Choice Buffet

The Korean food craze entered Manila even before everybody went "sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry". Of course, Filipinos loved it because of one plain reason: it's new. For me (a very untalented and stubborn aspiring foodie), I think Korean cuisine in Manila is all about grilled meat wrapped in lettuce. Well, I'm not one to talk since I've only experienced their food once, but see, there's this saying that goes "first impression lasts." I'm not a strong believer of this one, though. But I sure do hope I get to take these things I've just mentioned about Korean food....since I love Korean and I'm simply jealous of their skin.

Okay, so I went to Choice Buffet with my cousins a few days ago to have dinner. Originally, our plan was to drink the night away, but a certain someone had to ditch us for his academics. I mean come on, what's his deal, right? What's so much better than food? LOL, kidding, I totally understand since I went through that hell just earlier this month.

Okay, so I arrived late, like an hour late. But eh, whatever.

On to the food!
I don't have a photo of the buffet, but see, there wasn't much to take. Just rows and rows of raw meat, veggies wrapped in raw meat, raw seafood like salmon, shrimp, and squid, and the rest...fresh fruits and veggies that you make bibimbap (kimbap?) with.

On the other side, there's an all-you-can-eat serving of Jap Chae, my favorite Korean noodle dish. Also, bottomless servings of different soups that I didn't try because I just know they would fill me up too fast.

On my plate, I had the following:

Some beef and pork marinated with Korean flavors that I don't know what to call with, asparagus and string mushrooms wrapped in a sheet of beef (like it's bacon), and some kind of chicken bbq wings.

Well, I like everything I grabbed, but my cousins just kept on eating what I put on the grill. Except for the veggie and seafood. And it took too long for me to realize the presence of helpful servings of lettuce at the bar. But anyway, everything was okay. Just okay. Didn't have anything exceptional. I still enjoyed the experience because...well it was my first time, so...figures.

Grilling some pork on this so-called smokeless grill. 

The grilled salmon. Oh yes, I had a lot these. In fact, it's the only thing I thoroughly enjoyed that night. This one is still a bit raw, but just look at how juicy it was. But this was the belly part so...yeah. This was my favorite food on their menu.

The shrimp. Again, it's grilled seafood, so I don't have to explain everything. But just so you know, I'm a huge fan of seafood.

The adults of that night...grilling away. I didn't get to have a taste of their rice, but my bro told me it wasn't that great. And that red paste you see, it's some kind of tomato sauce. But it's really delicious, so Korean.

Team fourth generation. And that guy in purple is my bro. He's going to Korea on the fifteenth for some education. He gets to experience legit Korean food soon!

For the drinks, I went for their four seasons, but it had too much pineapple. Tasted like powdered juice. 

They also had sushi and ice cream. The sushi, I wasn't also able to try. But the ice cream, I devoured a whole bowl of it. Strawberry, mocha, and chocolate. I loved the ice cream, it wasn't too milky.

So bottom line: I loved the salmon, the ice cream, and the Jap Chae. The place did pretty okay with the quality of their food, nothing much to fuss about. Just the fact that it was fun grilling and wrapping meat around with lettuce.

But I think I'll soon change my mind about Korean food. It's my first time but I'm keeping my doors open :)