Cafe Rizal

Cafe Rizal is located in the Rizal Park Hotel, the historic Army and Navy Club which was founded and organized in December of 1898. The first president was Col. Smith of California. Notable persons who became its presidents were Adm. George Dewy, Gen. Arthur MacArthur and his son Douglas MacArthur and Leonard Wood. The Army & Navy Club was originally designed for rest and recreation area exclusively for military personnel and civilians, and later Filipinos. My parents were members in the early 70's they went for dining and swimming. My brother went to meet and socialize with his friends. I could only imagine what it had been like way back when. It has since then been remodeled and had turned into a boutique hotel.

My mom and brother looked forward to dining there to visit their old playground and to see what's become of it. The facade was impressive and I could imagine what it would have been like in way back then. We dined at Cafe Rizal. We had the choice of having a buffet lunch or a la carte. We chose not to have a buffet because we already had a breakfast buffet at the Shangri-la Hotel. My mom ordered a beer, Gary had a ripe mango shake and I had the green mango shake.

The Pancit Canton (noodles) sounded good to my mom, Gary ordered the Short Ribs and I opted for the Prawns Thermidor. The noodles came out first and mom enjoyed it. Both Gary and I watched as she continued to enjoy while we waited for our food. After at least 5 minutes, Gary's dish arrived. At this time I called our server and asked if they were still trying to catch the prawns. He said he would check and put a "rush" on it. When Gary was done with his dish I thought of just canceling when I spotted someone that could have been the manager. I informed him that my entree has not arrived and that my brother had just finished his lunch. He apologized and agreed that all dishes should have been out at the same time. In the meantime, a waiter came with rolls and butter and a small bowl of soup for me. As soon as I finished the soup, my long awaited prawns finally landed on the table. They were delicious but somehow the wait and frustration took away from my eating pleasure.

At the end of my meal, the manager came and told us we could order coffee on the house and told us that the Chef has prepared a very good dessert for us. It was indeed very good; Crepes with ube ice cream and one scoop of vanilla which was perfect for me since I do not like ube. Both my mom and Gary enjoyed it. While we were there, we witnessed a group of people who recognized a senator who was just re-elected. They had selfies taken with the senator. I supposed I would have done this if it were Richard Gere but definitely not for any senator!

Before we left we went up to see the new pool which was now located on the fourth floor. It had some fantastic views. The Rizal Park Hotel is located at South Road Dr. in Ermita, Manila.