Although my office for the last three years is located in the busy business district of Ortigas, I rarely go to Robinson's Galleria. I mean if I had to go to the mall to meet some friends after work or at times when we crave for some out of the norm dish for lunch, Shangri La Mall or Megamall, depending on whether or not I am in the mood for walking, would be the top options. Galleria would be last since I have not really associated the place with dining or not even anything at all for some reason (I'm really sorry Mr. Gokongwei). Well that was just until CityBuffet Restaurant opened.
I can't recall when they officially opened for operations exactly but I remember that it was just this year. I was doing some research online on some buffet options within our office area other than the usual when I came across a review of the place. At that time I couldn't find any other information of them aside from that site, they were not even listed in munchpunch nor myfoodtrip yet, but it was written that they were "just like Yakimix minus the grilling" so we decided to give it a try.
You wouldn't miss it, it is indeed easy to find. As soon as you get to the top floor of the mall, across the cinema area you would see a Chinese-restaurant-themed place that looks really inviting from the outside. It has a glass wall stretched to and from both ends of the restaurant so you could see the lighting fixtures and dark grey laminated cushioned seats that all looked really elegant. Their signage though is like that of a fast food chain, it doesn't match the elegant feel of the restaurant interiors at all. Their buffet table is visible but you can barely see most of the food unless you enter the restaurant for a closer peek, which they allow. Some customers would first check on the current menu before deciding whether to dine or not, wherein of course most of them did.
Our first experience was memorable. It was just their soft opening then so everything from their decors down to the utensils are brand new. Their buffet selections was like an array of happiness. They have Chinese, Japanese, American, Filipino and even a few Italian selections (e.g. pizza, pasta). They also got more than a couple of ice cream flavors, a variety of dessert options from the tarts, cakes, rice cakes, panna cotta, halo-halo, etc. They have a salad bar, a sushi counter, and multiple dispensers for soda and juices. Although the food flavors weren't remarkable, it's above average than the usual experience, plus some of them are different from the casual viand you get to see on a standard buffet. Bottom line, I was looking forward to coming back the moment we stepped out of the place, it was a PHP499 well spent for dinner and drinks.
My schedule did not allow me to come back until last Monday, for a quick lunch out this time. I called ahead to verify their hours of operations for lunch to make sure I make it just in time before closing. Lunch starts 11am, the buffet is open just until 2:30pm while they close by 3pm. We arrived 1:30pm and as expected, they have just enough number of weekday customers and some of them are already on their desserts. Perfect timing since I needed to make sure I maximize my 1-hour break having the buffet stretch almost all to ourselves, ha! ;p To my surprise, lunch is even a way better deal for PHP399 with drinks.
I already knew what I was craving that day. I have this thing about over-planning almost everything, like planning ahead the things I am to look for and get in a bazaar, and so I also have a mental list of the things I will eat in a buffet visit. ;) With that in my subconscious, I was a little disappointed to find out that a number of these cravings were not offered that day for unknown reasons. Maybe because their selections have changed since their soft opening, but hopefully not because they are starting to lose track of maintenance.
My tummy wasn't as happy as how it was from my first visit. The menu isn't as extensive, the dessert options, salad bar and sushi counter didn't looked as enticing as before. The only food on my plate that was warm were the plain rice and the corn soup, the rest of the viands I tried looked like leftovers and they're all cold. I took a couple of sticks of yakiniku and they're both dry, chewy, and cold. They don't have shrimp tempura that day (sadness!) so I settled for vegetable and kani tempura but they were cold. Even the ramen was dry and cold. Their fruit tart will break into pieces as soon as you place them on your plate. I couldn't find the ice cream cups and when I had to ask for one, a waiter handed me a big red plastic dish container so I could get one myself (didn't even know if the ice cream cups on the thing was sanitized) plus their iced tea options were all bland.
I had the impression that maybe because we arrived an hour before their closing so they had to turn off their warmers or that's why it was evident that all their crew couldn't wait for the customers to leave so they could start cleaning up. We were told that the food will be pulled out by 2:30pm but we could stay until 3pm, we weren't able to do so as well since for some reason, the aircon was turned off together with the buffet setup. It was very disappointing to see how the place have started to turn ugly in less than a year. I just hope they can have this corrected before they even start losing regular customers.
Will I come back? Sure. They gave a lasting happy first impression so I could afford to forgive them, everyone has their own Manic-Monday and this one might just be one of theirs. :) I hope the succeeding ones will be a way better experience each time though. They offer buffet so consistency is a golden rule. I am crossing my fingers wishing for them to keep that in mind. Customers would've been looking forward to regularly dining at Robinson's Galleria because of their place, it would be stupid to take that status for granted.
Pictures? Google 'em or check their Facebook page, see link below.
CityBuffet Restaurant
Address: Level 4 Robinson's Galleria, Ortigas Avenue
Website: http://www.facebook.com/CityBuffet
Last visit: October 2012
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