Delicious food, showbiz gossip, coronation observations at Helen Sotto's birthday

It was May 13, the night before Mother’s Day, when Helen Gamboa-Sotto celebrated her birthday at M Dining Restaurant along Chino Roces Avenue in Makati. For the safety of the celebrant and her guests, antigen tests were administered before they were allowed to enter the venue.

The third floor of M Dining was reserved for the private party. In the foyer, a flower cart greeted the guests with an assortment of pastel-colored roses and sunflowers. As soon as I entered the main dining area, the beautiful tablescape designed by Kaye Garcia instantly caught my attention. The many pastel-colored gift boxes of varying sizes topped with fresh flower arrangements of roses, tulips, carnations and star gazers were so befitting of Tita Helen, a lady of such grace and beauty.

After we took our seats, Tita Helen shortly arrived with husband, former Sen. Tito Sotto, and daughters Apples and Ciara. (Lala was en route to the United States for an official function as chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.) Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto arrived shortly with his beautiful wife Joy.

Shirley Kuwan, Tita Helen, Ruffa Gutierrez and Ciara Sotto

Tita Helen looked radiant and splendid in her all-white lace Paul Cabral creation, while Tito Sen looked cool and dapper in his gray sports coat. They truly make a very handsome couple.

As guests continued to arrive, parmesan chips with goat cheese mousse and tuna nori crackers with a spicy aioli made their rounds.

When all 50 guests were present, dinner was served. We started with mixed greens, flans, candied pistachios and pears, a perfect and refreshing salad starter for a summer evening. This was followed by the heavenly foie gras, unagi and watercress, which was my personal favorite that evening.

Then came the prawns risotto with black parmesan. The chef did not scrimp on the prawns but the dish was so filling I could only eat half of it. It was a good thing that the next dish — sake sea bass en papillote — was light and just right. By the time the beef cheeks with polenta came, I could only take three bites before I requested the server to just wrap the rest for me. (I find it unconscionable to throw out good food.)

Good thing that I left a little room for dessert, though, because the warm chocolate cake with honey ice cream that came next just hit the spot, as did the assortment of macarons and cupcakes that were similarly difficult to resist.

Birthday celebrator Helen Gamboa-Sotto with some of her guests: Daughter Ciara Sotto, Veana Fores, Maricel Soriano, Dolor Guevarra, Anes Plata, yours truly, Jaypee Plata, Shirley Kuwan. In second row are Val Sotto, Maru Sotto and Law Tan. Foreground is the beautiful tablescape created by Kaye Garcia featuring pastelcolored gift boxes topped with fresh fl ower arrangements. After the dinner party, guests gladly brought home the gift boxes.

The celebration  of course was made even better by the company. My dabarkads that night included Shirley Kuan, Maricel Soriano, Veana Fores, June Rufino, Malou Fagar, Gello Jamias, Law Tan and Dolor Guevarra, who came with her daughters Jaypee and Anes.

Other friends who joined the merry-making were Mariel Padilla, Annabelle Rama and daughter Ruffa Gutierrez, and Dr. Aivee Aguilar Teo and husband Zee. Handsome Sotto brothers Val, Maru and Vic were there to celebrate Tita Helen as well.

Inevitably, the Eat Bulaga issue was brought up when Tito Sen sat at our table and gave us the latest on the ongoing rift between the Jalosjos camp, and Tito, Vic & Joey. Many questions were asked and Tito Sen gamely answered them. From the looks of it, big changes are on the horizon if an immediate resolution isn’t reached. He also told us to await the return of Lala Sotto, who had more information about that controversial interview of Tito Sen by Nelson Canlas that almost didn’t air on GMA.

Another topic was the beautiful terno First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos wore during her recent trip to the United Kingdom for the coronation of King Charles III. She ranked No. 46 out of 52 “most fashionable” celebrities who attended the historic event. I personally agree that the piña callado hand-embroidered terno with a light blue lining created by Paul Cabral deservedly put First Lady Liza among the Top 50 well-dressed that day.

Delicious food, showbiz gossip, coronation observations and wonderful company…such were the ingredients that made Tita Helen’s intimate birthday celebration a truly precious evening to remember.