Eating is one of the things my hubby and I love doing. Trying out new restaurants and stimulating our palate is definitely our guilty pleasure and we take it seriously.
So for our anniversary we decided to head over to the new and improved Spiral at Sofitel Hotel in Manila. Perfect timing since it opened to public exactly on our anniversary. It’s about time we rekindle our love for gourmet buffet, after all it’s not everyday we get to dine and spend more than our usual dinning budget. Take a look as I share with you all some photos I took that lovely evening.
*Warning: food porn*
The famous spiral staircase.
Waiting for my date.
I love that they put this wine storage in one of the dinning areas. If you’re a wine fanatic, you would love to be seated here.
The new Spiral has 21 different dinning ateliers and each one has something rare and delicious to offer. I love anything gourmet (I mean who doesn’t?) and I was giddy to try the unusual dishes hotel restaurants offer. Weird that I was so hungry coz I was stuck in traffic but I only had a few rounds and ate a little more than I usually do. We were almost full in the middle of dinner coz we had a good conversation and kept on giving pleasant remarks each time we take a bite on our chosen dishes.
Turning Japanese.
Cold, ready to eat seafood.
Sushi & sashimi anyone?
Ah breads, breads and more breads!
Chinese dumplings.
Dimsum galore. Mr. GJG was very happy!
This Korean purple rice (bottom left) was very flavorful, it has chestnut, olives and beans in it.
Indian sauces, dips and spices.
Peking duck with melon and cucumber wrapped in momo wrapper.
This is where the most delicious naan bread I’ve ever tasted was cooked.
The chefs showing us how it’s done. It only took more or less five minutes for the naan bread to get cooked.
The Asian cuisine area.
Salad & appetizer area where you can ask the chefs to have your salad tossed for you.
The cheese room of the new Spiral restaurant. Can you believe they have a cheese room? I hope they make a chocolate room next time!
One of the yummy cheeses I’ve tried that night.
Of course if there’s cheese there’s charcuterie.
A selection of hard cheese. I like the gruyere and manchego.
Chef assisted me as to what cheese to taste. He candidly posed with this huge Laudes cured ham. According to the chef (which I didn’t get the name) a Laudes ham (8 kg.) costs around HKD 6,000 or about Php 30,000.
Steak anyone? Rib eye and lamb steak were a hit.
My cheese & ham plate.
Japanese Green Tea helped digest the food we ate.
Ah there’s a wine cart roaming around but since I can’t drink or so I thought, (I’ve learned breastfeeding moms can drink a glass of wine or a shot of tequila, ha!) we decided to veer away from it. We’ll perhaps try it next time.
Chef preparing one of our favorite dish that night.
Foie gras (goose liver) with caramelized pineapple and teriyaki sauce.
Halo-halo station.
Dessert overload!
Mango Panna Cotta, Chocolate Macaron (with something-berry filled), Crunchy Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Eclair (also filled with something berry) were all sinfully good. I would’ve indulged on all the desserts but sadly I was full with the salad, appetizer and main course there was little left for dessert. I wasn’t able to take a lot of photo of the desserts as I had a hard time choosing only a few since I was so full (in which case I did feel sad about) Next time, I’ll skip the main course and eat dessert first!
Melon drizzled with white chocolate.
Mr. GJG seriously filling out a feedback form.
THE VERDICT
The Ambiance: 5 clovers
The new design of Spiral was by Spin Design Studio of Japan who also designed the previous look of Spiral as well as other world class hotels and restaurants. The fusion of Filipino and French design makes the ambiance more enticing and simply classy without too much going on. Plus we like the new section of Spiral called La Veranda (where you can have a drink at the Parisian bar) is an enclosed indoor lounge that opens to an outdoor terrace overlooking the lagoon-shaped pool.
The Service: 5 clovers
I love that the staff of Spiral are very friendly, accommodating and are well-trained. Every time guests were to leave to get another round of food, the waitstaff loitering around would fix the utensils and fold the napkins of each and every table, even though it was just for a mere minute. They also wouldn’t hesitate to refill your glass with your choice of beverage as they arrange your table making sure it’s neat and pleasing to the eye. Perfect way to dine!
The Food: 4.5 clovers
Buffet can always be tricky. Your eyes will trick you into the idea that there’s too many food you’ll definitely be full quickly. But the trick to that is choosing the food that you like love. Most buffet have a 50% chance that they offer the same food (whether hotel based or mall based ) as with other buffet restaurants, what’s crucial is how the dishes are uniquely cooked making it stand out from the others. Food has definitely improved compared to the previous Spiral but somehow I was expecting more uniqueness and more variety. Sad that there wasn’t even a taho (soybean pudding/dessert) station. Okay I may be a bit biased here but still, I would love to see a taho artisan, afterall there was a puto bumbong and bibingka artisan.
The Price: 4 clovers
No price increase despite of the improvement of the restaurant. For P2,000++ per head it’s worth it if you can really eat more than three full plates. If you’re really counting every penny I suggest fill your plate with oysters, lobster, cured ham, cheeses, rib eye, roast lamb, peking duck and foie gras and you’ve got your money’s worth.
OVERALL RATING: 4.5 clovers
Sofitel Spiral is definitely a must eat buffet restaurant if you want a variety of dishes whether you’re a foodie or not. The ambiance, the service and the food would surely put you in the mood for some gastronomic feast.
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Happy Hump Day!
Happy birthday Mr. GJG!
Don’t forget to join my Mommy Mundo Giveaway! 🙂
I want to eat at Spirals again! How much na per pax nya?
oh, how I wish I could try this sometime! Ahhh, I got hungry, hihi… Happy Anniversary!
Well, aside from the spiral staircase, they have indeed a sumptuous buffet! 🙂
this is definitely food porn! i used to work at westin philippine plaza 7 years ago and if the longest buffet was awesome then the new spiral buffet is just unbelievable 🙂