavor to the dish, as the tasty appetizer opened up the palate for the next courses.

The bright, tart and fresh notes of the Seafood Cioppino served with crisp Rouille Crostini warmed the palate with soothing and comforting flavors. The freshness of the succulent seafood comes through with each sip with the crostini as the perfect vessel to soak up the flavors of the thick seafood and tomato infused broth. 

For the main course, La Piazza Ristorante presented the Grilled Barramundi topped with Salsa Puttanesca and laid on Saffron Risotto. Beautifully plated, the dish first feeds the eyes before the palate for a sensory experience. 

The delicately soft, buttery and flaky texture of the barramundi and its silky smooth consistency delivers subtle and even nuanced flavors of sweetness kicked up by the tart salsa for that contrasting yet balanced finish. The soft and smooth risotto with hints of indulgent saffron completes the dish. All the various elements of the dish come together in a seamless weave of indulgent flavors complementing the other without overwhelming the delicate notes of the barramundi. From the elegant plating to the rich flavors, the Grilled Barramundi at La Piazza Ristorante is a fitting dish to celebrate Okada Manila's five flavorful and colorful years with more yet to come. 

For dessert, the elegant and indulgent Chocolate Chestnut Torte with Peppermint Sauce brings a festive holiday vibe to the table at La Piazza Ristorante. Chocolate, in a variety of shapes and textures with hints of chestnuts combine for pure indulgence tempered by the peppermint sauce.

Each dish at La Piazza Ristorante adds to the colorful weave of stories at Okada Manila. But there's more...

Making the 5th anniversary milestone even more special, Okada Manila recently partnered with Diageo for the exclusive rights to display and sell the rare and coveted Johnnie Walker Master's Ruby Reserve Blended Scotch Whisky Aged 40 years. The limited edition includes only 398 bottles produced for its loyal patrons worldwide, and only two bottles will be made available to the Philippine market through this exclusive partnership.

Masterfully created in celebration of Master Blender Jim Beveridge's Ruby Anniversary at Johnnie Walker, the special limited edition 40-year old Scotch delivers deep and rich notes with that mellowed smoothness for an elegant balance and finish. The special display was launched last November 19 at Okada Manila's Casino High Limit area and will run until February 17, 2022. Two bottles of the rare and highly coveted edition will be offered at P 1.8M++ each exclusive only to Okada Manila's Reward Circle Members covering all tiers and no points need to be earned. Strategic partnerships like this are just some of the innovative ways for Okada Manila to provide unique and exclusive experiences to its guests.  

What's in a year? Or five? Great stories that continue to weave vibrant colors to the unfurling and colorful tapestry of Okada Manila. Here's a toast to the past five years and another for the next five and many more years and stories yet to come...