Based in Manila, Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a chronicle of the food-obsessed food writer, Lori Baltazar. This website is all about desserts, restaurants, coffee, and the pleasures of homebaking. Read more about me Some thoughts on dining at the hotel buffets
Mon, May 29th of 2006
12:35 pm
eenie, meenie, miney mo…
I didn’t expect my post on EDSA Shangri-la’s HEAT to trigger several comments and email inquiries about my opinions regarding the different hotel buffets. Although this is my blog and I make my preferences very clear, what I give out is information only for those people who want it. It’s never been my intention to foist what I think on anybody. After all, I respect the readers of this blog as well as their intelligence, especially when it comes to knowing where and what to eat.
Having said that, because many people asked, I’ve decided to write my opinions about hotel buffets and offer a few suggestions. Please keep in mind that these are my opinions only, and are not representative of the people I mention in this post.
- It’s all about interaction
This “new” trend of hotel restaurants to convert from the chafing dishes of yore and revert to the theater kitchens/live stations/open kitchens we see now is actually more than 10 years old. Hotels in Manila generally concede that Paseo Uno at the Mandarin was the first to offer this sort of buffet. After talking with the F&B (Food and Beverage) managers of both the EDSA Shangri-la and the Makati Shangri-la, it’s clear to me that these theater kitchens (my preferred term) are a natural progression of the business. The way food was presented then was not up to the latest standard. Dining nowadays is all about interaction and involving the five senses.
Theater kitchens empower the diner, but it’s up to you to interact with the chef behind the station: ask him/her if they have the sushi you want (if I don’t see any uni sushi, I always ask because it’s my favorite.) Indicate that you’d like to customize your pizza instead of getting one from the (oh, yes) chafing dish, or say, “I’d like a thick slice of that prime rib with the most fat, please.”
- Dinner really is more expensive
All these hotel buffets have up to three menu cycles that are rotated. This is to ensure variety in what’s offered and it also keeps the chefs sharp and on top of their game. Nothing will dull minds (theirs) and taste buds (ours) like complacency. Naturally some ultra-popular dishes (smoked salmon, the carvery, etc.) are like good hair days – they’re almost always there, but try something else if they’re not.
a favorite at HEAT: smoked salmon-spinach salad
- The lunch service is punctuated with frenzied business meetings and those “ladies who lunch,” so it doesn’t carry as hefty a price tag as dinner. Restaurants consider dinner the time when people can actually dine at leisure, and rightly so. It all boils down to time, which is the great common denominator. As a result, extra special foods are offered for dinner, such as but not limited to grilled items, a wider selection of seafood, and more desserts (oh, yeah).
Circles or Heat?
This is the question I’ve gotten asked the most since I posted my article on HEAT. Here’s what I have to say, at the risk of inflaming loyalists of either restaurant.
Ambience
Circles is more chaotic I feel, since it’s one large eating room. Thus, the noise level is decidedly high, and it’s impossible for me to feel like I’m having a relaxed meal. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since there are days when I’m quite hyper myself. But on the days I’m feeling mellow, then HEAT it is. The expansive dining room and dining cluster areas provide a more “secluded” eating experience.
Food Selection
I’ll be straight with you: HEAT has a teppanyaki ice cream section that I’m quite enamored with. The ice cream is velvety smooth, the way I expect ice cream to be. Their chocolate fountains actually taste like chocolate and not oil. (Oil is added to any chocolate fountain mixture to make it more free-flowing.) HEAT’s cakes are also worth mentioning, especially the cheesecake. If you read this blog regularly, then you’re already aware of my position that dessert is THE main course and everything else is secondary.
bread pudding
Given that, I think that Circles has a wider food selection even though they have fewer open kitchens than HEAT. Circles has dishes that I keep going back to, like the cod in cream sauce, the spectacular Indian section, the roasted duck from the Chinese kitchen, the risotto, and the seemingly endless strips of smoked salmon. And how can I forget that stellar flourless chocolate cake?
So. Dinner at Circles and dessert at Heat.
Related Buffet Posts:
A Chocolate Buffet
How To Gorge At A Chocolate Buffet
A BBQ Buffet
7 Corners Buffet
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Thank you so much, Lori. Dami talaga akong natututunan dito sa blog mo, very informative, indeed.
By the way, I mentioned you in my blog entry (I hope you don’t mind). And link na rin kita. It is in http://www.worthlessme.blog.com.
Thanks again.
[Reply]
Comment by Lani — May 29, 2006 @ 3:55 pm
lori your blog is excellent. dangerous for a pregnant woman to read past midnight, hee hee. re hotel buffets, i personally like hyatt hotel & casino (manila) and paseo uno. i’ll have to try HEAT one of these days. thanks for the tips.
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Comment by daphne — May 29, 2006 @ 5:42 pm
Great advice regarding hotel buffets. I am a huge fan, but only for lunch or brunch. It is too true that the dinner price rises quite a bit!
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Comment by Bill Belew — May 29, 2006 @ 11:01 pm
hi lori,
we ate at circles (the sunday before this post came out)because my sister was flying back to ireland the next tuesday – and we went there because of the dessert section — HA HA
One look at the HEAT pictures, i got weak in the knees, drooled gallons and fortunately had enough energy left to send the link to her.
i could hear her wail all the way back from the highlands
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Comment by renee — May 29, 2006 @ 11:50 pm
It’s good to always be as objective as possible, but at the same time, one cannot deny favorites.
I for one have not been to either Circles or HEAT, but the noise I’ve heard is just pulling me in. I really just need to find three long lunch hours to try it out and find a point of comparison.
I think that we’re lucky to have such interactive buffets nowadays since everyone of us can now be spoilt with our own food preferences. I’m just glad that our hotel buffets are now getting attention, and the thumbs-up even from the snobbiest foreign tasters!
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Comment by Abster — May 30, 2006 @ 1:04 am
Another insightful post from lori! I just LOVE readings your posts. Some of my friends have had the chance to dine either at Circles or HEAT or both and all are just ga-ga over these restaurants.
It’s good that hotels are starting this kind of dining trend. People nowadays are beginning to really get into eating good, gourmet food that people appreciate it more now that they see how their food is being prepared.
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Comment by Pilar — May 30, 2006 @ 2:22 am
I would like to ask some questions po.
1. Are drinks included in the buffet? Or should we order for it?
2. How much should I spend (including the taxes/service charge) when I bring my gf in Circles, Heat, or 7 Corners? (Estimate lang po)
We will celebrate our 3rd year anniversary this coming July, and I want to bring her in a nice and class restaurant since I have a stable job now.
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Comment by Anonymous — May 30, 2006 @ 8:24 am
great post, miss lori. very informative.
sadly, one thing that truly spoils my dining experience in these buffets, since i think we share a common view on the importance of ambience, are this “phenomenon” of rowdy diners who are in tagalog terms, “takot maubusan.”
it really spoils my mood to see folks who:
1. dont know the concept of falling in line in the buffet station
2. hogging the perceived expensive items- salmon sashimi, roast beef, crabs, etc… without even considering people who are in line
3. people who bring separate plates for the expensive items of the buffet
4. people who are so $%&*# messy when they use the serving ladles or spoons (the wasabi dish is really disgusting sometimes in HEAT)
5. how some people mangle the cake spread- like they’re using shovels to slice the cake.
sometimes it just feels like one expensive palengke inside these establishments. i just hope people would be more conscious about this. they should dine in a buffet, not pillage it.
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Comment by acidboy — May 30, 2006 @ 10:05 am
one thing i love about HEAT’s dessert items is the bread pudding! i get a bowlful from the hot serving dish then i go to the ice cream station to pile on vanilla (and only vanilla)ice cream on top. fantastic. but generally i’m not a big fan of buffets. i prefer all the food i’m having, even if its just one portion, to be outstanding rather than have platefuls of mediocre food. that’s just me. although i DO like breakfast buffets….i love my bacon. never mind the pancakes and toast. just pile on the bacon
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Comment by anonymous paul — May 30, 2006 @ 10:41 am
Anonymous-
1. Drinks are not included in the prices I’ve listed for HEAT. Save yourself the extra expense (and stomach room!) by ordering just plain water. Coffee and tea are included in the price anyway, which you can enjoy with the dessert.
2. Bring P1,500 for each person. Taxes in hotels are exorbitant, and it would be a pity to ruin a special occasion if you didn’t have enough money.
Acidboy- I totally agree with you on all those points you mentioned. It’s unavoidable sometimes, so it’s a good idea to go early so that you can get first dibs at everything (and save yourself the grief of unruly/piggish diners).
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Comment by Lori — May 30, 2006 @ 12:23 pm
Which do you prefer paparazzi or heat (both in edsa shang)? I love paparazzi… but i haven’t tried heat. Circles is just so-so for me. It’s just an overwhelming buffet filled with artistically styled dishes but not everything tates amazing. Paseo Uno is better.
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Comment by Anonymous — May 30, 2006 @ 2:32 pm
I really enjoy reading about your hotel buffet reviews. I hope you post more buffet reviews in the future!
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Comment by AC — May 30, 2006 @ 4:33 pm
hi lori! thanks so much for this post
very timely indeed coz my boyfriend and i are trying to choose the best themed buffet 
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Comment by fran =) — May 31, 2006 @ 12:52 am
Great site. No wonder my wife keeps mentioning “steak” and “dining out” every now and then. She introduced me to your site. It’s really fantastic.
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Comment by The cookie angel — May 31, 2006 @ 10:12 am
Ahhhchooo! So much for exposed food on the buffet.
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Comment by Anonymous — June 7, 2006 @ 3:15 pm
hello..Ü i want to say that your blog is very nice and very overwhelmingÜ and also talagang nakakatakam ang mga picturesÜ
i want to ask something, have you tried the buffet in hotel philippine plaza Spiral? is it good? i’ve tried the 7 corners because of this blog.. Ãœ i want to ask which is better, the HEAT or the SPIRAL? thank you!!!
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Comment by Anonymous — June 19, 2006 @ 1:21 pm
Im still undecided. There’s Spiral, Paseo Uno, Heat and Circles.. Golly. A preview came out from a newspaper a couple of weeks ago. Gosh. Great food everywhere!
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Comment by dweebi — July 22, 2008 @ 2:24 pm