Vikings: Luxury Buffet?

San Miguel By the Bay
SM Mall of Asia Seaside Blvd
Manila Bay reclamation area, Pasay
02-846-3888

I love buffets!! I find it more sulit that eating in a fine dining restaurant and we Filipinos truly have an eye for All-you-can-eat, belly buster and mouth watering treats served unlimited! Turn left or right and you'll find different establishments around the corner that offers buffet, from restaurants to five star hotels, it's a competition!

Vikings is said to be a luxury buffet that you can compare to other hotels in terms of ambiance, variety of dishes and service but, with a lower rate. Well, if you can get pretty much the same thing that's cheaper, where else can you be? ^_^

I've heard a lot of buzz about it and finally, I've got the chance to try it last Saturday, it's one of those special days of Kiks and I so we decided to have a feast from the sea the vikings way!!! 

Here's a photo blog of our Vikings experience:

The Salad Station

The Grilled Station

Sushi Station

Tuna and Salmon Sashimi Carving Station

The Sushi Boat

Seafood Station

Dimsum

Meat Carving Station

Pasta Station

 

Hotpot

The Dessert Station

The Drinks Station

Some of the menu for the day:

According to buffet 101 techniques: Roam around.. try to taste everything first and get as many as you can of the ones you like.. avoid the fillers and the ordinary.. AND, consume those that are expensive! Sadly, I don't think I remembered those as most of what I got did not actually went with it... 

 If I started my meal with something that's not good, I might lose my appetite. So, to make it safe, Sushi and Nachos are the front liners. Sushis good but not great...I love their nachos, the toppings were complete and the meat was really tasty. The salmon was fresh and kiko managed to finish 1 whole plate of it (10pcs i think). Dimsum's just ok.

They have Pizza! Yey! And it's good! The Angus Rib eye steak was a bit tough, I'd say casa filipino's angus beef tasted way better than this... Baked oyster was ok, but I like mine to have butter and garlic together with the cheese and cream.

Who would not love tempura?? But then, I want Yakimix's tempura than this one. The batter wasn't that good... The carbonara on the other hand was creamyummy! Lol

For the love of ice cream... who would have thought that I would go twice on a bubblegum flavored ice cream?? Isn't that color blue appealing to your eyes? Well it is right? It's actually not bad, you're like chewing your bubblegum without losing it's flavor. It's good I promise you, though kiko was giving me the face saying "you're weird"... Am I??

What did I say about fillers? Marshmallow is one of them, but why would I care, I love fondue!!! The froyo's another story, it isn't my thing.. not at all.. I don't like it's sour taste but Kiko does... Now about the drinks, here's my warning, stay away from "fresh strawberry juice" ok?... the ice coffee was good though, it tasted like iced machiatto of Starbucks and I had 2 glasses of it! And of course, it's not vikings without their famous unlimited draft beer! hick!

We had this meal for a price of 1088++ each since it's a Saturday. Is it sulit? Of course it is, but not for me I guess.. Aside from the fact that I was expecting more from it, I wasn't able to eat that much =( ... But Kiks said he was happy about it cause he managed to have a taste of everything! I'll be back again to have my revenge that's for sure but maybe I'll do it during weekdays when it's much cheaper.. LOL! The ambiance is great, the service is good, and the food is ok... overwhelmingly lots to choose from! We left the place full and with smiles on our faces because we got to spend the day together regardless of what we have to share with each other... =)

Operating hours:

Lunch 11am - 2:30pm

Dinner 6pm - 10pm

*For sure seats, make a reservation since they're always fully booked

*For walk-in, arrive 1hour before the opening for the waiting list

Dining Experience at Olives Restaurant

Thunderbird Resorts, Poro Point
San Fernando City, La Union

Last July 19, 2012 I was able to experience an overnight stay in Thunderbird Resorts, a world-class luxury resort at the heart of San Fernando, La Union. It seemed like you're having a vacation in Santorini, Greece similar to that of Bellaroca that has a mediterranean inspired architecture. I happened to receive this treat as a gift  for my birthday from my special someone and it was a blast! The place is very relaxing, the view is breathtaking, the service is excellent, the food is great, and the experience of it is blissfully satisfying.

Going there took us almost 7hrs by land which I didn't mind at all since I was asleep most of the time. The stay cost us 6300+Php a night that includes a free breakfast buffet for two. If you are looking for a very relaxing weekend getaway then this is the place for you. It's all worth your penny, I really enjoyed the luxurious experience of it away from our busy life in the city. Let me share with you some of our pictures:

We arrived earlier than the check-in time of 2PM. While waiting for our room, welcome drinks were served (Chilled Lemon Grass Tea) that replenished us from that butt numbing ride.

The picture at the center is where they serve their dinner buffet.

We occupied their Deluxe Room that comes with LCD TV, a sound system where you can play your Ipod, a study and dining area.

The bathroom is very spacious with complete toiletries.

In our room, we were also provided with complimentary drinks and fruits which you can enjoy in your balcony. They also had a minibar for your convenience but with charges.

The pool area is only 4ft =). It has a mini bar at the center of the pool where you can order drinks to your liking and other snacks.

The beach area with it's white sand was really inviting, but we did not dare to take a dip as the waves that time were really strong and unfortunately no lifeguard on duty.

And of course, the experience wouldn't be complete without good food... And that's another story to tell.. Thunderbird Resorts houses two restaurants, The Vegas Cafe at the Casino and Olives. Since we're in the main resort we had our dinner and breakfast at Olives;a fine dining restaurant that offers french/mediterranean cuisine. The place is clean and very classy so expect the food to be a bit pricey. The staff is very accommodating and quick in attending with all our needs. 

Olives is known for their wood fire oven pizza and that's what we ordered. At first we can't decide which flavor to go for and the staff told us that we can order the pizza with two flavors in it, well that's a relief =)

Pizza Ilokano (400Php) and Pizza Quattro Stagioni (470Php) + 10% service charge

For this we paid 435Php + 10% service charge. It was Kiks who chose Pizza Ilokano and I'd say, I should have done the same. It's unique flavor with tomato, mozarella, cheddar cheese, vigan longganisa, tocino, tuna and onion really goes well together. On the other hand, the Stagioni was disappointing. I don't like its bland taste at all. 

Fettucine Seafood Alfredo Entree 490Php + 10% service charge

This one is good for sharing and since I love cream based pasta, I have nothing against this one. I asked the staff which is their best selling pasta and she suggested us this one. No doubt about it coz' it tasted really good! =)

Green Mango Shake 140Php + 10% service charge

Don't order this one. That's all.

Now for the best part.. The Breakfast buffet that is included in the package. They say, eat like a king during breakfast to start your day great! And that's what we did...

The Bread Station

The Cereals and Drinks Station ( L-R: Lemon Grass Tea, Chocolate, Pineapple, Melon )

The Salad and Cold cuts section

The Omelette Station

For me, though their breakfast buffet is simpler than that of other five star hotels here in Manila, regardless that it's part of the package, it still is gratifying. I enjoyed their moist breads especially the Raspberry Danish bread. Their Bacon is super crispy but not too thin. It's not like the one's you'll buy in the supermarket. They also served English Sausage, Chicken Adobo, Pork Siomai, Siopao and Chicken Pasta Soup. We indulged eating here for almost 2hrs! Lol! =P 

To sum it up, we enjoyed our stay. I would definitely go back here. Maybe by that time the weather would be nicer and we'll have more activities to do. It would be more fun if you'll go with your friends and family so all of you can celebrate how wonderful life can be =)