Tuesday, October 22, 2013

An Afternoon Tea Party (Moon Festival Theme)

Office get-together are almost always difficult to organize, but will a little creativity and loads of patience, anyone can pull off a simple afternoon tea party for a team of 20 people.

It's the Moon Cake Festival and I found out only a handful of my colleagues have tasted a moon cake so I decided to incorporate moon cake into our party theme. We purchased some cheap Chinese lanterns as an added highlight.


 
It's an Afternoon Tea Party so I made the tea sort of the centerpiece. These special boxes of teas were sent by my boss' wife from Sydney (she said she bought it from a tea boutique in Hong Kong). The Oolong Berry was the best among the tree as its sweet aroma and taste made my colleagues forget they were drinking tea not fruit juice.
 
I later learned from my boss that these special tea cost more than what we spent for all the food we served that afternoon :)
 

Of course there's mooncake! I scored these from Eng Bee Tin at Php120 per piece. I sliced each moon cake into 8 (like pizza) and told my colleagues it's the proper way of eating moon cake. No, you don't take it whole like a hopia.

 
I threw in 2 dozens of mini pork buns (siopao) also from Eng Bee Tin. They are delicious and filling even if you can finish it in 2 bites. They only cost Php75 per dozen if frozen but when you dine at Mr. Ube (Eng Bee Tin restaurant), they are served for Php30/2 pieces.
 
Good thing we have a small rice cooker in the office which we used as steamer to reheat the mini paos.
 
 
 This 3-layer stand is a treasure for parties! Even simple breads and donuts look instantly delicious when properly setup. I got this gem from Dapitan Arcade at only Php200.


Empanaditas and Munchkins

 
Total spent for this mini afternoon tea party good for about 22 people is about Php1800 including softdrinks for those who refused tea. 
 
 

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Party Venue : Unilab's Bayanihan Center

It's our first time to attend a party at Bayanihan Center at United Laboratories' compound. In fact, the first time I heard of the place was when I got the party invites for the twins of our good friends Ning and Edison. I think the venue is more popular for corporate events rather than children's parties or weddings.

I am so pleased that I was able to learn about this 'reasonably-priced' and elegant venue that is very accessible for commuting guests and also offers free parking for those bringing their own vehicles. I would love to hold one of my children's parties here someday.

Lovely entrance to Hall A. It's a Fairy Princesses party for the twins!

 
Look at this beautiful ballroom/function room! This is Hall A which can accommodate 160 to 250 pax. It's only a portion of the huge venue that is Bayanihan Center. For large events and/or conventions, the whole events hall (Hall A and B) can easily accommodate up to 400 people.




Nails and hooks are not allowed so you have to tell you venue decorator or balloon artist to use floating balloons or to improvise a way to put in your balloons, swags, drapes and other décor materials.

This explains why the balloon artist used flying balloon tied to each table centerpiece to form an arc. Very clever and creative idea!




Bayanihan Center can be your party venue at an affordable price as follows:

Hall A (160-250 guests) - Php22,000
Hall B (140-220 guests) - Php20,000
Hall A and B (300-400 guests) - Php40,000

The fee is for 4 hours use but does not include the ingress and egress pegged at Php1500 per hour.

BAYANIHAN CENTER
8008 Pioneer Street, Unilab Compound, Kapitolyo, Pasig City                                                      

Phone: +63(2)8581978