The Philippine Star

This is epic:Wine, dine,and Travel WiTh visa

- MILLeT M. MANANQUIL

Iwent to the Visa Epic Experience­s press luncheon last Thursday because, frankly , I was mainly looking forward to an epicurean experience. It was held at Chef Jessie at Rockwell Club where I love her carrot and pumpkin soup, alugbati salad, grilled Chilean sea bass, seafood risotto and of course, chocolate soufflé for dessert. Quite a glutton’s agenda,yes.

Chef Jessie Sincioco is one chef whose cooking I have been loving for many years. And she also happened to be the choice chef for Pope Francis’ four-day visit to the Philippine­s in 2015, as well as the ASEAN Summit of heads of state in 2017 The editors enjoyed her epicurean feast, which included co

chinillo and wagyu beef steak. The surprise bonus treat came in the form of Stuart Tomlinson, the Visa country manager for the Philippine­s and Guam. Stuart’s stories about his travels and his previous posts in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam , and now, the Philippine­s, were epic. Never a dull moment with this lovable traveler who has never met a country he didn’t like.

Stuart remembers Singapore for its non-stop constructi­on work, Malaysia for its interestin­g political times, and Vietnam for its sweeping scenes (also meaning that he would see people sweeping the streets daily).

What about the Philippine­s? “It is the country which makes me feel like a rock star. I have never seen so many cameras clicking during Visa’s events. The Philippine­s indeed is the selfie capital of the world.”

Stuart’s memories about other countries are epic, but most epic to him are the current offerings in the Visa Epic Experience­s with its constantly evolving program of exclusive dining and travel privileges for cardholder­s worldwide.

All Visa cardholder­s, including tourists from all over the world, can discover unforgetta­ble trips and gastronomi­c experience­s by presenting their Visa card at over 60 choice establishm­ents nationwide. Visa cardholder­s can enjoy epicurean offerings from well-known establishm­ents like Kettle in Manila to Taza Fresh Table in Tagaytay to Enye by Chele Gonzalez in Cebu, and Subo in Boracay.

Now on its fifth year, the promo Visa includes sought-after restaurant­s such as Antonio’s, Chef Jessie’s Group of Restaurant­s, Maisen, Pablo Bistro, Samba, Epilogue and many others introduced into the Visa Epic Experience­s affluent dining platform — a wine and dine series exclusive to Visa Platinum, Visa Signature, and Visa Infinite cardholder­s. Cardholder­s can enjoy either a compliment­ary glass or a bottle of wine at some of the Philippine­s’ finest dining establishm­ents.

Visa Epic Experience­s also include travel offers such as 25 per cent discount off published room rates at Anya Resort Tagaytay, and Discovery Suites, 60 percent off published room rates and 30 percent off massage services at Crimson Resort & Spa Mactan.

“Filipinos love to travel and dine and this is proven from our data, where we see almost half of all Filipino cardholder­s spend on these categories. With this in mind, we are introducin­g the fifth edition of Visa Epic Experience­s. Every year, we make an effort to revamp and introduce new offerings to make this platform bigger and better for our cardholder­s. Filipino cardholder­s and tourists from all over the world who own a Visa card will be able to enjoy exclusive dining and travel privileges, where they can create unforgetta­ble life memories with their families and loved ones,” says Stuart.

The Visa Epic Experience­s perks are available to all Visa cards issued anywhere in the world. Visa cardholder­s can enjoy all the offers on the Visa Epic Experience platform today until March 15, 2019.

 ??  ?? Visa head of products for Indonesia and the Philippine­s, Shabab Muhaddes; chef Jessie Sincioco; and Visa country manager for the Philippine­s and Guam, Stuart Tomlinson
Visa head of products for Indonesia and the Philippine­s, Shabab Muhaddes; chef Jessie Sincioco; and Visa country manager for the Philippine­s and Guam, Stuart Tomlinson
 ??  ?? As a special for Epic Experience­s 2018, its fifth installmen­t, Visa Platinum, Visa Signature, and Visa Infinite cardholder­s can enjoy either a compliment­ary glass or a bottle of wine at some of the Philippine­s’ most premium dining establishm­ents.
As a special for Epic Experience­s 2018, its fifth installmen­t, Visa Platinum, Visa Signature, and Visa Infinite cardholder­s can enjoy either a compliment­ary glass or a bottle of wine at some of the Philippine­s’ most premium dining establishm­ents.
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