I have been to almost all buffet restaurants in Manila, long before the time when food blogging isn't yet a mainstream online fondness. There were only few buffet restaurants at that time, and most resides within the hotel premises.
Now, buffet restaurants sprouted all over the metro. One of the newest scene stealers in the yakiniku foodscape is SamboKojin - Japanese Korean Smokeless Grill. It's a new dining concept from the same restauranteurs, Villevicencio family, who brought to you Dads/Saisaki, Something Fishy, and Kamayan. SamboKojin is Vic Villavicencio's son Bokie's brainchild.
Known for our voracious appetites, me and my college roommate trooped to Eastwood City to try it. We braved it all, even if the poor guy doesn't know how to use chopstick.
The restaurant's minimalist design elements is reminiscent of the Japanese post-modern era. The interior is mostly black and white with red backdrop on the grillable and kitchen section.
True to its name, SamboKojin in Japanese meant "god of kitchen", it indeed is.
Among the choices were bolgogi-style pork, chicken cured in spicy teriyaki sauce, lettuce-leaf meat roll up, and some seafoods like ika fillet(squid), mahi-mahi, salmon, prawns, shrimps, kana, crabsticks, and a lot more I could barely remember.
An assortment of other specialties include: tempura in pork, prawn, and tunkatsu variety, sushi comprising tuna, ika, kana, tamale, and salmon, makis which are Shake, Tekka, Futo Maki, and Lipstick Trace Roll. They also have gyoza, sukiyaki, beef curry, tofu steak, and Tori Kuwayaki. Fo the Korean part, they have beef stew, Chapchae noodle dish, Ika Chili, and Clams with soft tofu.
Being an ice cream person, I could say that their ice cream taste a bit generic though. I am not expecting Baskin-Robbins or Ben&Gerry's but their ice cream taste ordinary like those you can buy from bakeshops.
All in all, for a Php595 price tag, I could say that it was well worth it.
Post - Gastronomic Reaction:
Since I have been doing a no-red-meat diet and veggies preferences along with my fitness regimen, the next morning I puked out. As I saw my mess in the toilet bowl, I said, "there goes my Php595". My stomach is not used to meats anymore.
Almost the same price with Saisaki buffet
ReplyDelete@Katey: yes, same price no doubt, as SamboKojin and Saisaki belonged to the same group of restauranteurs. :)
ReplyDeleteI eat in Something Fish whenever I bring my dogs out for fun early morning ; )
ReplyDeletexoxo
MrsM
@Michelle: grabeh, hindi man lang tayo nagkita. magpapa-photo ops sana ako kay Preciolicious eh.
ReplyDeletewaaaah sayang naman :( are you still on your no red meat diet?
ReplyDeleteno-red-meat diet? what about the steaks we're about to eat this weekend!
ReplyDelete@anonymous: pwede naman yang steak basta pinturahan natin ng kalburo para pumuti, white meat na yan.
ReplyDelete@Smarla: preferably no red meat. kung meron man, konting konti lang. enough na matunaw kaagad. and dapat malunod sya ng mga gulay. uy, thanks for answering that BBB and Giorgia buzz ha. grabeh, it rippled and stirred our food blogging community.
ReplyDeleteI love buffets and I don't think I could do a no-red-meat-diet..... Happy wednesday and good vibes to you!
ReplyDelete@JRC, I know, sobrang naging maingay yung issue na yun. And of course, no problem :D
ReplyDeletewaaah sayang, ang hilig ko pa naman sa meat - red meat and white meat! :D
@Peach: mag-red meat/white meat ako in moderation by week ends nalang. pero during weekdays, veggies na. sayang kase, baka imbitahin mo ako sa house nyo, di ko makain lahat. bwahaha.
ReplyDelete@Smarla: oo nga eh, may countdown pa kung kelan ilabas ni Margaux yung identities, which i highly doubt.
ReplyDeletemg-red meat / white meat nalang ako during week ends, pero strictly veggies by weekdays. baka kase yayain mo ako on a food trip eh, lugi naman ako, di ko makain lahat.
oh no! sakit sa tummy usually after that incident. we just ate here and nilubos namin ang buffet. i also didn't take in too much carbs para mas makarami...;)
ReplyDeleteKaye: that's the thing about paying for a buffet, kailangan lubusin lahat.
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