Finally, I got to eat at this most expensive and biggest buffet that I ever had in my life. I was supposed to eat here with some friends but opted to go with my parents, who celebrated their wedding anniversary that day and treated them here because neither one of them had ever eaten here too. I had to call for reservations wondering if I really have to because of its price, I think that few people would eat here making more room for walk-in customers.
The Spiral at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza was dubbed as the Philippines longest and fashionable commercial buffet ever, offering multinational cuisines and a lot of choices. I have never been to this hotel when it was called Westin Philippine Plaza before. The place was indeed beautifully maintained by Sofitel.
Spiral is located just beneath the hotel's lobby, easily be seen because of its sign, grand spiral staircase and its sculpture. We are rushing down the stairs because we came in late for our reservations.
We reserved seats for 7pm but arrived at 8pm due to transportation conflicts plus traffic. Fortunately, our seats are still available for us and I can't believe that the place was almost full. I guess maybe because it was on a Friday and it falls on a pay day too.
The first and the nearest buffet from the lobby was the Chinese cuisine. Since the Chinese New Year is getting near more viands are offered like mooncakes, moochi and hopia. The classic steamed buns, noodles and dumplings are present too.
Most of the viands here are steamed, boiled or fried like the fried rice, steamed fish, tofu and pecking duck. I didn't eat any Chinese food since it is more available almost anywhere but I should gave it a try though.
This is the Indian/Persian cuisine which is lamb curry (left), chicken tikka masala (center) and potato wedges coated in spices (right). The lamb was too spicy according to my mom but I liked the potato wedges and the chicken masala was just right!
Roti, rice, sauces and pickled stuffs are here too. I never tried it though because it might be strong to eat because of the spices.
Of course from the Japanese side, the deep fried tempuras and veggies are here too, which I think was one of the people's favorites because it was always sold out.
Here are the different kinds of cured and processed meat on the left and different kinds of cheeses. I got some meat and the white cheese.
So here is my plate number 1, which I got from above pictures. I got the cured meat, tempura, a bark-like veggies soup, a hard biscuit with white cheese and chicken tikka masala. I also got something that is wrapped with black fish-eggs like at the top (that little black thing at the left side of the plate), sorry I forgot to take note of the names because it was unusual.
I think this side was the Moroccan side because of the olives, pears, grilled veggies and hummus. It is also placed in a Tagine cookware.
The sushi, shashimi and different kinds of maki. I got the remaining cactus maki, that light green one with a bright orange topping.
Seafoods like shrimp, mussels, oysters and the little lobster-like crustacean have their own space with different sauces on the perimeter.
For plate number 2, I got 2 California maki, the cactus maki, the embutido like meat, some red olives, 2 slices of pizza (one with salmon) and 1 chiken yakitori.
They also offer Foie gras, which is a liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened with different sauces.
We haven't tried this one so my dad ordered one for us to try. The texture was like a tofu but the taste was like a fish belly, the rubbery part.
The chicken shawarma stand minus the pita.
Chicken Basque and Cotraide Brettone, this one was like a seafood soup.
The Paella.
Roasted Prime Ribs and Roasted Chicken
For plate number 3, I got different roasted meat, a mussel from the Cotraide Brettone, chicken kebab, and soft boiled egg whites. The little green sauce from the left side of the plate was a sauce for the meat. I just got a little amount so that I could taste it first but it tasted like toothpaste, maybe because of the mint. The chicken kebab was really soft, which I liked because it was like melting in your mouth. The soft boiled egg whites was great too, it was like a malformed 'taho'.
Now, let's go to the desserts! Miniature cookies and brownies are the must haves. I really like the choco chip cookies. It was like the Mrs. Fields cookies or better.
The crepe station, even though I like to eat this, I was already full because of the meat. They even had a cotton candy maker at the right side.
The chocolate fountain.
A wide variety of cakes like creme brulee, chocolate clusters, panna cotta, chocolate mousse, cheese cakes, fondant cake, pistachio cake, truffle and strawberry cakes.
Fruits are watermelon, honey dew melon, dragon fruit, longan and pineapple.
Candies like jelly beans, gummy worms and sour candies.
For plate number 4, I got mango mousse, fondant cake, cookie, brownie and watermelons. The mangoes was sour and the watermelons are not sweet but I really liked their cookies and that strawberry brownie with almond toppings. I should have took more of these!
For the final touch, I had vanilla ice cream!
This vanilla ice cream should be good because it was like a home-made ice cream or sorbet but sad to say the vanilla ice cream they served me was spoiled. I didn't finished it because of that spoiled taste.
You may also choose to eat outside, which really had a good ambiance too!
After eating, we strolled outside to see what else was there, aside from the patio, the huge swimming pool was there. It was like a park and it was well maintained too. How I wish other parks in Manila should look like this.
There was also a different buffet outside but it is not connected to Spiral.
Overall, the food choices are amazing because I never had a buffet which offers a really wide variety of cuisine like this plus the desserts. Maybe they should also include Filipino cuisine in their buffet since foreigners are also eating there, which is a great venue for introducing our own food to them.
The food doesn't lack its taste but there are still room for improvement. I was just really disappointed to their spoiled ice cream. The service was superb because they always refill your drinks even if you had only consumed yours halfway (if your drinks are refillable but even water glasses are refilled too). They also always fold your table napkins whenever you leave to get more food. They are also kind enough to get your finished plates right away.
If you ordered coffee or tea after eating, they are free!
Maybe you are wondering how much was the buffet, I got a discount from Cash Cash Pinoy during their promo last December. From the print it says that I saved 45% of the buffet price but I think I saved more. From Cash Cash Pinoy, it was only Php 1,392 which includes a bottomless iced tea from the original price of Php 2,520, drinks not included.
When I asked the current price for their buffet the lady told me that their buffet for the month of January was Php 2, 319 for lunch and Php 2,933 for dinner. See I even saved more from the voucher! Thanks Cash Cash Pinoy!
Spiral have an existing promo which buy for 5 persons, pay for only for 3! c",)
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Spiral
Sofitel Philippine Plaza
CCP Complex
Roxas Boulevard
Pasay City
1300
T: 551-5555 or 551-5610.
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