Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Overpriced Mediocrity at The Food Club Manila

Adding to the roster of 5-star buffet restaurants down South, particularly in the Mall of Asia and Macapagal Blvd. areas, The Food Club opened its doors last January 2014 and have been serving a wide variety of delightful dishes perfect for any occasion you might have in mind. Or like in our case, just a typical day of pigging out. I was fortunate to have came across an irresistible deal from Ensogo, a popular group buying site because paying full price is quite heavy on the pocket.


Make sure you read the fine prints of the voucher whenever you buy from these group buying sites because most restaurants require an advance reservation and strictly no walk-ins. In fact, it took us two weeks before we were confirmed for a dinner for two as they're always full and can only accommodate a limited number for tables to give way to full paying walk-in clients.


We were ushered to table no. 23 (beside the Japanese section) as soon as the receptionist verified the paper voucher I presented. One will immediately notice the elegant interiors of the restaurant with its beautiful bubble chandeliers and impressive design upon entering the dining area.


The buffet feast is spread across the room with an assortment of Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Italian, Rotisserie, Seafood and Dessert sections. I've been to almost all of the buffet restaurants in the area and I find The Food Club's selection quite limited and ordinary.

Assorted Breads

Salad

Maki and Rolls


Pasta

Pizza

Rotisserie

Shabu-Shabu


Tempura

Seafood/Grill Section

Candies

Filipino Native Delicacies

Blueberry Cheesecake

Churros con Chocolate

On our table

It was actually hard to move around and to fit in a few plates on the table as the setting was cramped to accommodate more diners. You can just imagine how many bumps we had to endure with the tight space that it's almost impossible to talk and eat in peace. 


Our first stop was the Japanese section with sparse variety of sushi, rolls and sashimi. To fill in my hungry tummy, I had a few slices of the Salmon Sashimi and Saba Sushi, which were almost frozen and obviously not fresh. Save for the Spicy Salmon and Seaweed Salad, this is by far the most disappointing Japanese buffet section I've tried in any buffet restaurant of the same price range.

Salmon Sashimi

Saba Sushi

Another section I was also looking forward in The Food Club is their Seafood/Grilled section. To my dismay, it took more than 30 minutes before a plate of overcooked grilled shrimp was handed over to us. I also felt like the staff were biased because when I asked for steamed shrimp, I was told that it was not possible only to find out that our neighboring table had in fact, buttered and steamed shrimp. So after that one time order, I never bothered going back to that section again.

Scallop with Crab Meat

With my unpleasant experience and less than impressive food selection at The Food Club, I'd probably have second thoughts on dining here again. Besides, there are way better options in the area if you love buffet such as Four Seasons Hotpot City, Banzai, Buffet 101, or Vikings.

~o~o~o

The Food Club Manila
Unit E Blue Bay Walk
Diosdado Macapagal Blvd. corner EDSA
Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel.: (632) 736-8001
Website: www.thefoodclub.com.ph

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...