Flavors

A new business hotel has sprung up in what used to be a somewhat derelict area of Ayala Center, the Holiday Inn & Suites. As in any decent hotel, buffet is being offered in its coffee shop or lobby cafe. The name is Flavors.

Out of curiosity, the fennel bulbs came to check out the new place. First of all, one should comment about the logistics of the place. As it shared its parking space with the adjacent mall, Glorietta, the lack of signage confused one as to which portion of the basement to park. Moreover, the security personnel did not offer any guidance, and had the least bit of helpfulness in their disposition.

One rides the lift, and goes to the 5th floor where the lobby is. There were signs in the lobby as to where the restaurant was, and where the toilets were, but they were unnoticeable. The signs required one to have good eyesight.

One arrives at Flavors after going down a flight of stairs. The interiors are modern, but it's quite queer that one can not really find a photographable spot, especially inside the restaurant. There were too many wooden walls that blocked the view. There was no focal point, and the buffet table was at one end of the restaurant, as if it were unimportantly set aside.

On the buffet spread were sushi and sashimi, and a variety of cold salads and appetizers. On the other end were the entrées, the meats for carving, and pasta. On another table were some other entrées, and a few Filipino dishes like lechon kawali and kare kare.

The fennel bulbs had to note that the salmon sashimi was frozen. Some slices had red blood marks on it, a sad indicator of its freshness, or rather the lack of it. The rice in the sushi was just too sticky, almost like glutinous rice.

The varieties of salad were quite formidable though. There was a cherry tomato salad in a light vinaigrette dressing that was actually good. There was also beet salad and a cucumber salad in a Thai-style dressing. There was also some Japanese-style pickled vegetables, known as tsukemono（漬物).

Next, we tried some of the entrées. First tried was the fried pomfret with remoulade sauce, and a fried chicken breast in a certain sauce dish which resembled chicken cacciatore. The pomfrets, having been deep fried, had serious textural problems: it basically was too tough. The breading was no longer crunchy, it wasn't particularly soggy, but it had dried out so as to become tough, and the fillets itself were also dry. It seems the cooks were particularly uninformed about deep-frying techniques.

There was also some pad thai on the spread. While some good-tasting shrimps were incorporated into the dish, one had to note that pad thai itself, is a difficult dish to serve in a buffet. The rice noodles are naturally soft and are best served right away. Putting them on a silver dish on a buffet for an extended period of time will allow the noodles to absorb some of the grease and they will become too soft for comfort. The sauce was not good either, there was too much of the spicy and the sweet. There was no sour and piquant in it. After all, pad thai is a difficult dish to muster. One has to be psyched to understand the balance among flavors each of its many ingredients can contribute.

On a lighter note, there was some chicken lollipop on the kid's section, which was actually cooked delightfully well. But pun aside, an Indian lamb shank dish tasted wonderful, the meat softened from slow cooking. One can slowly peel it off the bone with ease. It is best eaten with the crunchy pappadum. Garlic and rosemary potatoes tasted wonderful as well.

Another strong point was the meats for grilling. There was some chicken, pork belly, and snapper. All the meats were of good quality, and their sauce which tasted very Filipino - a sweetened soy sauce mixture with a hint of acidity, with chopped onions added - was likable.

Lastly, it was time for the dessert spread. Much of it, however, did not seem to be good enough, and only a few appealed to the fennel bulbs. There was some tiramisu, which was of generic quality, and a banoffee crumble served on little bowls, which was in itself, a dismal effort to create a banoffee crumble. It was as if one wanted to create a banoffee pie, but had no skill as to create one, and ended up doing something layered that is contained within a dish, very much like a trifle, but still couldn't pull it off.

At 1,100PHP per person, we think this buffet is not at all recommendable. It absolutely pales in comparison with the grander and definitely competitive spread offered by Vikings, and it does not match the ambitions of Hyatt's Market Cafe. Furthermore, the buffet price excluded beverages. We could only hope that Flavors improve their offering, considering that so much more competent dining options are available in the area.

Selection Is Key

Encouraged by the good food at The Fireplace, the fennel bulbs decided to do the Hyatt Hotel's buffet offering in one of their restaurants, Market Cafe.

Even at 8:30 in the evening, the place was still busy, with hotel guests and locals seemingly enjoying the formidable offerings: from Japanese sushi, sashimi, and tempura, to fresh oysters and local lobsters, to roast meats, as well as Chinese and Mediterranean cuisines were all waiting to be sampled.

One can also assemble their own salads. The vegetables were fresh, and the choices of dressings and toppings were likewise good. 

Shrimp, fish, and vegetable tempura were all available. Sushi and sashimi, albeit quite limited, can also be had.

We moved on to the fresh seafood. One can request some fresh local lobsters to be cooked in the grill. Fresh oysters, which were a bit on the small side and which probably came from Capiz, were available. It tasted fresh of the sea, but not as good as other varieties.

We moved on to the Mediterranean spread. One can lament that there were no vegetable dishes like tabbouleh, or dips like tzatziki or hummus, which are available in other competitive hotel buffets and at Viking's. However, there was stuffed pizza, some spreads including tapenade and various cheeses, paella, and one can request for pasta to be cooked with the sauce of their liking. The tapenade was a bit too salty for one's taste, and black olives, instead of green olives, were used. The stuffed pizza was particularly good, though.

The fennel bulbs proceeded to the Chinese spread. Some delicious viands like stir-fried spare ribs and roast pork cha-siu and some noodle soup were available. Overall, the Chinese selection was disappointing, despite the fact that the highly-acclaimed Lili restaurant is in the Hyatt Hotel.

We moved on to the steaks. Roast beef was cut right on the spot, and it was amazingly tender and delicious. For those who can't wait, steaks were readily placed on heated pans. Sadly, they were not cooked well and were all too tough to the bite. Consequently, a pile of sad-looking steaks remained on the pan. The lamb cutlets were more tender and delicious though.

Prawns thermidor was also available, but a dish like this is served best straight from the oven. Buffets should probably properly consider which dishes are optimally served on a buffet spread and which dishes lose character on a buffet spread.

Finally we moved on to the dessert selection. Various tarts, pastries, and puddings tasted good. Succulent strawberries dipped in chocolate looked mouthwatering, but the chocolate used lacked the rich and decadent taste that would have accompanied the tartness well. Even macarons were available, but those were a farce! They were as hard as arrowroot biscuits. Lastly, the milk that came with their brewed coffee was disappointingly cold.

Looking back, the buffet was a bit of a disappointment. At 2,100PHP++, more competitive buffets can be had at a cheaper price. The staff, however, were excellent. The fennel bulbs can only hope that the Market Cafe consider improving their buffet.