Good Earth Tea Room Eat-All-You-Can Lunch Buffet

To celebrate Kurt's and Lychee's (our maltese) birthday, we reserved three weeks in advance at Good Earth Tea Room.  It was difficult to get a reservation so we got the 1:30 p.m. slot instead of our preferred time at 11:00 a.m.

Upon arrival at 1:30 p.m., we saw 4 others who were lined up literally in front of the store door waiting for the busy service crew to attend to their reservation.  They told me their reservation was 1:00 p.m.  So we knew we had to wait.

The wait was understandable since it was an eat-all-you-can and their customers really took the time to even chit chat and take pictures before leaving.  Perhaps it would have been better if they had a waiting area.

As soon as the customers at our reserve place left at around 2:00 p.m., the waiter immediately clean the table and led us to be seated.  They also told us we could start with the buffet.  The lunch buffet was reasonably priced at 399 php.  (Excluding drinks)

We started by getting a bowl of their Seaweed and Beancurd Soup (normally priced at 125 php).  The bean curd was chopped liked sticks instead of cubes.  The seaweeds were also in strips.  It had a sweet fish broth taste.  We all loved it.

Iced Green Tea (refillable)

We all ordered their Iced Green Tea (refillable) (75 php additional).  We wanted to taste the Herbal Tea (80 php) but it wasn't available.  This is one of the best ice tea I've ever tasted.  Kurt prefers the Home Made Iced at Jacob's Shawarma (see separate entry).  But I like them both because this one is lemon green tea while that of Jacob's is minty.  This is more affordable because at 75 php it is refillable.  The waiters were also quick to refill them and always with ice.  It is very refreshing and not too sweet at all.  I usually don't drink a lot when eating but I was able to drink 3 glasses of it.

For dimsum we had Stuffed Eggplant (normally priced at 85 php) and Fried Wanton (normally priced at 85 php).  The stuffed eggplant was the best dish for the day.  It was like a meatball made of pork attached to a slice of eggplant.  With its sauce, it was perfect.  The fried wanton was also good.  It was crunchy and a little bit salty.   But the vegetables and sauce contrasts its saltiness.

Popoy's Delight

We proceeded to the other dishes:  Honey Chicken, Popoy's Delight and Good Earth Fried Rice. The Honey Chicken was crunchy with honey sauce and topped with sesame.  The Popoy's Delight was steamed Dory Fish Fillet.  Sadly, I had a weird bitter taste on some parts of it.  The Good Eartn Friend Rice was nothing special.  

For dessert we had Mango with Sago.  Their version was sweetened milk with sago with bits of cherry and mango.  The tanginess of the mango slices goes with the sweet milk.  It was no longer cool when we took our so my mom requested for ice.  The waiter gave us shaved us (How nice of them!).

Mango with Sago

Overall, we were full and satisfied.  The service was good.  (Did I mention they have a 10% service charge?)  The waiters were quick to refill the food whenever we informed them that it is already empty.  I don't mind having a buffet with limited choices as long as all of them are delicious!  If you're hanging out at the area to watch movies or shop, it is a good place to dine.  They also have affordable Rice Bowl Toppings.

Good Earth Tea Room
2F Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center Paseo De Roxas cor. Legaspi St.
Makati City, Metro Manila
(02) 757-4561 to 62

Vikings Luxury Buffet at San Miguel by The Bay

While walking our dogs at San Miguel by the Bay, we noticed a big establishment about to open.  It looked big and grand.  We then saw its sign Viking and checked its Facebook page.  There it was stated that if we liked its fan page we get 10% off.  They also had a limited time (only until April 30,2011) promo of 20% for its grand opening.

My family was very eager to go.  But I couldn't come with them since it was my finals week.  That night, all of them came home full and happy and told me the selections were even better than Spirals.  They were even very satisfied with the service.

Near the end of the promo period, it was our turn to try it.  We walked-in with no reservations at 5:30 p.m.  We noticed as we were led to our seats that most tables were already reserved.  Upon being seated, we were introduced to our server.  So we started out buffet and asked for our server to get us some drinks,  Four Season juice.  It tasted like Del Monte.

We started with the sushi bar and took every variety available.  We preferred the taste of the non-colored ones.  What were the green and red ones called anyway?  Although the Salmon Sashimi is not dispalyed with the other sashimi and sushi, you can request it from the chef at the counter.  Their salmon sashimi is fresh and sliced perfectly.

Century Eggs

Dimsum Plate

We heard that one the owners of Vikings is also the owner of the President Restaurant so we expected their dimsum selections to be good.  Their dimsum selections were Chicken Feet, Shark's Fin Dumplings and Japanese Siomai (wrapped in seaweed).  They were good but nothing extraordinary.  We also got some Century Eggs.

French Onion Soup

Spinach Soup

Cream of Potato

We tried all the soups available: French Onion Soup, Spinach Soup and Cream of Potato.  I felt lucky that night because French Onion Soup was my favorite.  Their version was delicious.  It was served with a big chunk of croutons and cheese.  It was so flavorful with the right amount of cheese.  The Spinach Soup was okay.  Their Cream of Potato was also very good.

For the main dish, we decided to taste everything that looked interesting.  We skipped the shabu-shabu section and the kiddie section that served mini-burgers, spaghetti and sandwhiches.  We had Tempura Shrimps, Roast Beef, Lamb Chops, Kebabs, Paella, Waldorf Salad, Fish Sticks, Calamares and Onion Rings.   I loved Onion rings but don't enjoy calamares so Kurt was laughing really hard when I mistakenly mistook the Calamares for Onion Rings.  How about you?  Don't you think they looked alike?  But the Fish Sticks, Calamares and the Onion Rings were soggy so they weren't crunchy as we expected.  The tempura was good but it were not tiger prawns.

While roaming around for food, I noticed that some tables had oreo shakes so I asked our waiter if we could order that too.  I cannot believe that they serve oreo shakes.  I love oreos!  If only I wasn't already full I would've ordered this twice.

The large slices of Roast beef and lamb chops, made us quite full so we decided to take a break and try the Mediterranean section and the cheese section.  The had Pitas (round flat bread), Hummus (mashed chickpeas) and Baba Ganoush (mashed eggplant).  I forgot what the orange dip was called.  We got a variety of cheese, liver pate and a slice of French Bread and a Cracker.  We liked the round blue cheese the most.  We also took some Devilled Eggs and some dish with salmon.

We went to the fresh seafood section and requested them to be cooked and delivered to our table.  We had a Red Crab and Baked Mussels and Oysters.  We were surprised that the crab only came in half but we were already full anyway so we didn't request for another one.  Then the waitress approached us and asked if we wanted Bamboo shells and clams and we accepted.  

In the pizza section, there was already a pre-made pizza or you could create your own pizza.  You just have to scoop out from the ingredients and put them in a plate and have the pizza delivered to your table.  I was so excited to make my pizza masterpiece that I started to scoop ingredients into the plate: capers,pesto, olives, peperoni and tomato.  After around 15 minutes, my slice of pizza came.  It was too salty and sour that it was almost inedible.  I guess next time I'll leave the pizza making to the experts.

Because of my pizza masterpiece, I drank all my oreo shake and was looking for another drink.  So Kurt went to the fruit section and took slices of watermelon and requested it to be shaked.

We were also full and could no longer it so we decided it was time for desert.  I happily stood up and gathered all I can for the both of us.  We loved the Ecclairs.  It was delicious.  The cream puffs was okay but it was small and looked like it was in halves.

Although they had an ice cream station and chocolate fountain, we opted for the healtier option: Frozen Yogurt.  They had their own yogurt machine!  There was a plain yogurt which kurt choose, strawberry yogurt or plain-strawberry yogurt.  I chose the plain-strawberry yogurt.  I was very delicious.  It was neither too sweet not tangy.

After eating so much, we just had to drink a warm cup of coffee.  Studies show that when you drink warm coffee or tea after a meal will prevent the grease from rising to the top of the food in your stomach and being absorbed first. 

Overall, the dining experience was worth it.  Despite the limited choices, the food was enjoyable.  The price was very reasonable for 888 php which already includes drinks.  Did I mention that they also have unlimited beer?  We even saw an old lady filling her mug to her hearts content.  The kiddie section and the frozen yogurt was a good innovative idea.  Their restroom even had kiddie toilets which was cute.

We were so delighted with Vikings that we recommended it to everyone.  However, recently, we have been receiving mixed comments.  Some say that food replenishment could not keep up with the demands of its customers even if you arrive early.  My sister visited there for lunch and they were told that the choices during lunch was more limited compared to the dinner buffet.   How about you? Care to share your dining experience?

Vikings Luxury-Buffet Manila
Bldg. B, By The Bay, Seaside Boulevard, SM Mall of Asia,
Pasay City, Philippines

846-3888, 846-4888, 846-5888