My first eat-all-you-can experience was with Saisaki / Dads/ Kamayan back when they still have a branch in ATC Alabang. I loved the food and my experience so much that Buffet restaurants have been one of the most favored choices whenever the family’s celebrating. Kahit I’m a woman, I am not ashamed to admit that I am a big eater! I love food so much that I spend more money on food than clothes, shoes, bags etc…. Since I chose not to work regularly and just do freelance, honestly, I don’t have too much excess money to spend for my kaartehan so I have to choose among my vices: damit, make-up, shoes, bags, gadgets, travels, food etc…. Nowadays, food and travels always come on top of my list 🙂
Anyway, I had lots of things going on in the past few months that were quite stressful as they were challenging. I really needed time to relax. And it’s also October, my birth month so it’s just the perfect time for me to treat myself and my family :).
I have always wanted to try Sofitel’s flagship restaurant – SPIRAL. I have read so many reviews about this restaurant that I just have to experience for myself what the rave is all about. So after lots of thoughts (I had difficulty in deciding because the buffet rate is really expensive and the kuripot part in me is repulsed with the idea), I just said heck, just try it and get it over with, so you can move on to another food adventure :). It’s just sooo perfect that when I had the money to spare, one of the good buying sites in the country offered discount for the restaurant. Fate is intervening already so I finally decided to purchase vouchers from CashCashPinoy. These are discounted vouchers, from the regular price of about P2,600+++/hd, we got the voucher for only P1,599.00. The original bill is around P10,400+++ if I remember it correctly. I bought 4 vouchers almost at P6,000. Spiral is charging another P215.00/hd if you use the voucher for dinner time. Since we chose dinner, I added P860.00 so I paid 6,860.00. I guess it was really a good deal almost 35% na discount, not bad. But even with the big discount, I can’t make myself eat here again anytime soon, for practicality’s sake at kawawa ang bulsa hahaha. I remember when I decided to tell my hubby about my purchase. We were shopping when I nonchalantly told him I booked 4 heads for dinner at Sofitel for 2,600 per head. It’s the biggest and most resounding “HAAAAAA?????!!!!!!” he ever gave me in our years together . He’s so used with my bad splurging habits but this was a whole new level, he said. Though I have been hinting him about this, maybe he never thought I was serious. Hehehe. Sabi nya pa, “Grabe naman yan. Ano ba ang pagkain jan ginto? Kahit kelan hindi ako gagastos ng ganun kalaki para sa ganyan.” Hehehe. Then I told him “Don’t worry it’s discounted. 1,600 na lang per person hehehe”. While the surprise factor is gone and he visibly looked more relieved, inulit nya yung sinabi nya na na kahit kelan hindi sya gagastos ng ganun kalaki kahit pa buffet. Well, sabi ko hindi naman sya at ako ang gagastos hahaha. It was a funny memory for me kasi bihira lang magreact ng OA na way ang hubby ko when it comes to me buying things. It’s surprising in a pleasing way for me to see the reaction 🙂 weird ko noh?
Okay, I’m really sorry guys, I got sidetracked again sa aking subject. I’m almost ready to give my review about Sofitel’s SPIRAL. But FYI, I had a hard time doing this review because of my super high expectations for the restaurant. In some aspects, I feel that my expectations were not met. I’m not saying it doesn’t deserve the top rank in buffet restaurants but sometimes I wish I can be as ecstatic as others with the review.
Anyway, without further adieu, here is my review for SPIRAL:
THE GOOD:
1. Quality
The quality of the food is just outstanding. You’ll just know that the ingredients are fresh and expensive. Usually in a buffet, the seafood section is where most of the action is (well, maybe let’s include steak section na rin). But in SPIRAL, they do not not offer much in terms of variety as they only have crabs, slipper lobsters, oysters, shrimps and mussels that time (I almost forgot, you’ll see tuna and salmon sashimi in the Japanese section) but what they lack in variety, they compensate with quality. The lobsters are perfectly cooked and full of meat. I even tried the oyster raw. I was just curious why some people, like food critics, like to eat them raw. Hayyy, sometimes I wish I had a sophisticated palate so I can explain the taste, texture and consistency in a more elegant way. But what I can say is that it’s salty, with lots of juice, like it just came out of the ocean. The meat itself, I just thought it was soft and it slid down on my throat very easily, I did not get the chance to chew and taste it much. It wasn’t bad, I was just unfamiliar with it that’s why I didn’t give it another shot. I wish I had though and I wish I asked for lemon. I seem to remember that oyster goes well with lemon. Well, maybe next time I’ll get to have a chance to eat raw oysters.
Raw Oysters
Slipper Lobsters
Steamed Crabs Steamed Mussels
2. Live Cooking at Teppanyaki Station
Another good point for me is their Teppanyaki Station. It’s not the same grilling station as the one in Vikings but it’s still nice. The Chef would cook your seafood/meat choices to your liking. Shrimp and squid are my all-time favorite seafood. I want them freshly-cooked that’s why I was quite happy to see this station. I was super satisfied with the way my shrimp was cooked. My kuya was also all praises with the shrimp, he said that you could tell how good the chef is because of his consistency. We had our shrimps cooked separately. And the results are the same. No exag, every bite is like the ocean is bursting inside your mouth. They’re crunchy and juicy and sweet and salty at the same time. You could also tell that they’re really really fresh. Soo nice. BTW, they have tempura, and I’m feeling quite remorseful that I didn’t try them. I would love to know if they did it right with the batter. I hate oily tempuras. Kaya minsan I just opt for fresh shrimps.
Steamed Shrimp Having my shrimps and meat cooked at the Teppanyaki Station
Teppanyaki Station
3. Refills
I am also impressed to see how the food are continuously being refilled. This is really important for me since many buffet restaurants tend to crimp on refills especially at the seafood section, since they are very expensive. I easily get irritated when I come back for shrimps, crabs, squids etc… in most buffet restaurants and find that they’re all gone. Sometimes, you have to ask the waiters pa for refills. Then after waiting for more than 10 minutes, you go back then you’ll find that it’s either they were not able to refill it or kaya ubos na agad. It happened to me so many times sa Yakimix and at Sambokojin. I guess the thing about Spiral is that they are not crowded, as in like, about a quarter lang of the whole place ang natatauhan, unlike Vikings, Buffet 101, Yakimix, Sambokojin etc, punong puno ng tao, as in banggaan pa kayo in getting food and the lines specially sa steak and seafood section nakakaloka. Kaya ang dami man ng food that are being served, with the type and quantity of crowd, kulang pa rin and the refills take time kaya sometimes you feel let down especially since you paid a lot tapos you can’t get to enjoy your fave dishes too much dahil laging ubos :'(. It can get disappointing sometimes. In Spiral, they do not serve in large quantities, but the serving plates are always full, meaning laging narerefill-an. The fact na konti lang ang mga tao, it would be a waste to serve too much and then itatapon lang that’s why I really think that Spiral got it right with the quantity of their food in serving.
See the photos above from the Japanese Station – See how little is being served but when the buffet starts, you’ll never see the serving plates empty. They always refill it fast enough that you won’t feel you’re missing on something. I think this is a very effective way to minimize the cost on food waste.
4. Bread Station
The bread selection at Spiral is the most extensive I have ever seen in a restaurant. I have always thought that something as wide as this could only be seen in a bakery or pastry shop. It is really surprising to see these many choices of bread and you would be pleased to know that most of the breads have their own distinct flavors. It was a learning experience for me. I never thought that bread could have so many flavors, I really thought the differences are just on their shapes, consistencies etc… Nagulat pa ako when I tried a bread that’s really salty. Akala ko ung madaming white on top of the bread is sugar. Salt pala sya. Who would put too much salt sa bread after baking? It’s weird di ba? I’ll research about this some other time.
Kuya’s really into the bread section
Some of the bread selections
5. Wide range of cuisines
Spiral boasts of 21 Ateliers. Ateliers means workshop daw in French, taray hehehe. What they actually mean here is they have 21 different stations that you can choose from. They have Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Italian and French Cuisines. They also have bread, cold cuts, cheeses and desserts.
Korean Dishes and appetizers
Noodles
Still Chinese – Roast duck, asado and lechon Macau
I do think they put a great deal of effort to be true to the cuisines of each country the best that they can. For the Filipino food, I so love their bulalo. It’s the best-tasting bulalo soup I have ever had in my life. I would go back to Spiral just to have this again. They served adobo, pakbet, kare kare etc… but I wasn’t able to try them. I’m sorry I was in a hunt for something different kasi. I wanted to fill my tummy with other cuisines (well, kaaway ko lang talaga si Indian kaya di ako nakakain from this station) I am not an avid fan of Chinese food in general, though I don’t really know why I usually end up in Chinese Restaurants when I am in a food hunt. Maybe because there’s just too much Chinese Restaurants in Manila. I don’t know. But I did try hakaw, roast duck, asado and lechon macau. I can say that the way they season their Chinese cuisines, napaka-authentic. Kaparehong kapareho ng mga nakakainan kong Chinese Restaurants. But my issue lang is everytime I dine, I don’t usually go for Shabu Shabu or Noodles bihirang bihira. Ganun din for buffet, I thought it’s too heavy nakakabusog kaya hindi ako kumukuha but maybe next time I’ll have a go for it.
Again, I have never liked Indian food, so I never tried it. I really can’t. I’m sorry but I find the taste and the smell to be strong for me but the fact that they have this is a plus na.
I tried their Italian station, not fond of their pasta. I’m not sure what I asked to be cooked, I think it’s Seafood Pomodoro. I really don’t like ung maasim na lasa ng tomato. But I have to give credit to the Cook, it’s not really her sauce but my preference kaya siguro I did not like it that much. I prefer Filipino style spaghetti sauce. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t able to appreciate the Italian section. But for those who like Italian food, I think you will be satisfied. Oh, but I was very impressed to see that they have a wood-fired oven. I did not see how they make their pizza, if they really cook it the old-fashioned way, as in brick oven using wood or if the oven and the wood are just there for aesthetics. Kasi it’s really hard to cook pizza sa authentic na brick oven. You have to be mindful not only of the time but the temperature and it’s hard to control the heat from burning wood. So I would really be impressed if they do it old school. I read from Munch punch from the menu: Wood Fired Pizza. So maybe they do it that way. So galing 🙂
Italian Station
6. SPIRAL has FOIE GRAS
Viking and Buffet 101 have Slipper Lobsters, steak lambs and roast duck. They also have cheeses although the selection is not as extensive. What they don’t have, THAT ONLY SPIRAL HAS, is this: The most coveted FOIE GRAS. Oh, you can ask Anthony Bourdain or just about any food critic in TV, almost all of them love foie gras. Again, I was curious to know why so I made sure to try it. VERDICT: It deserves it’s reputation. I have never tasted something so different in my life, something so rich, creamy and flavorful. I just had a small piece, it’s as small a pea but whoaa! Though the flavor is delicate, it’s just sooo rich. All I can say is, again, I have never ever tasted something like this in my life. You have to experience it to know what I’m talking about. But having said that, it doesn’t mean I liked it. The problem with me is that my palate as I mentioned, is so uncomplicated, I think it can only truly appreciate simple flavors. Complicated flavors are so out of my league that even though sometimes I am delighted with a certain taste, pag masyadong malasa, inaayawan ko na rin. And if I know how or where it’s made of, turned off na rin ako. The fact that Foie Gras is liver, is enough for me to be turned off (I don’t really like liver hehe) But if I can only command my brain not to think about it, at siguro if I tried it more than once, maybe I’m going to love it. I think to enjoy Foie Gras, try it more than twice. I really think it’s an acquired taste.
Foie Gras being prepared
7. A room dedicated to Cheese and Cold cuts
Perhaps the thing that sets SPIRAL apart from the rest is it’s cheese and cold cuts section. They have a whole room just for cheese and cold cuts. Wow. And most of the cheeses are imported. Cheese connoisseurs will definitely go gaga over their selections. Goat cheeses, blue cheeses, cheddar, provolone, mascarpone, feta etc…. The problem I have is that, like so many people, I don’t really know how to pair them. There are lots of foreigners flocking this area and based on their questions, they too have no idea which cheese goes best for which bread, cold cuts, sauce etc… It made me feel better because sometimes it can get a little intimidating when you don’t know much about something. At least hindi lang ako ang nag-iisa haha. But it would have been nice if I know more about cheeses para mas maappreciate ko ang selection. Again, I’ll just have to do more research and I guess I really need to go back here sa Spiral so I can enjoy the cheeses better.
8. DESSERT STATION
The Best ever!!! Yes, Vikings and Buffet 101 may have more selections but Spiral don’t just serve cakes that came from Red Ribbon or Goldilocks or ice cream from nestle or selecta etc…. NO! What they will serve are feasts for the eyes, no generic chocolate or mocha cakes but are cakes that you know where baked just for Spiral. I don’t think it’s commercialized. And the chocolates, Heaven!!!! Just pure bliss you know. The chocolates are imported and the sweet-tooth in you will just love them. Whole pa ung mga almond nuts kaya I just loved it. I think this is what made me full sa dami ng nakain kong chocolates. Was just so satisfied! I also love the green apple gelato. Was not a fan of their creme brulee’ and some of the cakes. But the 3 chocolate fountains were so ginormous that I had a dream of one day soaking myself in a fountain of melted chocolates. Un talaga ang naenvision ko upon seeing the fountains. Grabe 🙂 I just love their dessert station.
9. Service
The service is really good. Would have been perfect if they’re faster. But the servers and staffs were really attentive and polite.
10. Ambiance
I love the fact that even if it’s a 5-star hotel, the restaurant itself is not super formal. Actually, the dress code is smart casual. You can see some guests wearing shorts, jeans and rubber shoes so you’d just feel comfortable.
So people, those were the good comments I have for Spiral. If may good, of course expect some bad things din naman. After all, nothing and nobody’s perfect. This saying goes not only for people kundi pati sa mga businesses, kahit pa 5-star pa ang rating. Let me reiterate, these are just my opinion. One may have a different experience or opinion with me but we are entitled to our own thoughts right? So here is the rest of my review.
THE MEDIOCRE
1. Selections
Though having 21 ateliers should mean having more choices, I was kinda surprised because I really do think that Vikings has wider selection. It doesn’t mean that Spiral’s selection is not extensive but with all the talks of having 21 ateliers, I was kinda disappointed with what I’ve seen. Okay people, we are just talking about number of dishes and not the quality, because again, quality-wise, Spiral comes on top of my list. But I thought the number of choices for sushi are few, I was looking for my squid too 😥 and I was also wondering where the fishes are. Scallops? I was even expecting more cooked French dishes since I thought Spiral is Frenchy Frenchy. Where’s the Escargot? Ratatouille? I wasn’t impressed by the quiche, I thought it was so crumbly and messy with less stuffing. And more importantly, the Crepe! I love crepe! Where’s the crepe in the dessert station? 😥 For the Italian station, I wish there was lasagna. I’m not sure if there’s risotto but if there’s none, I think they should include this in the selection. Again, after all, it’s a 5-star restaurant, it would have been nice to see them serve something that we seldom see in the menu of a regular restaurant.
2. Steak Station
The steaks are tough, sooo hard to cut with the steak knife and to chew.
3. Cooked Dishes
I wasn’t impressed with the cooking. I don’t remember the names of the dishes I tried but I was able to try small servings of about 6 cooked dishes and I wasn’t impressed with any of them. I’ll look at the photos for the names and will just post them here.
4. Recommendations on pairing
I think it would be nice if we could see a list of recommended pairing for cheeses. I would love to enjoy their cheese selection but as I said, I’m not really an expert. A little help would go a long way for the diners to enjoy the cheese.
So I guess that’s it. I try to be honest the best way that I can in my reviews. While I definitely enjoyed my dining experience here (as you can see, the good heavily outweighs the negatives), but what I am after right now is the value for money. I think it’s why I felt a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, when I got the CCP deal (P1,600+215 = P1,815), kahit papaano I can say that it’s kinda worth it na rin because of the quality of the food and the fact that they did not serve something generic and local lang. Marami sa nakaserve are really imported stuffs. But P2,600 for a 3-hour buffet is just too much. Many said that you get what you paid for sa Spiral. I think I wouldn’t get what I paid for if I paid P2,600.00. Just too much. But it’s just me. And well, siguro since Sofitel is a 5-star hotel, I guess it just goes with the territory. But again, with the hefty price tag, I guess I was looking for something more from them. So I suggest if you really want to enjoy Spiral without breaking the bank, then just wait for the deal. I think every quarter naman ata, CashCash Pinoy offers voucher for dining here. But if money is not an issue, then I recommend SPIRAL wholeheartedly. I’m telling you, it’s going to be a wonderful dining experience.
By the way, ladies, I know how you like to take photos of the food being served. Unfortunately, taking close up photos of the food is not allowed. I was able to take photos because I asked permission from the PR Manager for this blog. But photos of yourself using your phones are ok. I think ayaw lang nila ung naka-focus talaga ung picture sa food nila. Take pictures na lang din of the food that’s in your plate or better yet, ask for permission from the Managers.
So anyway, till my next post! Hope you enjoyed my blog and the photos. Feel free to like, comment and share this blog to your friends.
Tins ❤ ❤ ❤
Pamilyang Gala Chronicles 