Team Out of Town Blog Hub (Outoftownblog.com) – Members of leading mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart)’s Infinity plans got to enjoy exclusive art, cultural, and historical experiences at local heritage destination Palacio de Memoria’s slate of events last October.
The two-day Flea Market held last October 23 and 24 saw collectors and enthusiasts explore and purchase exquisite artworks, antiques, and pieces from various local galleries at the Flea Market, while enjoying food and drinks served by The Loggia—the work of world-renowned Filipino chef Margarita Fores—and an open bar by Distileria Limtuaco and Don Papa.
Smart Infinity x Palacio de Memoria
There was also the Tertulia de Memoria, held last October 30, a day-long seminar series and soiree in which guests attended talks about history, art, and heritage appreciation, as well as participated in an acrylic painting workshop at the Tertulia.
Restored classic Filipino films were also on the menu, as the 1941 film “Ibong Adarna” and the iconic 1955 film “Biyaya ng Lupa” were shown at the Flea Market and the Tertulia de Memoria, respectively. Leo Katigbak, Head of Film restoration at ABS-CBN, was present to give a short talk on the state of the film industry and to introduce the restored movies.
“We are grateful for the many avenues in which we can showcase our vast cinematic heritage,” said Katigbak. “We look forward to showing the present and future generations the classics of yesteryear so that they will be preserved well in our memory.”
ACTIVITIES and highlights at Palacio de Memoria include local galleries, seminar series, and history and art appreciation for Infinity members and other guests.
Smart Infinity was also present at the open-air Flea Market, with booths where guests could drop by and experience Smart’s fastest 5G network for themselves, as well as avail the iPhone 12 Pro Max or the new iPhone 13 Pro through Smart Infinity’s Limitless and Traveler Plans, which provide unlimited data allocation, and calls and texts to all networks.
“Smart Infinity is about bringing our members the most rewarding mobile experience, as well as the well-curated lifestyle privileges we have for our members. Smart Infinity’s presence at the Palacio de Memoria events, is how we, as a brand, connect luxury lifestyle experiences, and the power of technology, at these cultural showcases. We look forward to sharing with our members what we have in store for them next.” shares Sofia Borromeo Alvarez, Smart Infinity AVP, and Brand Head.
Visit Smart Infinity’s website for the latest and most premium iPhone plan offers. For more information, follow Smart’s official accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Powered by the Philippines’ fastest 5G network
Smart Infinity subscribers enjoy premium service and next-level speeds with the country’s fastest and most reliable 5G mobile network as reported by Ookla®, the global leader in internet testing and analysis. To date, Smart has already fired up over 4,500 sites nationwide making it the country’s first, fastest, and widest 5G network.
Smart has also reasserted its dominance as the Philippines’ fastest mobile network for the fourth year in a row, based on analysis by Ookla of tests taken with Speedtest® covering the first half of 2021.
Team Out of Town Blog Hub (Outoftownblog.com) – Building on the success of their partnership last year, leading mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) is once again supporting McDonald’s Philippines in its initiative to turn 250 unused party rooms in select branches into McDonald’s Classrooms – safe and quiet spaces where teachers and students may conduct their virtual classes and meet their online learning needs.
To ensure they can connect to fast and reliable internet for their e-learning, Smart has turned over Smart Bro Prepaid Pocket WiFi Advance kits for use at all the participating McDonald’s Classrooms across the country. This year’s program also adds 200 more branches to last year’s figure to cater to more users.
Smart teams up with McDonald’s Philippines
Powered by Smart Bro Prepaid Pocket WiFi Advance, teachers and students may enjoy twice the speed of regular LTE Pocket WiFi devices because of a feature called Carrier Aggregation, which enables the device to combine multiple signals from different cell sites for a much faster and more reliable connection. The device also connects up to 10 WiFi-enabled devices for easier sharing and worry-free surfing among multiple users.
Extended untilDecember 3
Started last Oct. 11, McDonald’s Classrooms will run until December 3 to cater to fully-vaccinated teachers and students aged 18 years and above.
To ensure the safety of users, only two teachers or students are allowed to use the free service at two available timeslots: 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 to 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Each user also needs to reserve a slot at participating branches. To know more about McDonald’s Classrooms’ guidelines, visit https://mcdonalds.com.ph/mcdoclassroom.
“We are grateful to Smart for their continued support of our McDonald’s Classroom initiative. Through Smart’s provision of Pocket WiFi, we are able to better serve and equip the teachers and students with their distance learning,” said Oliver Rabatan, Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Channels of McDonald’s Philippines
“We are honored to continue our partnership with McDonald’s Philippines in this initiative to set up conducive spaces for teachers and students. This is just one of the many community programs we’ve been happy to support especially during these challenging times for educators and learners. As we transition to a hybrid work and learning setup, we shall continue to look for more ways to provide Filipinos with world-class connectivity to power their daily tasks at work or school,” said Jane J. Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart.
From Ilocos to General Santos
The Smart-powered McDonald’s Classrooms are now live at select stores in Metro Manila, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Albay, Aklan, Bataan, Batangas, Bohol, Bulacan, Camarines Sur, Cagayan de Oro, Capiz, Catanduanes, Cavite, Cebu, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, General Santos, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and Iloilo.
There are also participating McDonald’s Classrooms in Laguna, La Union, Masbate, Misamis Oriental, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Nueva Ecija, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Rizal, Surigao del Norte, Tarlac, Zamboanga del Norte, and Zamboanga del Sur.
Philippines’ fastest mobile network
Smart Bro Prepaid Pocket WiFi Advance users nationwide can conveniently manage their device by linking it to the GigaLife App, which is downloadable on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Through the app, users may easily check their data usage, earn exclusive rewards, as well as access the most comprehensive list of data promos, including Unli Data 499, which comes with unlimited data for worry-free and pure unlimited experience for online classes and other heavy data activities for valid for 30 days for only Php499.
Smart Bro Prepaid Pocket WiFi Advance is powered by Smart, the country’s fastest mobile network for the fourth consecutive year according to Ookla®, the global leader in mobile and broadband network intelligence. Ookla also recently declared Smart as the fastest 5G mobile network in the Philippines with a median download speed that is two times faster than competition.
Independent mobile analytics firm Opensignal also recently gave Smart seven awards in its first 5G Experience Report for the Philippines. It declared Smart as the outright winner in five out of seven categories – 5G Availability, 5G Download Speed, 5G Upload Speed, 5G Video Experience, and 5G Games Experience – and a joint winner in the remaining two categories – 5G Reach and 5G Voice App Experience.
Know more about Smart’s promos and services by following Smart’s official accounts on Facebook at www.fb.com/SmartCommunications, Twitter, and Instagram at @LiveSmart.
Unique, unprecedented flavors and delightful, captivating presentations to surprise steak lovers at QRE Plaza, Wanchai
Team Out of Town Blog Hub (outoftownblog.com) – French-Japanese steakhouse BIFTECK has opened at QRE Plaza, Wanchai introducing unique, unprecedented flavors and delightful presentations to surprise steak lovers. Finest beef cuts from Japan, the USA, Belgium, and Australia with fascinating sauces and sides plus creative cooking define an exquisite steakhouse experience.
Manipulating and marrying traditional French and Japanese flavours with contemporary flair and mesmerising culinary techniques, BIFTECK’s captivating menu showcases the latest culinary concept of Executive Chef Ken Kwok, a celebrated veteran of refined Japanese, French and Italian fine dining, including Michelin-starred VEA, CIAK, Beef Bar and Wagyu Takumi, on a mission to bring Hong Kong “a whole new perspective on steakhouse dining
Named after the French sobriquet for ‘steak’, BIFTECK extends the visionary fusion concept of Causeway Bay sister restaurant Le Reve, encouraging diners to “allow their imaginations to run wild and embrace new dishes, challenging pre-conceptions with interesting flavors never tasted before”.
Manipulating and marrying traditional French and Japanese flavors with contemporary flair and mesmerizing culinary techniques, BIFTECK’s captivating menu showcases the latest culinary concept of Executive Chef Ken Kwok, a celebrated veteran of refined Japanese, French, and Italian fine dining, including Michelin-starred VEA, CIAK, Beef Bar and Wagyu Takumi, on a mission to bring Hong Kong “a whole new perspective on steakhouse dining,” he says. “There are many ‘same old’ steakhouses in Hong Kong, I want to bring something unique and surprising.”
A5 Wagyu Tataki Roll with Spanish Red Prawn & Amaebi Tartare
The masterful steakhouse reinvention headlines the star turn signature of the menu, Japanese A5 Snow-Aged Wagyu Beef. Lauded in Japan as one of the finest cuts, the house specialty is ‘snow-aged’ by an ancient ‘yukimuro’ aging technique at almost icy 1-2 degrees, with high humidity of around 90%, bringing out moist and delicious sweetness with a mellow, rich and exceptionally tender melt-in-your-mouth taste. For discerning steak aficionados intent on a carnivorous ‘pilgrimage’ for the experience, it is available at market price but with only limited daily supply, pre-ordering is highly recommended.
Aside from beef, Chef Kwok’s menu is deftly balanced with lighter alternatives of Slow Cooked French Challans Duck Breast (HK$398), with caramelised mango, beetroot, pickled onion and mint sauce; Greek Yogurt Marinated Milk Fed Veal Chop (HK$428) from France with tempura vegetables; and Grilled Whole Boston Lobster (HK$408), with herbs & fennel butter.
Pasta and rice signatures also feature Braised USDA Prime Short Rib (HK$328) with Japanese crispy rice and Mapo Tofu sauce; and Grilled Spanish Red Prawn Udon (HK$448) with cherry tomato confit and spicy prawn oil, a theatrical presentation with red prawn served on the side and the server mixing prawn roe into the Japanese Inaniwa udon with prawn head at the table.
Several seafood options include Fresh French & Japanese Oysters (HK$68/pc), Japanese Hamachi Sashimi & Hokkaido Uni (HK$248) with jalapeno, salsa and yuzu soy; and A5 Wagyu Tataki Roll with Spanish Red Prawn & Amaebi Tartare (HK$268) of sweet shrimp and Spanish red prawn, served with lobster jelly and pumpkin mousse.
Desserts present a contemporary Japanese deconstruction of French and Italian classics, with Roasted Pineapple with Wasabi Sorbet (HK$78), H?jicha Tiramisu (HK$78), Miso Parfait with Almond and Lemon Jelly (HK$88), in popsicle form, topped with miso meringue and picturesque almond marinated in miso on the side, and Yuzu Panna Cotta with White Chocolate Ice Cream (HK$88).
A 3-course lunch menu including choice of daily appetisers and dessert is priced from HK$208-HK$348 according to main course choices from signature beef cuts of US Dry Aged 25 Days Hanger Steak (HK$258), Belgium Dry Aged 35 Days Sirloin (HK$298) with chilli butter and Blackmore Australian Fullblood Wagyu Flap Meat (HK$348) – all served with baby vegetables, steamed Japanese rice and a choice of cold pepper sauce, maitake sauce or balsamic teriyaki. Alternative main course choices are Miso Chilean Seabass & Sakura Shrimp Udon (HK$208) and Braised USDA Prime Short Rib (HK$228) with tofummus and crispy rice.
To celebrate the festive season, an exclusive “Christmas 6-course Omakase Menu” of ‘chef’s choice’ appetisers, mains and desserts from freshest seasonal ingredients is highlighted by 30 days dry-aged A5 Kobe Wine Sirloin and Japanese A5 Snow-Aged Wagyu Beef – available on 24, 25 and 31 December 2021, priced HK$1,280 per person + 10% service charge. BIFTECK’s a la carte menu is also served over the holidays, with minimum spend of HK$1,280 + 10% service charge.
On the drinks menu, an extensive wine list is strongly focused on French wine and Japanese sake, complementing the culinary fusion. A treasure trove of premium sakes includes junmai ginjo brewed from ‘fusanomai’ rice at low temperature and bottled without filtration. Junmaiginjo, Chiba-ken (HK$780), with aromas of fresh apple and pear balanced by high acidity, has a natural sparkling finish perfect for pairing with meat, and Junmaidaiginjo, Chiba-ken (HK$820) is famously rich and fruity with a gin aroma. Cocktails, mocktails, spirits and beers are also available.
Seating 58, including two private rooms for six over 3,300 sq. ft., BIFTECK’s interior design has a warm yet minimalist ‘steakhouse’ ambience beneath an exposed industrial-style ceiling, with cozy leathered armchairs and wood-paneled flooring around a central bar.
BIFTECK is located at 23/F, QRE Plaza, 202 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong – operates daily from 12noon – 3pm and 6pm – 10pm.
For enquiries, please email reservation@bifteck.com.hk or call (852) 2246-8805.
