Checking Out Max’s Restaurant's Wedding Celebration

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After talking about finding our wedding cake and the wedding ring supplier, I guess it’s time for me to share our adventures in finding the “perfect” venue for our wedding reception.

I previously posted about SM Mall of Asia’s (SM MoA) The Venue. My Beloved Wife Lei liked the place but we didn’t book it because its price is way above our budget. Booking The Venue also meant booking a caterer since The Venue is just a space for events. I’m sure that catering services don’t come cheap, thus The Venue became less appealing to us even though Lei wanted to have our wedding photo taken at their stairs.

Booking our wedding reception venue and a caterer separately is more expensive than booking a restaurant that already has space for special events. So, instead of looking for events space like The Venue, we decided to search for restaurants instead. Max’s is one of the restaurants that fitted the bill.

(Source: Wikipedia)

My Max’s Experience

I am yet to attend a wedding reception at Max’s but my parents dined at Max’s for a cousin’s wedding (more about that later). What I did attended a few times are meetings, specifically with my friends from Filipinos for Life, at Max’s Ermita.

I enjoyed the food at Max’s Ermita, particularly the fried chicken (their specialty) and the sinigang na hipon. Max’s Ermita has dedicated space for events and can hold a hundred or more persons. Their crew are attentive and provided us with good service.

My parents’ experience with Max’s Restaurant during my cousin’s wedding is not too good. They commented that the food are already cold when they reached the restaurant. And the time allotted for the wedding reception is too quick, merely two hours.

Ayen Gomez left a comment on this blog saying that they already visited three branches of Max's inquiring about their wedding packages. Ayen said that the managers of the said Max's branches revealed that they cannot replicate the set-up that is shown in the brochure. I guess the real thing is different from promotional photo/advertisement. Couples planning a wedding reception at Max's should take note of this info so as not to be disappointed on their wedding day.

For other experiences or comments regarding weddings at Max’s Restaurant, please read The Twisted Wedding planner blog.

Max’s Restaurant Wedding Package

Max’s Restaurant offers three wedding motif, namely, Modern Filipino, Classic Glamour, and Enchanting Romance.

Modern Filipino wedding motif set up

Modern Filipino wedding motif are for those who like to mix traditional and modern accents. Based on Max’s wedding package brochure, Modern Filipino motif is white accented by traditional Filipino items like capiz lamps.

Classic Glamour wedding motif set up

Classic Glamour motif is red. It is for couples who want their wedding to have that classic accent.

Enchanting Romance wedding motif set up.

Of the Max’s Restaurant wedding motif, Enchanting Romance is the least “serious”. This motif is accented with bright garden tones and flowers.

Each of Max’s Restaurant wedding motif offers the following amenities:

1. Free use of the function for two hours
2. Event coordinator and event host
3. Choice of 2-layer cake
4. A bottle of wine (for the couple’s first drink)
5. Guestbook with pen

Max’s Restaurant offers 3 set menus with prices ranging from 22,625 pesos (30 persons) to 127,045 pesos (150 persons). Max’s also allows couples to customize their menu with the “Create Your Own Feast”. Here’s Max’s wedding menu from their brochure:

Most of Max’s Restaurants only have indoor function hall for special events but I read in Pinoy Exchange that Max’s Restaurant in Sucat has outdoor space suitable for garden weddings.

Why We Didn’t Book Max’s Restaurant

We didn’t have problem with Max’s food (in fact, I like their fried chicken). The reason that we didn’t book Max’s is that Lei wanted to try a restaurant that we haven’t dined in yet. That’s the only reason why we didn’t chose Max’s Restaurant for our wedding reception.

Many comments around the Internet says that Max’s offers elegant wedding reception at budget price. The good thing is that Max’s will set up the place (thus less hassle for couples) and their crew are experts when it comes to weddings and other events (so you can expect good quality service from them).

For those who are looking for good wedding reception venue with delicious food, I suggest that you inquire about Max’s Restaurant wedding package. Visit Max’s Restaurant website for more info.

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Images of the three wedding motifs were lifted from Max’s Restaurant wedding brochure.
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Quick Chow at Penong's, Davao City

Beloved's Bestfriend (BB) insisted that she treat us a dinner on the night of our flight to Manila. Since she is persistent, I asked her to bring us to the best restaurant in Davao City. BB obliged so she brought us to Penong's Barbecue Seafoods and Grill.

It is not the first time that I heard about Penong's. I already saw this restaurant featured in a TV show. The restaurant is so popular that it kept Mang Inasal from invading Davao.
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Penong's is packed with diners.

The sad fact is that we only had few minutes before the boarding time for our flight. The time is too short for us to enjoy eating our dinner. We requested the Penong's staff to cook our orders quickly. The result is that the food that we got is not fully cooked. It is not the fault of Penong's, however, because they rushed everything like we requested. Penong's staff should be praised because they gave their best within the time limit that we demanded.

First to reach our table is the calamansi and the green siling labuyo, which is perfect for the soy sauce dip.
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Calamansi and siling labuyo for three.

Our orders came next. I ordered Penong's pork barbecue.
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See the fat? That is my favorite part of this barbecue. The atsara (pickled papaya and carrots) complements the taste of the barbecue. Penong's barbecue is delicious and better than what I had in Chic-Boy.

My Beloved and her bestfriend ordered Penong's chicken barbecue.
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Penong's chicken barbecue is not fully cooked but it still tasted good. It might taste better if we just had enough time to wait for it to be cooked fully. I can say that Penong's chicken barbecue is juicier than the chicken barbecue of Mang Inasal.

I hope that we can eat again at Penong's without the need to rush.

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Want to know more about Penong's Barbecue Seafood and Grill? Visit their website.

Filipino Restaurant Unwind

Blogposts ago, I talked about how my youngest brother was drained by the UPCAT. So to make my brother relax and unwind, we brought him to Ayala Technopark located just across Commonwealth Avenue for a heavy lunch. 'Twas a heavy lunch indeed because we decided to dine in a Filipino restaurant and to have sample of Filipino dish. Fortunately, we found one Filipino restaurant and that is the Kanin Club.

Kanin is the Filipino word that means rice. Kanin Club offers Filipino dish in a classy setting.

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Empty plate makes me more hungry.

We ordered Pork Barbecue and Lomi. For our drinks, we chose Bottomless Iced Tea. Since Kanin Club is not a fastfood restaurant, we waited for about 30 minutes for the first dish to reach our table. Thankfully, the bottomless iced tea was served while we are waiting for our food.

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Bottomless iced tea is bottomless.

The Bottomless Iced Tea cost about 95 pesos per person. To get even with Kanin Club, I decided to drink lots of Ice Tea while waiting for our food. That is a wrong decision since I am already full when our food reached our table.

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Yummy Lomi.

The dish are served in large plates and bowls and still hot and simmering. I tasted the Lomi first and it is not that bad. My barometer for this is the Lomi that we cooked in our home. Well, the Lomi at Kanin Club passed my barometer.

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 My favorite pork.

My favorite dish for that day in Kanin Club would be the Pork Barbecue. It is cooked well and tasted well. Though, there is nothing special about that pork barbecue.

All in all, we enjoyed dining at Kanin Club. We took a long time to finish our lunch and talked about many things. It is a great bonding time for me and my brothers. The service is fast and the crew are prompt. We spent 112 Pesos for the Pork Barbecue and 239 Pesos for the Lomi. For the person of three, the price is not that bad.

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 Kanin Club, Ayala Technopark.

Well, I learned my lesson in Kanin Club. The lesson is not to drink too much Bottomless Iced Tea lest I spoil my dining.

Next time, I will go dine in another Filipino restaurant to have another heavy meal and enjoyable dining.

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