The Parklane Hotel Lunch Buffet

After the disappointment at a buffet (see previous entry), I was slightly a bit more cautious when I went to Parklane Hotel to eat at their buffet for lunch.  The experience made me realize why I loved eating at buffets: various food!

I had some salad, soup and some sashimi for my appetizer, coupled with some hors d'oeuvre (shrimp!).  I had a lot of fun with these entrees since they were not only quite fun to look at, but also quite scrumptious! Oooops! No pics for these, it sorta slipped my mind since I was having fun eating.  The soup was quite rich, a lot more than your average cream soup.

 Now for the main meal.  Here's a slight preview of the dishes I ate:

Oho! I see I had a picture of the soup.  I think I had a taste of various dishes, which included pork, beef, chicken and fish.  Honestly speaking, the food was good, but they reminded me of various Filipino dishes, given only different names.  I wonder, does the name of the dish relate to the whetting of the appetite, whether its a common dish or an exotic one?  (Side note: If you noticed I didn't have rice on my place.  That's because I don't eat rice whenever I eat at a buffet.  I try not to eat too much carbs in a buffet setting since I know they're a lot more filling than sampling various other dishes)

I guess this is my favorite part: dessert!

I so loved the desserts especially the creme brulee.  I sampled all of the desserts seen here, and yes, I finished all of them.  They were all so yummy!  I think you could also have crepes made as well as halo halo but I preferred eating these creations.  Mouth watering, aren't they?

I guess the best part about this is the price.  It costs 500 something pesos!  For the quality of the food and the ambiance, the price is very reasonable.  I'd probably take my friends there if I had a chance!

Parklane Hotel
Cebu City

The Buffet at Marco Café

I’ve been to a couple of buffets in some hotels in Manila, and I have to say that despite steep price of these places, I’ve never felt disappointed with any of them.  This made me think that all hotel buffets would satisfy me.  Unfortunately I was proven to be wrong.

I had a lunch buffet with a cousin earlier at the Marco Polo Plaza, and I was really looking forward to it since my sister who had eaten there before raved about it.   She really made me think that the place was worth visiting, and I was excited.  When I entered the place, it was large and very classy.  The staff was very accommodating throughout the meal.  The place was also very neat, not even a single fly dared show its’ head.  The food I sampled was excellent, from the appetizers to the desserts.

So what was the problem?  I have to say it was with the mediocre selection of food.  I’m not sure if they had a theme or something they had to follow for today, and if that was the case, I’m apologizing in advance, but I really thought there was nothing very special in the food they served.  True, the selection of the appetizers from the bread, cheese, salad and sauces were very much varied, but the main course and the dessert fell short, most especially the main course.  Most of the food presented in the main course was something you tended to eat casually.  There was no sense of excitement in the food, nothing that would make you want to try it since it was something that seemed different from what you usually saw.  As for the desserts, there was not really that much of a variety in the cakes and sweets, I guess I just expected more from them.

The food is excellent in taste, no doubt about that.  I was actually quite fascinated with the various types of cheese I got to try.  The thing is, with food I enjoy an adventure, and unfortunately the visit did not quite live up to my standards.    I had hoped for more, and I found the place a bit lacking for my needs.

My verdict: Marco Café would be an excellent place to dine in if you’re looking for an excellent buffet with scrumptious food which are familiar to you. 

The Marco Polo Hotel

Cebu City

Hassan Steak and Kebabs

My apologies, no pictures for this post :( The place was too dark and I didn't have a decent camera with me during that time)
                                                                 *****************

Last Saturday, me and a group of friends went to this small place at Katipunan area.  I had never been there, but they assured me it was a good place to eat at, and that it wasn't too expensive.  I conceded, and I was not disappointed.

The place was quite small, and easy to miss.  It seemed like a small eatery to me.  We got seated, and a waitress went to our table to take our orders.  I went for Beef Shawarma, as well as their own take on pizza in both chicken and beef flavors.

After a while, our meals were served.  Size wise, the servings were a bit small for me.  But I have to say the food was good.  The beef shawarma I ordered was laid out in a plate, with the pita, veggies and the meat separated.  As they had a variety of sauces you could mix and create your own preferred sauce.  I liked mine with a lot of garlic and cheese sauce. 

As for the pizza?  They were about approximately 10 inches in diameter.  They were really good, and very very tasty.  Actually, when I think of it, they tasted like shawarma made into pizza, but no veggies.  It was thin crust, and quite crispy, and very very good.  Just like the meal, you could choose the flavor of sauce you want it to go with. 

Price-wise, I thought the beef shawarma was a bit small, but the pizza was quite cheap for its size and taste.  I would like to go back there again sometime to taste their other offerings, especially since I know that their place offers good food without hurting your pocket.


Hassan Steak and Kebabs
Katipunan

The Greek Experience

I had always wanted to try Mediterranean food, most especially Greek food, since it's always been described in my favorite romance pocket books.  My sister warned me that it might not really suit my taste, but I was quite insistent so off we went to the nearest place where we could get Greek cuisine: Cyma at Trinoma

The Bottomless Lemonade

 Caesar Salad

We just had a salad, and just to be on the safer side, we chose a simple Caesar salad.  It was good enough to share for the two of us, although it was stated that it was a solo serving.  It was good.  What really drew me was the taste of the vegetables, since they were all so crisp and very fresh.  I was thinking whether they were organic or not, but I never got to ask.  As for the sauce?  It was the typical dressing, maybe a bit lighter than what I usually have.  

 Flaming Cheese

This was our appetizer, and before it was served the cheese was indeed put on fire as all the waiters cried "Oppa!".  It was great!  The cheese I think was a mix of parmesan, mozarella and probably cheddar which was cooked in olive oil.  It complemented the grilled garlic bread just fine. 

 

Baked Macaroni in Greek Style

Lastly, we had baked macaroni.  I know it's not a Greek dish, but I just wanted a taste of how Greek prepared their food essentially and due to my sister's misgivings about what she tasted before we settled for this.  How should I describe it?  It was good, but the beef tasted a bit off to me.  I guess it was due to the herbs which were part of the dish.  Also, I had a hard time finishing my part.  We took a "to share" size of serving and we got more than we bargained for.  I got a bit tired of the taste as I tried to finish it.  It was a bit overpowering for me.

 Chili Oil

Overall Summary:

I quite enjoyed my appetizer as well as my salad, but I have to admit the main dish disappointed me a bit.  It was a good thing the chili oil was there as the spice went well with the flavor, but I still was unable to finish my meal.  If I had had the macaroni in a smaller serving I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more than I did.

That aside, I can not really say that this is a good review.  As I said, I did not really eat authentic Greek cuisine, just food which was prepared in Greek style, I am in no position to say whether the food is good or bad.  So here is just my take on what I ordered, and sadly I think the taste may not suit me.  But I still have hope, maybe on my next visit it will be better.

(All of the food had their Greek name counterparts, but for simpler understanding I just wrote the usual names)

Isaw! (Barbequed Innards)

Yum! I know other people may think it's carcinogenic, dirty and a whole lot of other things, but for me good food is good food and I like these!  The 4 pieces below are chicken intestines while the 3 above are pork intestines.  They are cooked by a neighbor of ours so I'm quite certain of their cleanliness (I've never suffered from diarrhea after eating this!)

Underneath the barbeque is the sauce in which I dip the barbeque in, which is composed of vinegar, onions and some chili peppers.  It's a bit hot, but it's also good and it matches the barbequed innards well.  Perfect match with alcohol, don't you think? :)

Fancy Cakes and Crepes

I didn't actually expect to eat here since I just stopped by to pick up my Battalia Royale ticket.  However, when I went inside, the display of cakes were so tempting that I knew I had to get something from there.  Since my companions and I were still planning on going somewhere after this, we just got 2 crepes.  Here's what we got:

Banananutella
As in the name, this crepe was composed of bananas and nutella.  It was sweet and good!  I totally loved the crepe and the ice cream.  Well, I am a sucker for sweet things, but I really prefer crepes on plate rather than eating it like an ice cream cone.  However, if I was to be really fair and impartial, I would say that it's really quite a typical crepe.  I still love it though :)

Sun-zette
My friend who ordered it described it as having a mature taste.  Why?  It's probably because this crepe has rum in it.  It's a crepe with oranges and flamed rum (flambe in French).  When I initially tasted it, I found it not so sweet, and the flavor of rum was still quite powerful.  However, when mixed with the orange sauce thoroughly, it tasted a lot finer, and the orange acidity was neutralized.  How should I describe it?  It's unique.  I'm not saying it's not delicious but as I always say, it's probably an acquired taste.  As I said earlier, I found it not so good at the start but in the end, I swapped plates with my friend since I liked the taste already.  If you're looking for an adventure, I would recommend this to you rather than the first crepe.

What I found sweet in this place is that they personalize your crepes.  See the names?  I think this kind of thing would go over very well to people celebrating something, lovers especially.  They told us instead of names you could ask to place messages instead.

As for the price, the crepes range from 100ish to almost 200, depending on the flavor.  It's a good buy when you consider the taste :)

Must go back for those cakes!!!!


Fancy Cakes and Crepes
Matalino St, Quezon City

Burget Project at Maginhawa

Ever wanted to create your own burger?  I just did it this afternoon! Me, my sister and a good friend of ours went down to Maginhawa street at Diliman to try out the Burger project.  Here was my creation:

Okay, my choices were Angus beef, onions, mozzarella cheese, sesame seed bun, mushrooms, bacon, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and their special sauce.  I also ordered some fries for sides.  The verdict?  It was a gastronomic success.  I regret ordering the fries since I wasn't able to eat it anymore because I was already so full!  I had a hard time eating the burger because of the size, but I was able to manage somehow.  As for the taste?  It was quite good, but I didn't really like their sauce that much.  I guess it didn't fit too well with the ingredients I chose. 

Price-wise, depending on what you order you could actually reach up to 500 for a burger.  Cheapest would be a hundred or so I think.  Still, I think it's worth the visit, if only for the fact that you can try out a lot of things. I nearly forgot, you can even name your creation!  I didn't name mine,  but I guess I would call it trial #1.

I need to go back their for their other burgers, and by that I mean their own creations.  Some seemed appetizing to me, and I sure would like to taste them :) 

Here's my sister and my friend's creations, as well as the pic of the fries.

Well, I hope that whetted your appetite enough to encourage you to give the place a visit.  :)

For their Facebook page, here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/brgr.burgerproject