Savoy Hotel Manila kicks off Christmas with puto bumbong and bibingka
Savoy Hotel Manila hosted a puto bumbong and bibingka tasting, eating contests, and merienda on Sept. 15, a preview of its Filipino Christmas season.
LIFE
9/21/20262 min read
Christmas was still more than three months away on Sept. 15, but Savoy Hotel Manila served up an early taste of the season. The hotel hosted "Puto Bumbong, Bibingka, Merienda at Pika-Pika," an afternoon of Filipino Christmas food for vloggers, media guests, and hotel guests.
Puto bumbong and bibingka carry a lot of weight in Filipino holiday tradition. The smell alone tends to summon memories of home, family, and long tables at Christmas, and that was the mood the hotel set out to recreate.
General Manager Den Navarro led the event, which opened with a first-hand tasting of Savoy's puto bumbong and bibingka. The hotel kept the familiar Christmas flavors and gave them a contemporary twist. Puto bumbong and bibingka eating contests followed, with media participants and hotel guests joining in the friendly competition.
The gathering didn't end with the last bite. Guests stayed for a sumptuous merienda spread and pika-pika, the Filipino term for finger food, swapping stories, catching up, and lingering over the food. For many at the table, the afternoon was as much about the memories and traditions behind Filipino Christmas celebrations as the dishes themselves.
Savoy Hotel Manila's GM Den Navarro (in lavender suit) welcomes guests
For Savoy Hotel Manila, the event also marks the start of its festive season, a celebration of Filipino flavors, Filipino stories, and the joy of coming together. As the hotel sees it, the best way to celebrate Christmas is a simple one: gather around the table, share something familiar, and make new memories.
Savoy is one of the brands under Megaworld Global Hotels & Resorts (MGHR), a subsidiary of Megaworld Corp. and part of Alliance Global Group Inc. MGHR received a Tourism Excellence Award from the Department of Tourism in 2025. It is the country's largest homegrown hotel operator, with 16 hotels, eight brands, and 12,000 room keys, including those in the pipeline, and it offers Muslim-friendly accommodations and mindful stays.
The company's brands are Savoy, Belmont, Richmonde, Hotel Lucky Chinatown, Twin Lakes, Kingsford, Grand Westside, and Chancellor. Its properties are in key tourism and business destinations across Metro Manila, Batangas, Boracay, Cebu, and Iloilo. MGHR also manages international brands, including Mercure Mactan Cebu and Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo. Across its brands, it delivers Filipino hospitality through its signature service, The Sampaguita.