The Curious Zealot: Birthday Buffet at Vikings Mall of Asia

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Birthday Buffet at Vikings Mall of Asia

Buffets, where do I start? If you are a small eater, buffets may not be a smart choice for you money-wise. But if you are one of them who have stomachs like a cow with an insatiable passion for food, then this is heaven.

I remember the first time I ate at Yakimix, I was a happy kid going out of that restaurant. The smokeless grill was a new experience back then. You could go ballistic grilling practically anything you could get your hands on on that thing! ( might be smart to limit that to anything edible though, or you might get strange looks from nearby tables, worse be kicked out). :D

Lately, buffets had been our favorite pick to celebrate birthdays. Last November 28 was my sister's birthday. She decided to celebrate her special day at Vikings. It was also perfect because Vikings' celebrating their anniversary and with that, anyone who dine in on the day of their birthday with at least 2 more paying adult dine in for free. So off we went.

Online reservation wasn't available. We were advised to just drop by and wait to be seated. We agreed to meet up at 7:00 PM. My sister got there first and had us on the waiting list. There were several comfortable couches outside and there is free wi-fi around the Mall of Asia so waiting wasn't much of a bother. I think we were seated after 45 minutes.

while waiting to be seated...

Vikings is a bit more expensive that Yakimix. But at Vikings, drinks are already included. You could take a pick from various juices, colas, even hot tea and coffee! Choices too are greater. They have the Fried station, Chinese station, Carving Station, Grilled station, Salad station,Dessert Station, and so much more!

started the feast with a serving of hot clam chowder (very tasty) and...

a couple of things off of the Salad station and appetizers. Egg and cauliflower salad, walnut bread,
blinis and caviar, a rich pile of a salad with orange-sesame dressing.

Then, of course, the very sinful fried station. Calamares (my favorite!), shrimp tempura, tuna tempura,
breaded chicken fillet and 2 slices of Vikings' special pizza (one slice is already obliterated! Sooo...good!).

And then some...dimsum! Taro bun, Hakaw, scallop dumplings, pork siomai, and sharksfin siomai.
Hakaw and scallop Dumplings were my favorite!

Grilled Station: Tuna and Squid. The squid was a bit overcooked :(

Bleh! I just had to try the lamb. It was not a great idea. Downing this was like competing in Fear Factor!
To the left was the lamb and to your right is beef. That's still mooing by the way. Eeeeewwww.... didn't finish this plate. Just didn't have the heart for it.

That meat almost ruined the whole experience for me. Thank goodness there was still dessert. By this time we were full. We skipped the native delicacies such as the kakanin(rice cakes) and halo-halo. But the red velvet cake was a winner. You shouldn't pass that up when you have the chance. The ice cream was pure bliss. We chose a scoop of both the Dark Chocolate ice cream and the Avocado ice cream (which tasted like the real fruit itself!).

By the end of the night we were all extremely full. Something I've never encountered at Yakimix. Heck, I didn't want to look at food for a while after that! :D But it was all good. A very happy birthday experience for my sister.