After a decade since my last buffet dinner at Café Ilang-Ilang so it's was time for a long overdue revisit!   

Café Ilang-Ilang's Bread Station has offers delicious baked breads selections which includes Black Sesame Rolls, Hard Rolls, White Sesame Rolls, Wallnut Rolls, Laugen, Rye Roll, Sour Rolls, Rye Bread, Original Six Grains, High Fiber Bread and French Bread.

There's also a Charcuterie Station featuring a Cheeseboard (with Gruyère, Emmental, Manchego, Blue Cheese and Brie Wheel),  olives, dried fruits, and honey.

Cold Salads include Coleslaw, Shrimp Salad, Macaroni Salad, Kani Salad and Mangang Hilaw with Bagoong.  There are also Cold Meats like Beef Pastrami, Chicken and Pork Terrine.

There are also some cocktail-style appetizers like the Melon Lassi, and Shrimp Mango Salad. 

Admittedly, the Fresh Salad Station isn't my favorite in the past.  Now, its my first stop in every buffet so having so much variety of fresh greens and sauces is much appreciated!

The Korean Station ranged from main dishes like Spicy Mud Crab and Korean Grilled Lamb, a soup — Beef Radish Soup, and side dishes like Pajeon, Fried Zucchini, Fried Tofu, Kimcheon, Dried Squid, Fishcake, Kongnamul (soy bean sprout), Spinach and Kimchi.

♥ Foie Gras on Brioche

Another dish that's worth the wait is the Foie Gras on Brioche.

There is no other place in the Philippines that offers this kind Chinese culture immersion like Good Luck Hotpot 红运火锅. 

Naturally, it fades into the background as the folk performances take center stage at 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM, and 12 MN, bringing the entire venue to life with joyous laughter and rhythmic applause.

Mixed Cooked Seafood

♥ 美国安格斯雪花肥牛 U.S.A Angus Snowflake Beef

In addition to the presentation, they taste so good too!
Especially when you dip them in your customized sauce.

♥ 菌菇双拼 Mushroom Selection

♥ 黑芝麻糯米饼 Black Sesame Sticky Rice Cake

Fresh Fruit Platter, 酥脆打糕 Crispy Cake and 木瓜奶冻Papaya Milk Jelly

Sent to my home is a beautiful glowing invitation sent by E! Entertainment for E! Blogger's Ball 2017.  Just like every social media influencer who received that spectacular form of acknowledgment in the industry, I got all tingly with glee.  How fortunate was I that they E! now included Food and Travel social media influencers in addition to Fashion.

After an hour, the doors to the City of Dreams Grand Ballroom was ready to accommodate its guests.  Contrasting the dominant black theme, vivid and colorful neon lights flashed exuding liveliness to the spacious room.  At the front center of the room is a well-lit stage with a huge LCD screen.  Well equipped with side LCD screens, the stage scenes can be seen from the farthest part of the room.

Laid on the table was the menu for the night along with a bread basket to curb the churning bellies. 

After the light and refreshing appetizer, the sophisticated Roasted Butternut Pumpkin and Vanilla Soup with Crispy Pancetta was served to warm us up and prepare us for the main course.

The highlight of the program is the awarding for the following:

• Look Who’s Trending Male - Wil Dasovich
• Look Who’s Trending Female - Jennica Sanchez
• Breakthrough Blogger of the Year Male - Dee Gee Razon
• Breakthrough Blogger of the Year Female - Nina Nuguid
• Blogger Groupie - The Soshal Network (Vivian Tan, Faye Condez  and Camille Buhain)
• Blogger Icon of the Year for Travel - The Poor Traveler (Yosh Dimen  and Vins Carlos);
• Blogger Icon of the Year for Food - The Fat Kid Inside (Erwan Heussaff)
• Blogger Icon of the Year for Fashion - Janina Vela. The
• Best Dressed Award of the Night - Kim Cruz (Female) and Daniel Marsh (Male)

A big congratulations to them!!!  They were really like stars shining to give inspiration to all other social media influencers like us. 

Of course, sharing the limelight is the main course.  The Slow Braised Angus Beef Cheek is so tender and soft that it was like a pillow massaging the mouth.  

Although a bit late, the 24k Dark Chocolate Dome was such a rich meal ender that it was impossible for us not to feel fulfilled with our 4-course meal.

The night continued with overflowing San Miguel Beer and music.  It was a long night of party for all. E! Bloggers Ball 2017 is definitely the biggest and brightest blogger event of the year.  It's successful event has left a sparkling mark for all of us to remember.  

Like any other concessionaire at Mercato Centrale, they offered FREE samples.  But, Kurt has a very strict principle on taking anything for FREE so I guess he just chose the Korean variant randomly.