Dinner Buffet at the Eastwood Cafe, Richmonde Hotel [Review]

November 26, 2010 Ruth Dela Cruz

I love food and I love eating! While I am still young, and have the license to indulge in sweets, fatty and salty – I take every chance to eat – which is everyday. Guilty. High blood pressure, kidney stones, diabetes and cancer are after me.

Anyway, my friends and I finally found the time to meet up and use the CashCashPinoy vouchers that I have bought a few weeks ago. It is for the 50% off for a Lunch/Dinner buffet in Eastwood Cafe at Richmonde Hotel, Eastwood City.

We originally planned it for a Sunday dinner, but after reservation I was just so glad that the person who attended me (the name is PJ) advised me that Sunday dinner is for Filipino buffet. Wait a minute. My mom cooks everyday and she cooks Filipino food almost 3 times a day. So we moved it to Saturday Dinner. So I found out Western/Asian cuisine is Monday til Sunday lunch only.

Dinner starts at 6PM, and I got there at 7:30PM. Thank you traffic. If you are claiming the voucher, please bring a government ID (I didn’t bring any, but I presented my company ID); and since CashCashPinoy automatically generates voucher under the user’s name, it would help if you would bring an authorization letter from whoever bought the vouchers online and a copy of his/her ID.

Anyway, so we only had 1.5 hours to eat and indulge. Although the food is good (not really superb), I was expecting more varieties. The appetizer table only has salad bar, few slices of sashimi, and seafood.

The seafood is fresh, Thank God.

The Grill Station. But was just surprised that the bowls infront were empty. These needed more replenishments. Grilled squid and fish tasted a little too charcoaly-bitter. Sorry, I was disappointed.

Assorted Maki. And I dreamed of YakiMixx.

There is even a Pasta Station where you could ask the chef to do a special for you. You can even choose your choice of pasta (I love penne in plain red sauce and herbs). The good chef even did a little flambee show.

I had to wait for them to replenish and refill these dishes before I take some more shots. I have more pics with almost empty serving dishes, BUT I never wanted to put this place into a bad light. So there.. One dish for each country cuisine. That beef dish is yummy, I have to say.

Crepe station slash Halo Halo station. I had 3 servings of Mango and Chocolate Crepe. At around 8:30PM, the syrups were almost empty (especially the chocolate syrup), so the chef just offered to serve me with chocolate syrup. So he served my crepes – with no whip cream and chocolate syrup. Why is there an inconsistency in serving and plating? I have to ask (but not really complain). He placed a little bit of whipped cream and served me with a diluted chocolate syrup.. I was too tired to even complain, but just enjoyed whatever was served. After good 15 minutes, another chef/server brought a demitasse of chocolate syrup. The one which looks heavy and rich and delicious. Okay, I told the guy I already got my chocolate syrup and finished my crepe. But I wonder what kind of syrup did the crepe chef served me with?!

More of breads and appetizers. The Blue Cheese Mousse is good. But there aren’t much choices in the cheese platter.

The Halo Halo Station. I was too full to even try this. I can always buy Halo Halo from Ice Bergs’ and Aling Loleng (neighbor).

We thought these were some sort of parfaits, but we were wrong. These are layered crushed cookies/graham crackers, fruits and nuts and cream. The presentation is appetizing that diners grabbed a cup in less than a minute these were served.

Assorted fruits? There were only two choices. Eerrr.. I guess they should really take note of small details, like presentations and plating? Diners may be a little too excited in getting their plates stuffed with food, but scattered food in a buffet table is not so pleasing..

Is it really Bavarian Mousse or Cheesecake? This one is good and I like! It is a good contast of sweet, sour and salty (Nano, nano?!). The bottom part is like a chunk of chocolate. Yum!

Some Filipino desserts.

Since we only paid half of the original price of Php1,100. I could say what we paid for is worth the money. Imagine ordering a Php500 peso worth of meal from other restos in Eastwood. The package that we have gotten even comes with free Iced Tea and Coffee. Mind you, it is an AND.

Some areas to improve on, frequency of replenishing and refilling of dishes. More consistency in plating and serving food. Cleaning up the buffet table. I cannot request and ask for more choices of food – because if I will, I have to dine in at some other hotel.

I have to commend that Eastwood Cafe has really nice and accommodating staff. So thank you for accommodating our requests.

I have to say that the Richmonde Hotel is more grand than the one in Ortigas. I would sure bring my friends here when they visit Manila. And I hope that the Eastwood Cafe has already improved by then. One year in the making.