bgc: niu by vikings

i haven't been to any vikings branch including yakimix. oh yeah i've been missing a lot in the manila food scene. when i read about niu by vikings though, i was really fixated. maybe because of the higher end options that they offer. plus i like the fact that they have added services like a sit down wait service -  they bring your ordered food to the table or you can also ask them to bring you food if you are too lazy to stand up hehe, i also know that they customize food as well, if you request it.

assorted dimsum and sashimi...pretty decent ones

tempura and turkey...i lurve turkey

foie gras...they serve it with a crostini but i requested sans the bread :D

roasted pork belly and roast with truffle gravy...noms

thai grilled squid tentacles and i forgot what the other one was lamb chops me thinks

risotto with foie gras...i didn't see this! the waiter mistakenly delivered it to our table and we helped ourselves. this is good.

my personally made halo halo..i love leche flan!

pretty good pinoy snacks - kutsinta which is a sticky rice cake and pichi pichi which is made of cassava dredged in cheese...yums

niu by vikings
sm aura
bgc, taguig

kl: majestic hotel buffet

this was one of those random moments when we wanted to eat in a hotel buffet and i just pretty much looked for new hotels to try and voila i found the majestic hotel.



very few photos, i was actually watching my food intake. the food is good and the price is affordable as well. i reckon though that the dinner buffet has more selection especially when it comes to seafood which was something we wanted. but still a good try.

majestic hotel

5 jalan sultan hishamuddin
across the old railway station (near kl sentral)

sunday feast at mosaic

mosaic is where mandarin oriental kuala lumpur offers their daily buffet. i've eaten there twice already but here's my post on the first outing.

i think i ate more during the first outing and it was a good dining experience for me that's why i asked my friends to go there for a second time. anyway, here's what i ate.

some fried rice, seabass with black bean sauce and some snow peas.

grilled ribeye (not mine), grilled seabass, lamb chops

oysters, shrimps, octopus, salmon and chuka wakame

can't get enough of the oysters so i got more, some more rice since i was afraid my tummy will go bad after the oysters i've eaten and some beef

sweet and sour shrimps freshly cooked upon request plump and juicy shrimps that were lightly breaded. it was perfect.

my buffet staples, creme brulee and bread pudding (ok this is really recycled bread because the second time i ate there i tasted hints of toasted coconut in the bread and it was a choco-vanilla bread of some sort unlike the first time i had it)

coconut with sago and corn sans the sticky rice which is a common filipino snack.

more creme brulee hehe, plums, goat cheese with dried apricot and figs.

i liked mosaic's buffet because of its price point. it's a bit lower than other buffets plus they have a better selection of hot dishes and the grill section makes up for it a lot. i also liked that during my first outing the chinese station also offers freshly cooked shrimps with at least 5 ways of cooking it. the sashimi and desserts still goes to shangri-la's lemon garden. make sure to make reservations they really do give you the best seats if you reserve early enough.

mosaic

mandarin oriental

klcc

breakfast at the wynn

buffets are huge in vegas, so of course i wouldn't let it pass. the wynn's buffet is one of the best if not the best. the breakfast buffet costs around 22USD including taxes if i'm not mistaken. it is actually cheap, it even includes free coffee and juice which you just order from the wait staff. so yes, it is definitely worth it!

here's what i tried.

top left clockwise: country biscuit with gravy - i love country biscuits and i love gravy this is only common in the us so gotta grab the opportunity, i found the biscuit doughy the combination was too heavy for me.

virginia ham - it was real ham!!! meaning sliced off a huge pork leg and got some mustard to go with it...it was perfect!

pork apple sausage with roasted potatoes - the sausage is good i actually didn't taste any hint of apple or maybe i was too preoccupied savoring the entire meal. i am a sucker for savory breakfast treats so i couldn't gear away from the ham and sausage.

top left clockwise: english muffins with salmon topped with eggs benedict - oh what a disappointment. the salmon was real salmon or maybe gravlax but it wasn't smoked salmon. i wanted smoked salmon so bad i was disappointed.

cheese blintz - loved it!!! i love cheese...creamy cheese so it was just a joy.

wholemeal pancakes? - not really sure it looks like wholemeal right? first time to try one since healthier pancakes are still not common on this side of the world. the pancake was nice it has a crust and has this "sweet" flavor compared to the typical pancake which you can taste the dough/bread.

artichokes - i also love artichokes so got myself some.




top left clockwise: chicken sausage - as i've said i love savory breakfast items so i couldn't resist.

smoked salmon - because i was craving for one. ok, i have been spoiled by salmon and smoked salmon here in kl. they are glorious, this one's not up to par.

strawberry and peaches with creme fraiche - it's fruit/dessert time and i love strawberries plus p said they're sweet so i have got to get some.

some people might think i have wasted a great opportunity for this buffet, but seriously i was so stuffed. i have no regrets with this meal. i have tried unique items that i haven't had before. the quality of the food is superb. there are so many other offerings at the buffet but because of time and eating capacity we couldn't savor all.

according to some tips i've read, some people who want to save up usually get into the buffet before the next "time slot" meaning if breakfast ends at 11:00AM, they get in a little before 11 so they'll get charged breakfast rates and they will be able to catch the lunch buffet already. of course, breakfast is the cheapest and dinner is the most expensive. if you happen to be in vegas and wants to try a buffet, the wynn's buffet is a sure bet.

the buffet

wynn las vegas

las vegas blvd.

kl: the living room at westin

the support team lead from the uk was on vacation in kl and i was asked to organize a team lunch, the best and most sulit buffet is at the shang and we've been there several times so i wanted to try something new. tried the westin hotel's buffet.

appetizers - melon with cheese on top, fennel with dressing, chicken and peppers salad, veggie terrine (i liked this) and some chicken coldcut

grilled lamb, spring roll, carbonara, salmon and mussel...nothing extraordinary


fried shrimp with a special sauce - yummy! i forgot what the other one is, i think it's oxtail curry it was also good, the meat was tender.



i love bread pudding i got a huge serving :D, the vanilla sauce has visible vanilla beans, a mocha/cappuccino mousse of some sort and pistacchio ice cream - i should stop getting pistacchio i don't like it.



the living room

westin hotel

bukit bintang, kl

kl: sunday roast at the ritz

the sunday roast is an english tradition for sunday lunches made up of roasted meat, potatoes and other sidings. i forgot how i came across the ritz carlton sunday roast. but from the reviews i have read, i was immediately lured. glad that i have foodie friends willing to spend 160RM for this treat. anyway, here are the food items i had - the same things that made me want to go to this roast buffet to begin with.

echire butter, claimed to be one of this best in france. why does it look like lard/shortening. i mean, is great butter supposed to be liked that? not creamy and flavorful but looks like a well whipped milk fats? i was not impressed.

some appetizers (top center - clockwise) seedless grape in cream cheese rolled into toasted almonds - i like; pumpkin tartlet with mushrooms - forgettable; roasted mushrooms, peppers, zucchini - flavorful, i like; dunno what to call the piece of meat with a mustard sauce of some sort - so so; whole smoked norwegian salmon covered with dill is heart.

fin de claire oysters from france. hmmm...i'm torn on this one. it has this thin texture which i like not the thick gooey kind that we are used to. but it's too salty, it's like tasting the sea literally. i am not sure whether freshness got something to do with it. i mean, if you eat it in france once it's harvested whether the flavors would be different. still, i can say i ate oysters from france hehe.

freshly prepared caesar's salad. tossed in a parmesan cheese wheel with whole anchovies, freshly shaved cheese and garlic slivers??? well the reviews mentioned that this caesar salad has truffle in it which made me really excited. and when i requested for one, i didn't see any truffles :(. nothing spectacular, the fresh cheese didn't even made a difference. the dressing was definitely freshly made but not enough to keep me excited.

after i took a picture of my salad, i pushed it on the side and filled it with other items. our table was so tiny it was overly crowded even the towel "plates" we had to get rid of. i got a shrimp and half a lobster which were fresh. also tried salmon and octopus sashimi just so i can put the tricolor caviar on my plate hehe and some pickled ginger which i love.

and for the mains, there's a menu actually. you can choose between the beef, lamb and salmon. of course it wouldn't be a roast without one.for me, it's cooked just right, i am squirmish with "rare" steak still. it's too pink to be medium well though...i dunno i am not much of an expert when it comes to steak but i like mine medium well all the time.

you get to choose between several sauces like mustard and horseradish plus 3 types of gravy. i had the rosemary jus i think. i forgot. there's no mashed or baked potato, the yorkshire pudding is so dense which i reckon should not be the case. and there's was only some roasted veggies. the thickness of the beef , i don't even think is substantive. based on the blogs i have read, they only have one roast which is supposed to serve only 18 people so if the guests are more than that...do they ran out of it or they stretch the meat and give thinner slices?

i'd rather get the steak at suzy's corner if it will just boil down to this. oh my this was supposed to be the star of the meal and it wasn't impressive. the roasted beef and yorkshire at the marriott was more worthy i mean you get unlimited servings! and that buffet costs less than 100RM.

good thing the desserts weren't a disappointment. they made good pastries. i was just sad that the creme brulee isn't big and has been put in that lonely spoon, the small amount i think made it "overcooked". the cream puffs were the best, it has a nice custard in it - and of course because it has caramel the puffs were part of the croquembouche. the picture above is a totally different cake but with a cream puff too.

anyway, it was an ok meal. it doesn't have an extensive selection when it comes to the buffet but it's complete. i didn't get to eat anything from the cheese section because i was too full. but reviews said the quality of the choices makes up for the relatively smaller selection of food items, i think not. basically, i'd rather have a degustation or full course meal in a restaurant.

ritz - carlton

jalan imbi, kuala lumpur

lunch at marriott cafe

a long overdue post, this actually took place end of last year during my christmas vacation. i have freebie lunch vouchers at the marriott and good thing buffets are covered as well. so let's start shall we.

had a hyperacidity attack upon arrival, so warmed my tummy with some miso soup. i love the seaweeds, but nothing really special.

started with some dimsum...the pork ribs were a bit tough not the melt in your mouth pork spare ribs i'm used to. the hakao is just alright, wish the shrimps were bigger and the wrapper thinner. but they were freshly made so it was ok.

because of my tummy issue i already started with the main. the roast beef was good really good, you see how brown - "done" the beef is but it's still tender. asked my dad why he didn't get some, he said it looked dry but i told him otherwise, so he asked me to get him 3 slices!!! i was so ashamed with the staff counter who probably thought it was mine. some mashed potato, not as creamy as people would prefer but for me less creamy means less fat so it's ok. my first yorkshire pudding, i have no idea how it should taste like but i prefer this one than the one at the ritz (next post). got some veggies and garlic grilled fish too.

and surprisingly i was not yet full so i had room for these. nothing extraordinary but the asohos tempura was freshly cooked. the fried rice is also ok. the baked mussels is with bechamel, so typical of hotel buffets in manila and far from our favorite baked mussels with lotsa cheese.

oh, i still have room! hahaha. so i took some greens and a cucumber salad. i liked that station very much, they have a variety of mixed salads to choose from, and of course you can also make your own. one of my buffet staples - smoked salmon was good.

ok the dessert station was a bit of a disappointment, very few selections and they aren't as great as i hoped them to be. nothing can really go wrong with the creme brulee but the rest of this plate was dismal.



overall, it was a good buffet. it has a wide range of cuisines. probably the only miss were the desserts. the marriott is a newly built hotel, the driveway of the lobby has ample space, not as cramped as the older hotels in manila so i find it more convenient. if you end up in that area, you could give this a try.

marriott hotel

newport blvd

newport city complex, pasay

across the naia terminal 3

sonya's garden

i'd like to think that sonya's is a tagaytay institution of some sort. it's one of those tagaytay destinations that i have never been to. so it was really a must for me during my last tagaytay trip.

sonya's doesn't really have a menu, by default you are served with a bottomless full course meal. if i'm not mistaken it's now pegged at PHP680 610 per person.

first you are served with a do it yourself salad.

sonya's creamy dressing and other condiments. a "vinaigrette" is also available. i deem it's a balsamic based dressing but also has a thick consistency not similar to the vinegar-olive oil dressings i'm used to.

a bowl of greens, egg, cucumber, jicama, mangoes, melon, nuts and pineapple. all refillable upon request.

my creation.

freshly baked bread - soft and warm. several spreads - tomato, basil and olive oil (checca?); pesto; kesong puti (white cheese); an olive tapanade of some sort and an anchovy based spread. i only liked the checca, pesto and cheese. again all refillable.

pasta with all the condiments, refillable as well. linguine with 2 sauces one is creamy chicken mango? i forgot if it has mangoes and the other one is sundried tomato based sauce. condiments include mushrooms, capers, ratatouille and fried salmon belly.

thought the tomato based sauce and the salmon belly were a perfect match. the sauce was sweet...it was like eating sarciado well my family's version of sarciado is a tad sweet. there was no tart or salty hints from the "sundried tomato" based sauce. the salmon belly was overcooked and tasteless as well.

the creamy chicken pasta was no winner as well. it was just normal pasta nothing special.

they served several desserts.

a moist chocolate cake that is not too sweet. it's good but i am not really a choco fan to begin with.

turon!!! my favorite filipino snack. spring rolls stuffed with bananas and has caramelized sugar as a coating. i like the small serving sizes would have been perfect if it had jackfruit inside too.

sweetened sweet potato...kinda redundant. wouldn't have noticed this until this lady i am not sure if she's sonya or a supervisor advised us to eat it with the mint leaves. and yes, they were really good....surprisingly good. desserts were served with tarragon tea, while the rest of the meal was served with dalandan juice.

was it worth it? it's difficult to answer. i honestly wanted to be impressed and be blown out of my mind with the dishes since it always get great reviews. but i was really disappointed especially with the pasta. i think the pasta broke the deal. but the ambiance and the entire dining experience was really pleasurable. i liked the dining area...i dunno how to describe it...indoor garden dining with a kitschy feel of some sort. the dining experience i guess is what you pay for. it is still a must for me.

sonya's garden

buck estate

alfonso cavite

www.sonyasgarden.com