Inside the luxurious Grand Hyatt Manila, the tallest building in the PHL

There are nooks at the Grand Hyatt Manila that have yet to be completed, but one quick look at the lobby and already it lives up to the name and brand.

Ambient lighting creates a serene atmosphere and the spacious lobby is at the moment uncluttered. One hopes that it remains that way, as just sitting and waiting proved to be relaxing.

Bilkey Llinas Design designed the 66-storey Grand Hyatt Manila, which looms over all other buildings in the Philippines. The view from the soon-to-open rooftop bar must be breathtaking. Until then, guests can take in the view of the building itself from the poolside.

The Lounge draws inspiration from the Banawe Rice Terraces, featuring multilevel platforms, and the Grand Ballroom has floor-to-ceiling glass windows that frames the sunset perfectly.

This is the luxury hotel's 98th branch in the world — 25th in Southeast Asia — and as they approach their 100th, it seems that they have elegance perfected.

Scattered around the hotel are artworks on loan from the Metrobank Foundation. Even the washrooms in the 461 rooms features cute art. Another lovely thing about Grand Hyatt Manila: the tub, the shower, and the toilets are in separate rooms. That's what luxury is.

None of it would be complete without exquisite food to enjoy and in addition to the multi-cuisine all-day-dining buffet in The Grand Kitchen, Grand Hyatt on Tuesday formally opened No. 8 China House.

No. 8 China House has several cooking stations that serve Cantonese classics, from dim sum to an unusually good version of Sweet and Sour Pork. (The latter is usually scoffed at by those looking for "authentic" Chinese cuisine, but perhaps  No. 8 China House can change their mind.)

The star, of course, is the Peking Duck. It's slow roasted for 60-minutes in a specially built wood-fired oven and while there's an option to have it traditionally (wrapped in Chinese pancakes with cucumber or leeks, drizzled with hoisin sauce), you can also just lather it with garlic sauce and enjoy. Masterchef Carson Luo in a statement shared with the press still highly recommends having it traditionally though!

Be sure to try the e-fu noodle with mushroom and pork. The noodles are nice and firm, the texture complimenting the umami flavor of the mushroom nicely.

Come hungry and make room for the soup. Plump shrimp swim in the creamy double-boiled seafood soup. It's the perfect starter, if you're not gobbling up chilled black fungus with Thai chili and homemade soy sauce.

For appertifs or digestifs, The Cellar is there to catch you. Cheers. — LA, GMA News