Year - End Buffet at Vikings SM Jazz, Makati

What's the best way to end the year? For me, it's going to a buffet!

Vikings opened their 6th branch in SM Jazz, Makati. Together with its opening, they had a promotion of 60% off to the first 100 diners. Best of that was the promo ran for 6 consecutive days starting December 19.

At first I'm quite hesitant since I'm not good in waiting on line. I get easily bored and I don't want that thought of not making it to the first 100 people to dine. But because my sister insisted so much and she really wanted to take advantage of the promotion, I gave in to her request.

We waited for almost 3 hours for dinner service. Thank God we were part of the 100 people. For those who didn't make it but still waited in the line, they were given 20% off. Still a good deal. 

Vikings Jazz got a different feel compared to other Vikings branch. I was deeply awed by the beautiful chandelier that we saw as soon as we enter.

All stations are in the middle so its not hard to go from one point to another to get your food. The choices are not as vast unlike MOA and Megamall. 

The food was great! (well just imagine yourself waiting in line for more than 3 hours lol -- but seriously, the food was awesome. Got salad and tuna ceviche as my appetizer. Just forgot what those salads were but as you can see, I topped it off with ALOT of bacon hahaha! 

I wasnt able to ask how many stations they got but on my observation, They got Japanese, Asian (Korean and Filipino dishes), Carving Station, Pasta and Pizza, Seafood and of course DESSERTS!

While I was busy taking photos of every station, my sister showed me a cute kiddie cup. 
They also got a yakitori area where you can enjoy grilled skewered food. Wasn't able to get some cause every time I pass by the station, its already gone lol - they replenish it ASAP but I hate waiting so I preferred getting some carved meat and char siu  

One of the things missing in this branch was the Truffle sauce. I'm a great fan of their truffle sauce to add to my lamb however, its not available on our visit. I'm not sure if they will still add it next time - but hopefully they will.

If you are a health buff and kinda hate the greasy stuff, you can go for a shabu shabu. This is one of the options I never picked in Vikings cause shabu shabu for me is so filling that I cannot go for another plate of food. -- let's set aside diet for now lol

Love the sushi boat. I'm not a diehard fan of sushi but the presentation was nice. I prefer eating sashimi - I see less calories in there. 

The usual beverages are there too. Coffee, juices and tea are included. Oh they are service beer!!! 

And the star of the buffet, desserts! Like what they say, "save the best for last" the desserts here were awesome! I was happy to see Pavlova on the dessert station - never saw that item when I visited MOA and Megamall. That marshmallowy meringue topped with kiwi and strawberries -- Yum! 

I even made my own twist - which I always do. Pavlova in chocolate sauce -- soo love it!

They got Filipino desserts such as halo halo, kakanin (rice cakes) and even the seasonal puto bumbong and bibingka. 

Other desserts like coffee jelly, strawberry shorcake and leche flan are also included. Though the choices are also limited, I was still happy cause all of them are delicious. I went back to the dessert station for 4 times just because the desserts are so delectable.

Before we left, we decided to take some photos of the place. I'm not from Makati so it may be hard for me to dine here again.

For those who are fortunate enough to be near in the area, include Vikings Jazz on your foodie adventure before 2014 ends.

Remember: a VIKINGS a day keeps the doctor away... hahaha! Nice one.  

Veni, Vidi, Vici Spiral! - Sofitel's Magnificent Buffet

We came, we saw and we CONQUER! This time, it’s SPIRAL of Sofitel Manila. Spiral was listed as the top buffet of looloo’s Midyear report of 2014 for best buffet restos. It was always my dream to set foot and dine on this luxurious hotel knowing it gained a lot of great reviews. 

Then the rumors are true. The place was breath taking. I got little light headed because there’s lot of food to choose from. Lunch service opens at 12:00nn but better to arrive early so you can sit back and relax first before devouring the awesome food they offer.

Photo credits to http://eatinghealthyinthecity.blogspot.com/

Spiral has 21 Ateliers. Yes 21; and each atelier offers a wide range of items. Good thing we arrived 30mins early, still got plenty of time to relax and take pictures. They first served us their famous olive bread with 2 types of butter. It was warm and hearty! Great as a start-up dish.

Here is the list of the twenty one dining ateliers.

>> Salad and Appetizer

>> L’Écailler

>> Sushi Sashimi

>> L’Epicerie

>> Hot Japanese

>> French Stove

>> Rotisserie

>> Wood fired Oven

>> Churrasco

>> North Indian

>> Asian Noodles

>> Peking Duck Oven

>> Steam Baskets

>> Chinese Wok

>> Filipino

>> Thai

>> Korean

>> La Boulangerie

>> La Patisserie

>> Chocolaterie

>> Creamery

We started our lunch with cheeses and cold cuts from Le Epicerie. They have a variety of hard and soft cheeses that can be paired up with the sausages and ham. I’m a great fan of soft cheese but because there’s a lot to choose from, I was up to the challenge of eating the hard sharp tasting cheeses – which I find awesome.

You can also pair the cheeses to your bread of choice. Visit La Boulangerie and be amazed with all the bread selections they they got. 

We headed over to the Asian section where you can choose from Korean, Filipino and Thai cuisines. They also serve our favorite chicaron in a jar – niceee :D

After the almost SEA flare, we decided to grab some Lamb and Prime Rib at the Rotisserie. As always, I requested my lamb and beef to be rare – so I can taste the natural sweetness of the meat paired up with mint jelly for the lamb. It was full of flavor that I was craving for more but since there is a lot of food to choose, we decided to head up to the next atelier: Peking Duck Oven.

Yes, you read it right. The famous Peking duck has its own atelier in Spiral. It’s like a carving station but especially for the lovable duck. You can also get Char Shiu and Crackling pork. Each piece was succulent we even requested for a duck wrap just tell the chef and he’s happy to make you one – sweet!

And before we end our lovely lunchdate, who can forget desserts? Dessert station for me is the crème de la crème of all buffets. In Spiral, they have 3 ateliers that will satisfy your sweet tooth – La Patisserie, Chocolaterie and Cremery.  It’s all in one area so don’t worry cause you don’t need to make a long walk from one area to another. Good thing they allocated us the table near the cremery (beside the fountain under the spiral staircase) – such great view and very good access to desserts haha!

Don’t miss Spiral’s rum bubba. Rum baba is a small yeast cake saturated in hard liquor, usually rum and sometimes filled with whipped cream or pastry cream (source: Wikipedia). Spiral got their own version by not soaking the rum but INJECTING it. Yes! The small plastic thingie that you can see on the picture was the rum; you can control how much alcohol you can take on the dessert. For me, everything! I even took a sip of the rum – and yeah it’s good.

I can’t describe the pastries one by one but they got a lot! For kids and kids at heart, they have a small drawer of goodies – candies, gummy bears and chocolates. I wanted to grab some but the pastries stole my heart.

They also got a chocolate fondue where you can dip your favorite dessert with chocolates. For health conscious or just watching their diet (well I’m not part of the group lol) Spiral also offers fresh fruits and if you’re creative, you can use those in making your own fruit salad or you can request halohalo since it’s just beside the fruit counter. Cremery offers different flavors of gelato. Sad because I’m so full that I only tried mocha and strawberry flavor. 

Overall, the experience was sensational. No wonder Spiral is always on the top of the best buffet list here in the Philippines. All staff were great – they made sure that everyone had a great stay and they accommodated our requests whenever we need any. 

For me, I was one of my food dreams that came true. After conquering Spiral, my sister and I thought of one thing… We shall return!

Wanna make reservations? Its just a click away

http://www.sofitelmanila.com/en/spiral.html

For more info you can also visit my blogger heroes :D

http://www.thepickiesteater.net/2013/06/spiral-at-sofitel-manila-triumphant.html

http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2012/11/spirals-dinner-buffet-by-sofitel-manila.html

Princess_BeLLe