Sunday mornings are best spent in bed, allowing a bit more time to sleep in or pretend to be still asleep. The alarm clock rings, you stretch your limbs as if about to wake up, but return to slumber anyway. There’s even a precise Filipino word for this practice: mag-inin, which can also be used to describe the process of allowing cooked rice to “rest” and simmer.
The obvious result of this Sunday indulgence is that you will most likely miss breakfast, but really, this is what brunch is for.
And at Holiday Inn & Suites Makati, brunches for all Sundays of May are made even more special with its collaboration with Rustic Mornings, hidden gem in Marikina City started by advertising executive-turned-chef/restaurateur Portia Baluyut.
With no formal culinary training, but armed with a lifelong love for food and the creative process, Baluyut’s hearty and delicious all-day breakfast has made Rustic Mornings the top breakfast place in the metro for three consecutive years since 2013 by Looloo, a review and place discovery social network application.
Baluyut is the second guest chef at Holiday Inn’s Flavors Restaurant, following Pampanga’s famed chef Dennis Lim.
“Sundays at Rustic Mornings are the best. We have loyal customers coming from the far south of Manila who continually ask me to open a branch in their area so it’s easier for them to visit and dine,” she said.
“Having this collaboration with Holiday Inn & Suites Makati really excites me and is such a welcome opportunity because it gives those who would like to experience our food again a chance to do so without having to travel too far,” she added.
Chef Baluyut brings with her Rustic Mornings’ famous buttermilk pancake with special butter cream and its very own classic syrup, topped with a choice of fresh mangoes, banana slices, strawberry cubes, blueberry compote, and chocolate chips. Her newest baby, Waffable, also has its own station in the brunch buffet. There is also a bacon bar where one can get “high” on crispy pork belly strips served in large mason jars.
Rustic Mornings also takes over Flavors’ omelet station, with Baluyut’s open faced omelets that include country omelet (potatoes, bacon, and green bell pepper); all veggie (zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, and tomato); and meat lovers (bacon, sausage, and garlic).
Other brunch highlights are the Pinoy burrito made of parslied garlic rice with tinapa flakes in lumpia wrapper with cream sauce on the side, and the curry kofta balls.
“We always want to bring a new and delightful experience to our guests. Having the top breakfast place in the metro team up with our chefs to bring a fun, relaxed, and comforting brunch experience is something we’ve been wanting to do for a while and is an experience I think our guests will find enjoyable,” said Andy Belmonte, Holiday Inn & Suites Makati hotel manager.
The Sunday brunch comes with a complimentary sparkling white and red wine from the Philippine Wine Merchants.
I’m at joyce.panares@gmail.com.