Because Candy Says So....: Battle of the Buffets Part 1 (Circles)

Blogging about buffets is going to be a tough one but I thought that it would be interesting to know how one smorgaasbord would compare to another. I decided to battle it out against five 5-star hotels and hope that it may help you to somehow decide where it is worth to shell out P1,000+ and gain 5 lbs overnight.

It's going to be expensive and fattening but it's a job I am willing to take. Since the photos might be a lot, this is the first of a 5 part blog. Please check back to see how the others fair.

Contender: CIRCLES, Makati Shangri-la Hotel.
Date: May 10, 2007, dinner
Co-critics: Jasmin J, Gary J, Christine Y.T., Ylaine and Peter C.

Appetizers:

Lobsters, prawns, mussels, sushi among others. They are fresh and abundant and is situated right by the entrance of the restaurant which is a pretty good bait for those who are just passing by. They are on a bed of ice and lit properly to make the red color of the shells come out thus making the mouth drool. The promise of seafood heaven is at hand. Sushi is even presented in a more artful way. There's one with avocado and the way it was prepared seemed too pretty to eat. The only thing missing was Uni. That would have been sushi perfection. A salad bar is also available to those who are pretending to be on a diet. C'mon, admit it, if you are eating in Circles, there's no way you are trying to lose weight. My gang skipped the salad bar completely.

Carving:
Roastbeef cooked so tenderly, juicy and tasty for meat lovers. Although it was delicious, the gang and I only got a little piece to save room for the other cuisines waiting patiently for our attack.

It was Friday evening and it was LOBSTERS night. But wait, where were the lobsters? That's exactly what we did, WAIT. Since everyone was in line for it, I think that they should have prepared more and faster because it was such a drag for people to have to stand in line waiting for 1 or 2 of these crustacean to be served. Thank goodness Gary was so willing to get the lobsters for us. He is such a darling and the lobsters? Very very good.

Main course and different cuisines:
Chinese, Indian, Persian, Italian and Filipino. You can easily get full just by looking at the spread. Curry, shawarma, siopao, sweet and sour prawns, dimsum, paella, kaldereta, noodles, duck and a whole lot more. Luckily, all the food that we got were good except for Jasmin, who got a piece of steak and said that it was a bit tough. I liked my sweet and sour prawns. It was tender and the prawns were big, fat and juicy. Christine loved the chicken shawarma. Ylaine and Peter got an assortment of things but by the looks of our empty plates, there's no doubt that the dinner was a success.

Dessert:
The most important part of the meal, there was a whole lot of assortment of sweets for us to choose from. Icecream, cakes, pastries, candies, fruits and chocolate fountain. We had everything, even gummy worms. Not one kind escaped our need for our sugar intake.

The small tarts are not worth the fat. There's bread pudding which is not bad but again, not great. The only thing I thought was pretty good was the icecream.

Gary and I enjoyed the cotton candy, but then again, who doesn't?

Overall view, I think that it is not a buffet you should miss. The seafood is fresh, that's the most important thing for me. The dessert needs to be improved somehow. Being pretty is not enough, it should also be yummy. The service was good and ambiance is comfortable. It is not a restaurant to take your date unless, of course, you both love to eat plenty. I have been here twice and the food selection was the same for both times. This was about 2 months apart so I hope that the next time I decide to dine here, they will offer new and different cuisines.