Welcome once again to one of my Food Memories post! You can check out my previous posts through the following links: Early Heartbreaks Over Burgers and Ramen, Reliving Old Moments with More Ramen, and Breakfast Beckons.
In this post, I would like to share with you my love for buffets. I'm a fan of buffets because I have a really big appetite. Ask my friends about it and they would definitely attest to my love of eating. I'll be sharing four separate occasions where I went to a buffet restaurants and the numerous plates that I had. It's a good thing I took pictures before eating them.
Writing this post made me hungry and I think it would elicit the same reaction from you. Good luck!
SUMMER BUFFET
FIRST PLATE: Seafood Appetizer
I had seafood and a glass of juice. Scallops and calamares as always almost present at any Filipino buffets or restaurants. The shrimp was steamed and served with a slice of calamansi. I also took slices of fish.
SECOND PLATE: Salad with Dried Mangoes
I assembled a plate of salad with the usual greens but this was the first I tried a salad with dried mangoes. And it was delicious! I threw in some pickles, cold cuts, and cheese as well.
THIRD PLATE: Main Dish with Lechon
The buffet had "lechon" or roasted pig, another staple in Filipino celebrations. I stuffed my plate with chicken barbecue, menudo, and a few grilled vegetables. I limited my rice to only about a cup because there was still so much food.
FOURTH PLATE: Second Main Dish with Lumpia
Everyone Filipino knows what "lumpia" is. For my second main dish, I took some cute lumpia and pancit. I also tried their siomai and a cup of creamy squash soup.
FIFTH PLATE: Cake and Fruit Dessert
Fruits are eaten last during Filipino meals. I took some pineapple, watermelon, and papaya. I had ube cake, mango float, and that cute caramel puff. I almost forgot to take a picture of my dessert plate and I actually ate one food item before remembering to snap a photo.
May 12, 2019
On this day, we were at a beach resort to take our company visitors for a quick summer getaway. We went to Maribago Blue Water and availed of their day use with the lunch buffet. I was disappointed with the beach but I was blown away with their outdoor buffet.
I remember just chilling by the beach after being so full. I wanted so bad to drink a beer but it was election day and there was a liquor ban. We just ordered mango shake while enjoying that fine day. I also remember our visitors making fun at how much food I ate.
A BUFFET FOR MY BROTHER'S BIRTHDAY
FIRST PLATE: Bread with Spreads
I wanted to start my buffet with simple food. I toasted some white bread, and took a slice of garlic bread and cinnamon bread. For my spreads, I chose strawberry jam and peanut butter.
SECOND PLATE: Seafood Appetizer with Kimchi
I took the usual appetizers, shrimp in calamansi and scallops with, oddly, pancit. I've grown to love kimchi and so I took some for my appetizer. For some reason, I decided to also take siomai.
THRID PLATE: Salad with Coffee
I assembled my salad with some greens, eggs, cucumber, and a sweet dressing. I included some cold cuts on the side. I didn't see that the buffet had coffee before I had my bread so I just had it with my salad.
FOURTH PLATE: Main Dish with Beef
People were lining up for the tenderloin and I decided to ask for it. I added some gravy to it. I took two pieces of fried chicken. I don't why I didn't put the broccoli soup in a bowl but I just dumped it on my plate beside my rice.
FIFTH PLATE: Second Main Dish with Sushi
I filled my with plate with different kinds of sushi. I also took some noodles. I had egg drop soup and draft beer. I wanted to drink more beer because it was unlimited but I wanted to try more food.
SIXTH PLATE: Dessert with Cakes and Crepe
I waited patiently for a blueberry cream cheese crepe. I took small slices of their cakes. I was getting kind of full and so I decided to make a cup of tea to help keep it all down.
SEVENTH PLATE: Second Dessert with Banana Split and Fruit Shake
I made my own banana split with their mango ice cream, banana slices, corn cereal, and a cherry. I drizzled some chocolate syrup on top too. I think my fruit shake was watermelon.
July 11, 2019
It was my brother's Birthday and I was a bit shocked when I heard that he was planning to celebrate it at Buffet 101 because the place is a bit expensive and we have a big family. I decided to contribute a bit and the whole family and my brother's friends were able to enjoy a huge buffet.
I remember being so comfortable eating so much because I was with family. I did not need to pretend or hurry. We stayed so long at the restaurant that they started to clear the buffet tables already. I also remember having my family wait for me because I had to finish my banana split.
CHRISTMAS BUFFET
FIRST PLATE: Toasted Bread and Creamy Mushroom Soup
I toasted (or burnt) some garlic bread. I wanted to started light, so I just added a few slices of fried banana and bowl of creamy mushroom soup.
SECOND PLATE: SEAFOOD APPETIZER WITH OKRA
As usual, I took some shrimp and scallops for my appetizer. There was 'kinilaw' or raw fish in vinegar and lemon. There was steamed okra and I wanted to try it with "hipon" or shrimp paste. I added in some peanuts to fill my plate.
THIRD PLATE: Salad with Italian Dressing
I made my salad with the usual greens and egg. I threw in some dried pineapples and bread. And I think I used Italian dressing.
FOURTH PLATE: Main Dish with Sushi
I didn't want to eat plain rice, and so I jumped right in to the sushi. I was able to get some shrimp tempura. I took a few chips and got a an iced tea for my drink.
December 12, 2019
Christmas season is always full of heavy eating. I was again at Buffet 101. I remember I wanted to eat less because there were so much gatherings and celebrations during this time. I was also with friends and I spent some time catching up with them. I even forgot to take a picture of my dessert.
BUFFET FOR A VIKING
FIRST PLATE: Bread and Coffee
I took small pieces of bread and topped each with different spreads. I wanted to start small. And I made coffee to better enjoy the bread.
SECOND PLATE: Assorted Appetizer
The appetizer section of the buffet had so much variety. I took a familiar embotido and a fried egg. I'm not really sure what the rest of the food were but I thought my plate looked good.
THIRD PLATE: Salad with Vinaigrette
I dumped the greens on my plate for a salad. There were dried and fresh fruits, and pecans. Some vegetables were cut into strips. I think my dressing was vinaigrette which I poured ungracefully on top of my salad.
FOURTH PLATE: Main Dish with Sushi and Sashimi
I thought their sashimi looked good and I took a few slices. I also got some maki. I made my own sauce using soy sauce, calamansi, and wasabi.
FIFTH PLATE: Ramen
There were a section in the buffet where you could make your own ramen. I threw in some eggs, sprouts, seaweed, and chili powder. I think the soup was seafood based.
January 8, 2020
It was mother's 60th Birthday. She wanted to celebrate at Vikings and I was excited because I haven't tried it there yet. It's a popular buffet restaurant located in one of the main malls of the city. When we started eating, I thought the place was disorienting. There was so much selection that I was having trouble deciding what to eat. Still, I enjoyed myself and I was happy to be with family. I think I was quite full after the ramen that I forgot to take a picture of my dessert plate.
That's it for this post. This was a lot! I realized that I had so much pictures of food that I had from each time I went to a buffet restaurant. I didn't really intend to share them. I just wanted to document what I ate. This was fun and I can't wait to be able to eat again at a buffet restaurant. See you on the next post. Cheers!