A Staycation, Meeting Chef Angelo, and The KTG Manila Bloggers' New Year Party 2018 at F1 Hotel Manila

2018 is quite special for me and I am grateful that blogging-wise, it started on a good note. 2018 marks my 10th year in food blogging. YedyLicious is 10 years old! Time flies so fast. The KTG Bloggers annual party I have attended early this month reminded me that I am lucky to have met really wonderful people, and to be part of an awesome family of bloggers in my 10 years of blogging.

So, while it may seem that this blog is gathering dust for couple of months now with occasional posts here and there, God willing, it will pick up from here on. For now, there is a lot to talk about as the title suggests.

If you are new here and not really familiar with our family we fondly call The KTG, previous write up here and here may serve as a bit of an introduction. You may also join us on our Facebook group and see happy delicious chaos we create as a group of hungry kids.

Moving right along, our staycation at F1 Hotel Manila is actually a celebration of a lot of things. For one, it was Richie a.k.a. The Pickiest Eater and Rina of Rina's Rainbow's wedding anniversary celebration. It also happened to be Richie's birthday celebration. Then, we are set to meet the new Executive Chef of F1 Hotel Manila, chef Angelo "Chubby" Timban, an award-winning chef. And of course, the KTG New Year's Party 2018.

Whoever thought of branding F1 Hotel Manila as Home of Happy Experiences is genius because it is indeed home of happy experiences. That is why it has become the official home of our KTG Family every annual party for years now.

I have stayed at F1 Hotel Manila for couple of times already and I must say that the familiar warm hospitality is still ever present. For this staycation, I got to experience staying at their City Suite. This stylish suite features a spacious floor area complete with all the necessary things one may need for a relaxing staycation.

One of the highlights of our stay was meeting Chef Angelo, the new Executive Chef of F1 Hotel Manila who will lead all the hotel's kitchen operations, from the hotel's main restaurant F All-Day Dining, the hotel's bar Canary Lounge, to all the banquet and social events.

Chef Angelo's culinary talent was honed during the time he spent at the industry;s largest names such as Resorts World Manila, Discovery Suites, Shangri-La Boracay, Trader's Hotel, and Manila Pavilion.

During our stay, we feasted on Chef Angelo's creations and I must say that he is indeed one of the best. To this day, I am still dreaming of his Beef Ribs Adobo and Pork Pastrami. I was really impressed with ll the dishes but those two are my favorites.

Then there was the KTG New Year's Party 2018. I cannot believe that we have grown so big already! The more, the merrier, as they say.

Of course, there's plenty of food - glorious food. Take for instance the Stuffed Roast Beef Belly by Chef Angelo and his magnificent staff at F All-Day Dining. I also remember enjoying the Roasted Chicken and Aligue pasta among any other dishes served during that night.

Chef Angelo prepared so much food for our party but we were lucky that generous sponsors send in their goodies for us to enjoy. We are forever grateful. Shout out and big thank you to the super generous Plaza Ham, La Petite Fromagerie, Swizzle Mobile Bar, and Serenitea. Thank you!

And of course, shout out and big thank you to F1 Hotel Manila and my KTG Family for their generous hearts.

It is not all the time that I get the chance to join our KTG family during food events and gathering especially now that I live away from Manila and often work out-of-town. So it feels seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. After all these years, it still feels like family.