Fantastic Eat-All-You-Can Dinner at Buffet 101

It was a Thursday night last May 2nd. The original plan was to go to Vikings (the more popular buffet dining place) but when we got there, we were no. 42 on the wait list. I suddenly remembered Buffet 101 (the other buffet dining place at the other end of San Miguel by the Bay) so that was where I suggested we transfer. We were a group of 8 persons: the hubby, my SIL, my five officemates and me. It was just one of those planned dinners that fortunately pushed through. During our visit, Buffet 101 had a very good food selection featuring international cuisine (just like in hotel buffets) that I got overwhelmed and felt momentarily dizzy with all the food surrounding me every time I would approach the buffet stations.




The best thing about Buffet 101 is that for P950 (buffet dinner price on a weekday), you get to eat as much as you want, drinks included. By drinks, I meant several kinds of soda, fruit juices and shakes, coffee, tea, beer and wine. (Vikings doesn't serve wine for free, you have to order it separately.) I've eaten at various hotel buffets before, and so I'd like to think I'm in the position to say that with its great ambience, pleasant service and good-tasting food, Buffet 101 can give them a run for their money.

Here are some photos to attest to that:

You'll love how spacious the inside of Buffet 101 is. The cushioned chairs are super comfy, too.

No need to reserve, I think, as there's a table for everyone.



















And now, the food I ate here:


While the crab rice tasted plain and had a soggy texture, the steak was a-okay with its US beef goodness.


very nice dimsum, hindi tinipid!


Some of the Italian food items they had that night. Pizza was yummy!


Look for this thinly-sliced pork belly at the Chinese food station as our group couldn't get enough of this! I'm telling you, it's addicting! Crispy skin + well-seasoned meat with just the right amount of fat= pork heaven!


The cakes were okay but the desserts on the shot glasses were ordinary. I suggest you look for the Italian cheesecake as this is the best they have at the desserts station!


The frozen yogurt dispenser at Buffet 101 made me drool with delight. I'm a big frozen yogurt fan so I really took advantage of it there. See, I had a total of five cups! More if the hubby didn't give me "the look." Haha.


with the hubby


our group

Buffet 101 is the place to go to when you want to treat your family, business partners, date or whoever to a wide range of food at a good price. I am definitely going back there, but not until I've tried Vikings so I could compare the two. :)

Buffet 101
Bldg. K, Seaside Blvd.
Mall of Asia Complex
Pasay City
(+632) 556-2888


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Buffet Dinner with Cultural Presentation at Barbara's Restaurant, Intramuros

Whenever I dine in a restaurant, my top preference is always the buffet. Aside from the fact that buffets allow me to eat to my heart's content with its eat-all-you-can policy, they never fail to give full value to my money. As a paying customer, that's what I look for at all times. I don't care if I spend more than what I would usually pay for a meal, so long as it's buffet with wide food selection, I'm in.



The emergence of Groupon sites has allowed me to spend more on food through their awesome restaurant deals. Last Friday night, for instance, we have finally used our Metrodeal vouchers at Barbara's Restaurant, a fine dining vintage restaurant in Intramuros.

While the food and the wait staff service at Barbara's during our visit were pretty good, I found their reservation service a bit bad. I booked for a table for three the week before and when we asked for it, my name wasn't on their list for the night. How come it wasn't there?

I even called three times on different days just to get a table. During my first and second calls, the reservation officer said they're already fully booked on the dates I chose (within the week). On my third and final call, I was able to get a table because I chose a date that fell not within the week but on the next week. I was really upset but didn't show it. The guy on the reception table was kind enough to still accommodate us (okay, maybe the disappointment did show on my face).

Initially, we were ushered to the adjacent empty room. The other room was where the buffet spread, cultural presentation and diners were. My two companions (Edwin and his sister Albie) were just looking on and following me. So, we went to the other room to get food and for some reason, I overheard the guy at the reception table explaining about our situation to another guy that looked like restaurant manager to me. I made parinig that how come nobody enlisted my name as part of the diners for the night, blah blah blah. Funny but somehow, it was effective because seconds after we got our share from the buffet, we were led to the nearby table for three within that room. That, or maybe they just transferred us because the supposed diners for the said table for three were not arriving in the next one hour and we didn't look like we'd stay for more than an hour. Whatever the reason was, I was glad we got seated in that room.


a peek into the cultural presentation (behind us)

Personally, I liked the food at Barbara's. There were only a few dishes on the buffet and these were all Filipino food. I particularly enjoyed their lechon kawali. I think I had two servings of it. It was well-seasoned and had just the right oiliness. The pork skin was crispy and the meat was tender. I paired this with the mango, tomato and bagoong (shrimp paste) salad. Yum.



Another dish I liked is the soy sauce-based fish fillet (looked like taningue to me) whose meat was super tender and tasty.

Aside from the two dishes I mentioned, there were also pancit and kare-kare. I skipped on the pancit because it didn't look delicious to me. I tried the kare-kare but I only got some veggies and sauce because I was not a big fan of it.


that's the buffet at the back of Edwin

Drinks are not included in our vouchers. We had to drink or run the risk of choking. So, I got fresh guyabano juice. It's not on the menu but just a suggestion from one of the waiters. P120 for a glass. It was sweet and refreshing but had a bitter aftertaste. I guess some guyabano peel got mixed in while they were scraping off the fruit's flesh. But I still liked it as it was.



For desserts, Barbara's served three kinds. There were the banana fritters with sesame seeds that Edwin liked a lot, the merengue that Albie was raving about and the sago cups which Albie and I both enjoyed.

The entire restaurant complex of Barbara's is huge. They have function rooms for special occasions. The room where we got seated was on the second floor. It was big and looked really vintage with its wooden, Spanish style interiors. Despite the presence of the diners around, I still found the place spooky, though. It didn't help that the minimal lighting was concentrated on the buffet side and the tables were lighted by candles only. Taking good food pictures was next to impossible. We even forgot to bring a camera so pardon the lousy photos taken using an iPhone 4. Haha.

We got our Metrodeal vouchers at P250 each, original value was P500. Not bad for a buffet dinner with one-hour cultural presentation from a certain Folklorica dance group. Had my reservation went thru smoothly and my name been included in the list of diners for the night, our experience would have been more fun and memorable.

Barbara's Restaurant
Gen. Luna St. (just beside San Agustin Church)
Plaza San Luis Complex
Intramuros, Manila

(+632) 527-3893
(+632) 527-4086

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