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Dine and Drive in Clark
- Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/dine-and-drive-in-clark/
- Tuesday, December 18, 2018
- By Bernard L. Supetran
MENTION Clark and two things immediately come to mind—world-class golf and a gastronomic journey—and for good reason. Since reopening as a free port and tourist zone in the mid-1990s, it has hosted countless of golfers from all over the world who would later wolf down on dishes in the heart of the country’s acknowledged “culinary capital.”
Two decades hence, this merry mix of drive and dine continues, only this time more seamlessly, at Quest Plus Conference Center, located at arguably the most enviable spot in the sprawling colony.
Nestled in the heart of Filinvest Mimosa Leisure City, the property is a reincarnation of a landmark hotel, which is being jazzed to be an integrated estate up by its new developers. The refurbished hotel has 303 rooms, six private villas, a grand ballroom and a rebooted restaurant, which has tickled the palate of Kapampangans and the dining public at large.
Across the hotel will rise a cluster of low-density lifestyle boutiques whose design will adopt to the natural environment.
Then, throw in a par-72, 18-hole course, and you have a consummate “dine and drive” experience in a scenic getaway just an hour north of the metropolis.
But first, we dine.
Mequeni Live, the all-day dining restaurant of Quest Plus, is the new edition of the well-loved Mequeni, which has been perpetually on Pampanga’s foodie list. Literally meaning “come here”, the newly relaunched resto beckons you to feast on its succulent buffet, which spans grilled, dim sum, noodle, appetizer, dessert, fry, pizza, sushi and Kapampangan food.
What makes this unique is its nine “live” stations where your choice dishes can be cooked your way by the resto’s chefs. Enhancing the dining experience is the cozy interiors, elegant furnishings and the soothing music at the Mequeni Lounge.
Not to be missed is the inimitable flair of Pampango dishes, most notably the pork sisig which the food and beverage managers of Quest Plus painstakingly researched in communities to be as faithful as possible to its traditional rendition. Connoisseurs who have sampled the hotel’s version would swear to their parents’s grave that it is as authentic as it can be, close to what celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain would have feasted on at a popular eatery in Angeles City.
Also within Mequeni Live’s spread of provincial delights are the all-time favorite noodle palabok, the paella-like bringhe sticky rice, kalderetang kambing (goat stew) and a rotating cycle of Filipino signature dishes prepared by chefs who hail from Pampanga.
Your craving for international flavors won’t be disappointed by Mequeni Live’s array of Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Italian specialties.
If you got a sweet tooth, the dessert section is a visual delight, specially with the rotating rainbow-colored gelato wheel.
For a nightcap, you can sip your favorite spirit at Charley’s Bar, a favorite watering hole in the freeport zone, particularly by sports aficionados.
An innovation that the hotel introduced is the Q Executive Lounge, which is exclusive to those booked in Club Rooms and Suites, and likewise serves as an express check-in counter. At the panoramic seventh floor, guests can partake on a relaxed breakfast, all-day coffee, refreshments and sunset cocktails, or conduct business in the lounge’s function rooms.
Families or small groups who need their own space can stay at the stately villas, which can be booked as a three-room mansion, or as three separate bungalows each with a private pool and a view of the golf course. Built purposely for the American and Russian heads of state who attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, the villas can give you that presidential feeling even for a few fleeting hours.
After we dine, we drive.
A must-do in the free port is to play golf, a sport associated with Clark for more than a century, dating back to the heydays of American air servicemen.
Complementing Quest Plus is the adjacent Mimosa Golf Course, which boasts of world-grade fairways that make for a game worth remembering. With the hotel and course now owned by the Filinvest Hospitality Corp., getting your golfing slot is as easy as it can get.
The Nelson and Haworth-designed course is friendly enticing greenhorns to get their hand in golfing for the first time, and get hooked into it.
The driving range is equipped with 12 covered hitting bays, complete with practice greens and bunkers on both sides. There is also a large putting green beside the clubhouse near the starters’ area where you can perfect the simple but tricky art of putting and scoring a birdie, coupled with body English.
Each hole has a unique character, which only the seasoned and sun-tanned golfer can effectively map out. But suffice it to say that its undulating fairways, crisp countryside air and perfectly manicured greens are enough to make a newbie a convert to this elite sport.
After a game, take a break and dine at Q by Mimosa, a Korean restaurant inside the pro-shop. With its stunning sceneries, the golf course is also famous for the Hilltop Garden, which is ideal for intimate gatherings, special events or simply for chilling out and watching the world go by.
But if swinging clubs isn’t your cup of tea, the hotel can arrange other recreational activities, such as culinary and heritage tours around Pampanga, horse-back riding, mountain biking, ultralight plane flight, or a foray into the Aeta’s ancestral domain.
With great food and gorgeous greens, Quest Clark is undoubtedly the best place to dine, drive and do everything in between.