Vikings, Mall of Asia

Viking is a term used to describe a seafaring pirate and a trader who raided and settled in many parts of northwestern Europe. Norway, Sweden and Finland to be exact but this restaurant is nowhere Scandinavian... except for one of the buffet tables that resembled a Viking boat if you look at it at a certain angle. 

Well, that doesn't seem to matter because the place looks nice! Look around and you will see interesting patterns and they are decorated for the season, too. One of their dividers is actually made of a wine rack. Their ordinary hanging lights were made interesting with oversized glass containers and suicidal teddy bears! This restaurant has so much attention to detail that it makes that Japanese hair expert in that shampoo commercial a wuss.

It was actually my dad's and brother's birthday. Yes, they were born on the same day and the restaurant has a way of knowing if it's your birthday so they can hop on your table and sing a brutal song of "Bang the Maracas on Anything Solid Near You Happy Birthday". I swear, these guys were probably high. See that missing "H" and a half-eaten "a" on the sign? Now you know. It was an entertaining sight though ^^

Here's a disclaimer: I didn't take a lot of photos of food. I know, it's lame! I did that on purpose so I  have a reason to go back. Oh, di ba? Di ba? Here are some that I tried:

On the top left is Chawan Mushi or Japanese Egg Custard and the bottom right one is miso soup served in an small earthenware pot. The top part of the pot is a turned over sake cup and this is what you will use to sip that healthful soup.

The sushi and sashimi were fresher than fresh! Served straight from the fish's body that was just happily swimming in a happy tank minutes ago not knowing that he will be happily eaten by happy gluttons. Happiness transcends.

More great finds: Mini burgers and potato chips, assorted salad from several countries in Europe (I swear when you bite that potato, it crunches in German), I was excited too see plates of assorted caviar but then my brother said "Peke yan." Okay, fine. Talk about luxury food. Good thing there's a lechon station which also serves other cured meats. (May sakit lang? lol)

This is probably the section that I enjoyed the most. The dessert section located at the heart of the restaurant because it's their strategy to attract people in eating starch-enriched food first so they won't be able to indulge on other  delicacies hence money for them. I dunno, I might be wrong :D

Fruit jellies, Panna Cotta, cream puffs, custards, mallows, halohalo, a dude serving taho (sigaw ka ng "Kuya, sampung piso lang" lol), a Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj fountain... everything! If I would shoot a video here, it will turn out as one of those Katy Perry music videos.

Here are some interesting marvels. The salad is served on ice with blue backlight. It's either Pimp My Ride or it's radioactive. Same goes to that shrimp dish whose name I don't know how to pronounce. They look effin' cool! There's our table number. It makes me wanna shout "Sparta!" but I have 24 more and there's a crepe station. Kuya, wag feeler. Hindi ikaw pinipichuran ko!

I'll definitely come back! Here's my evalutaion:

Appeal: 4/5
Food: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Is it worth the money? If your stomach can be stretched, then yes. I guess that applies to all eat-all-you-can restaurants. 

Mikuru Tips:

1. Go on a weekday. You'll save a lot and there are less people.

2. Once you are in, everything is free! So go ahead, indulge! Run around!

3. There is a service charge so maximize your money's worth by going to manned counters and have your food prepared by them. Ex: Ask a chef to grill you a medium rare sirloin.

For Res pls call: 846-3888, 846-4888, 846-5888 and 0917-565-3888. Vikings: The Best Eat and Drink Buffet In Manila.Opens daily 11:00am- 2:30pm,5:30pm-10:00pm,Weekday Lunch is 688+,Weekday Dinner is 888+, Weekend Lunch and Dinner plus Holiday is 1088+. 

Their rates could change anytime so just call them up or contact them via 
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vikings-Luxury-Buffet-Restaurant/113225315413751

Neoguri

After a stressful day at work, I always visit a nearby 7eleven convenience store. Every time I do, I kept looking at one shelf to another endlessly because I can't decide what to eat until I realize people are giving me weird looks. So after 5 minutes of going around, I decided to grab a pack of instant noodles and this particular pack is begging me to pick him up.

I see it's an Udon type of Ramen (and I see kamaboko slices) but the "Nong Shim" and korean characters part made me confused if this is Japanese or Korean noodles.

Btw, just to share, Koreans are everywhere around my neighborhood! It's either they are here on vacation or enrolled in a nearby English Language learning center. Anyway, I hate it when they talk to each other so loud as if they don't really care since locals can't understand what they are talking about. The bigger the group - the louder! I swear!

It's actually cool because there is a bonito flake included in the package where you have to boil it first with water before adding the noodles. It's just a little bit disappointing because it's not what I expected it to be.

Just look at what I have compared to what is pictured above but it's okay, it tasted good with a little bit of kimchi. I swear, I'm getting addicted to kimchi. Well, on to the next instant noodle pack!

Reinvented Yakisoba

I was scanning my folders and I ran across old pics I never had the chance to upload on my old blog here. Well anyway, it's worth sharing.
I purchased a pack of authentic yakisoba noodles and even though I am missing a lot on some ingredients, I made use of what is available... and in this case - Chinese Fried Tofu and Garlic Sausage.

Yakisoba is often considered as "junk food" in Japan because of it's grease content (Bah! Wait till they see pansit ni Aling Nena!) It literally translates to "fried buckwheat noodles" and is originally from China and a lot of variations can be found in several Asian countries. It's basically vegetables, stir-fried with noodles and sauce is added.

So here's what I did:
Those tofu were already fried when packed, so I don't really have to fry them for a long time. The garlic sausage went well with the noodles, too. Delicious!

Saisaki, Kamayan and Dads

The power of three... and I'm not referring to 3 sisters living a life of endless demon banishing related activities, I'm talking about three restos where you can eat all you can for just less than 600 php! It's a great bargain actually, considering there is a wide range of food selection - from Japanese to Filipino to European and American cuisine!
It's like a food bazaar! Everywhere you look there are stations serving a certain kind of cuisine. It's like a festival of delicious food!
On top is the ramen station where you can order ramen, cold Japanese nodles, sukiyaki, etc. Ingredients are laid out in front of you, just tell the chef what you want and how you want it then he'll prepare it for you. There is also a grilling station where Japanese style skewered meats and salmon (and corn, too) are displayed, just grab a plate and put in everything you want and they will grill it for you... or if you don't want to wait, there are already-grilled meats on a platter.
On top, there's the fried rice and next to it are different kinds of tempura (pork, chicken, crab, shrimp and vegetables). The sushi is a blockbuster, when I went to that station, a lot of people are just grabbing what they see so I ended up with that pick. We had sukiyaki, ramen and they also have kimchee. I also love their tofu topped with crab stick, it's so delicious!
So there's my plate, I got a lot of gyoza, fancy sushi and for dessert, I got a lot of creampuffs, blueberry squares, some random unidentified sweets and chocolate coated apples and mallows via chocolate fountain.
You can create your own nachos or taco salad at that area and on the left are several custards and candied coconuts for dessert, those are cakes served in small squares, they also have pudding and on its left is the salad bar. Fruit, potato, macaroni, veggie... you name it, it's there! Several ingredients are also available so you can customize your salad the way you want it.
Those are french breads with fancy spreads and they even have an oven toaster! And there is the roasted chicken and ham station, the chef carves out a slice or two then just stretch out your plate.
And for the win, there is also a bibingka station where a chef cooks bibingka on the spot! It's really fun to watch him. He even posed when I took a picture. There are a lot of Filipino rice cakes and jellies in this station.
They also have a pasta section. Different kinds of pasta and sauces are up for grabs... I was wondering though why this station is empty. And to complete the fun atmosphere, there's a band!

It's a long stretch of food! I believe I only tried 20% of what's being served there. I am planning to go back. This is definitely a place where you get value for your money! The food is great, too!

2nd Level, Glorietta 3 Ayala Center, Makati

Telephone nos.

(02) 892-8897
(02) 892-8908 to 09

Sakae Sushi: Sushi Heaven!

If you are a sushi lover and want to experience eating in a sushi bar where sushi is served in a conveyor belt, then SM Mall of Asia's Sakae Sushi is the best place to go!

And the first thing you'll notice:

I love it!!!

You can get anything that you want and as you can see on the first picture above each plate color has a corresponding price and since I got the buffet promo, I can eat anything I want for a fixed price! The best deal on earth, right? ^0^Just seeing those 'heaven on a plate" makes me wanna live here! I got so excited I immediately grabbed the first plate that passed by ^^. Everything was so good! Okay, picture dump time!

They also offer rice meals, if you don't want sushi but still want something with rice. We also had Katsudon, Sukiyaki, Ebi Ramen, Green Tea (they will ask you if you want it hot or cold) and I had, correct me if I am wrong but I think it's called Hiyashi Chuka. This is Japanese cold noodles served with ice, traditionally served during summer and has a complementary dipping sauce. This one was also served with super soft boiled quail egg placed on a wasabi platform. Isn't it cute?! Sakae Sushi is definitely a sushi heaven!

Manila, Mall Of Asia
Unit 2145-2146 Main Mall
SM Mall of Asia
CM Central Business Park
Bay City, Pasay City
Tel: 632-556-0150

Manila, The Fort
26th Street Crescent West Park
Global City, Taguig Philippines
Tel: 632-843-4891

They have a website, too!

Oh Boy, It's Teriyaki Boy!

For lunch our family craved for Japanese food, so we decided to go here, at Teriyaki Boy! Japanese food is something I could live with until I die, really! I never get tired of Japanese food... so as soon as we were seated and the lady was handing out the menu, I was like - "Gimme, gimme, gimme!" and the first thing I browsed for - Ramen, so I had Teriyaki Chicken Ramen in rich shoyu sauce!!! Their "Crazy Rolls" menu was also interesting. Here you can see "unique" rolls that I never knew they exist.
The rolls are perfect! I ordered The Saigon roll which is vegetable sushi with cilantro and Sumo Roll, which is actually 1.5x bigger than the Saigon roll, hence the name.

The chicken Karaage was served with chips which I think, is seasoned with powdered nori. That's mango shake served in a tall and slim glass. We also had Katsudon and Agedashi Tofu, Ebi Ramen and more Ramen... Amen!
Although the shoyu in my ramen lacked a bit of richness and the buckwheat noodles were lumpy, the rolls made up for it. I want to go back and try their other rolls. If you guys wanna check out their full menu, you can check out their website here.