One beautiful sunday, my family decided to eat our lunch at Spiral at Sofitel. It was our first time to try it. We've heard a lot about it. People say that it is the best buffet in the country.
Upon our entry at around 12:30 p.m., we were brought to our reserved seat. We noticed that each part of the venue had different ambiance from western to asian. Our round table had a european influence in it. As we roamed around, we noticed that the place was packed. There were foreigners and local Chinese and Filipinos.
We quickly got up and started with the sushi section. The Salmon Sashimi was fresh and sweet. I also loved the Mackarel sushi. I ate a lot of it. It was tastier and was more fun to chew than the cooked one. We also enjoyed the Temaki. I think I ate around 3 of those.
After that we tried the fresh seafood section. The Fresh Crab, Oysters and Prawns were so big and sweet. I only added a few drops of lemon and it was very delightful. We then picked out samplers of the salads. We loved the Waldorf Salad. We also tried the variety of cheese and matched them with crackers. It was so many that I could no longer identify which cheese I was eating.
We ordered the Foie Gras. It was cooked on the spot by a chef upon order. It was my first time to try one. Initially, it was really good. It was soft and tasty but as I ate more, it was "nakakaumay" (too tiring too eat). I guess, it is best enjoyed at an ample amount of at most 2 pieces. How about you? How much Foie Gras could you eat?
Just beside the Foie Gras, we took a slice of Pizza and got a Lamb Shawarma. As expected they tasted ordinary. The shawarma meat was delicious but the sauce was not.
The next section was the tempura section. There were all sorts of tempuras but we only chose the Tempura Shrimp. It was a disappointment. The prawns were small and the batter didn't taste good.
I got some Yakitori and Miso Soup from the Japanese section. It was nothing special. I think we got some dishes at the Mediterranean section but we forgot the names of those dishes.
Then we tried the Roasted Lamb with the mustard sauce and Roasted Chicken at the International Cuisine. We didn't like the tangy taste of the sauce. We also tried the Salmon Puff. It was good.
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| Xiao Long Bao |
We then proceeded to the Cold cuts section where we ordered Peking Duck. It was sliced on the spot. It was delicious and still crunchy. Next to it is the Dimsum section where we got ordered Xiao Long Bao. It took 15 minutes to cook. We glanced at the Thailand Section and tried the Chicken Tikka. We were too full so we skipped the Filipino section.
Now, for my favorite part, the dessert. There were Assorted Cakes (some sugar-free), Sliced Fresh Fruits that you can dip in the chocolate fountain: one color brown and the other was green (I don't know what the green was...), Cotton Candy (Yes! I was the only adult to order one), Crepe (we chose blueberry), gummy candies and jelly beans, churros, cookies, halo-halo, ice cream and Teppanyaki Ice Cream (ours was chocolate mixed with pistacio and some sprinkled candy) similar to Cold Rock. I tried all the deserts offered except for the churros, cookies and halo-halo but I don't remember which one stood out from the rest.
Overall, the meal was great. In fact, we were so overwhelmed by the selection and the dishes that we forgot to take a picture. The price was a bit expensive as expected from the longest buffet we have ever tried. The experience is definitely worth it. We were able to taste new dishes. The food selections were delicious but nothing so special that would make me want to try it out again.
Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard,
Pasay City
(02) 551-5555 loc 1086
