I was 30 minutes late for my Manila Buffet 101 date with Brandon that we arranged on the last day of his first sem break in Laoag. He looked more worried than upset. The mood changed when he announced he was one of the four passers of Algebra, quite a feat where mathematics rule his school.
We dined at the Robinsons Magnolia branch. Before reserving a table over the phone, I read from popular blogs that rolled Peking duck is on the wide spread buffet. This is where the blogger’s notorious line is so very fitting — Lo and behold! It’s chicken!
I was expecting more than Yakimix. Yes, Yakimix in the age of Vikings!
But anyway, I tried baby portions of the food I screened and the quality was consistently satisfactory. Service was good, except the fact that some trays (US Angus beef, scallops, salmon, hakaw in particular) were replenished very slow.
Cheese chawanmushi.
Marshmallow coconut I haven’t seen in ages.
The dessert selections were lovely. The jellies were not too sweet, but the slather of caramel on the panna cotta made the poor thing sickly sweet. My favorites from the buffet were chowder, beef pie, steamed scallops, steak, chili noodles, the mango salad, and the lato (ararosip), sashimi and seafood salads from the Japanese spread. The price, P799, is stiff if you’re not big on fancy, saucy food.
Overall, I had a nice, sweet time with Brandon!
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