It being a rainy day, it was very apt to start lunch with beef wonton soup. And at the F All-Day Dining of F1 Hotel Manila in Bonifacio Global City, the soup was served in a manner fancier than usual. The dumplings came dry in a small bowl, and the waiter poured into the bowl the beef broth, infused with Earl Grey tea for six hours. The dumplings, chef Billy Laigo told us, were filled with bone marrow and jicama, aside from ground beef.

The popular pla chan or Thai fried fish, which can be found in many seafood restaurants and night markets in the Southeast Asian country, was served also with the waiter sprinkling Vietnamese nuoc cham, which used palm sugar, on fillet strips of barramundi or apahap, marinated in Thai herbs and deep fried until golden brown.

These two are part of the newly revamped a la carte menu, developed together with Enderun Extension, Enderun Colleges’ resource for continuing education, which offers an extensive array of courses and programs for enhancing skills and knowledge in various fields beyond the traditional academic setting.

The new menu, consisting of about 40 dishes, a combination of selected Western and Asian fares, will definitely pique the interest of diners — a combination of hotel guests and workers from surrounding offices in this business district in Taguig City.

Aside from the beef wonton soup, they also serve seafood tom-yum containing fish, squid and mussels, served with coconut milk and a side of grilled coconut prawns; and Laigo’s own Mushroom Cappuccino, topped with foamy truffle milk and sprinkled with paprika.

For salad, they recommend the Mexican taco salad, a Tex-Mex combination of lettuce, tomatoes, olives, corn and others, sprinkled with homemade red wine vinaigrette dressing and served in a tortilla bowl. There is a side of nacho chips with freshly made guacamole, tomato salsa and chili con carne.

Other options are Greek salad F1 style and grilled organic chicken Caesar salad.

The vegetarian mezze platter of pita with hummus, baba ganoush and tzatziki is a good appetizer choice, before diving into the entrees, which are a bunch of very likable dishes from around the world — charbroiled lemongrass chicken; Japanese curry rice with choices of pork katsu, chicken katsu and grilled hamburger patty; Taiwan lu rou, which is pork belly braised for 12 hours in soy sauce, shao xing wine and chicken stock; baked tanigue humba; and the churrasco flat iron steak or ribeye, a favorite in Argentinian steakhouses, using marbled USDA ribeye steak, charbroiled and complemented by a vibrant chimichurri sauce.

F All-Day Dining also has a pasta lineup, of which the spaghetti vongole is recommended. The classic Neapolitan dish has Manila clams stewed in white wine sauce, diced chorizo, cherry tomatoes and parsley, garnished with grated parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of chili flakes for an added kick.

Other noodle options are linguine Boscaiola; chicken chow mein, stir-fried egg noodles with shredded chicken breast, shiitake mushrooms, red and green peppers, cabbage and French beans in thick sauce; and the popular pad thai.

The dessert section is headlined by the favorite tiramisu, layers of biscuit cuillère and velvety mascarpone cheese, soaked in coffee syrup and served in stout glasses; and lemon meringue tart.

The menu also has offerings for kids, burgers and sandwiches, and grilled items.

For those wanting to try something new in a setting that is familiar and comfy, F All-Day Dining is worth a try. For inquiries and reservations, call 8928-9888 or visit website at www.f1hotelmanila.com.