Grateful Dad #18: Indulgence
I’ve always been vocal with how much Mommy Khris and I miss eating in a buffet restaurant. It’s been more than two years since we last ate in an all-you-can-eat restaurant and we thought that a little indulgence is a great way to reward ourselves for both the good and bad days that have come to pass. Plus, who doesn’t love to eat?
Grateful Dad #18: Indulgence
Anyway, the chance to indulge happened after a spur of the moment plan to have my laptop and smartphone repaired in SM City Fairview. We were initially eyeing Romantic Baboy in Ayala Fairview Terraces but decided that it might not be a good idea to cross Quirino Highway only to be greeted by a long queue craving samgyupsal and other grilled meats. With that hesitation, we changed our plans and decided to look for a good Korean barbecue restaurant in SM City Fairview instead.
Lechon belly
All4One seemed like a good idea but, alas, the long lines also made eating here look hopeless. And then Sambokojin suddenly popped up. It was late afternoon and they will soon open their dinner buffet.
So off we went to Sambokojin. There were no lines at the entrance – thank goodness! We asked the attendant if they were already open for the dinner buffet and she confirmed that they already were. We booked a table and immediately scanned the food stations.
It’s already Alert Level 1 in Metro Manila so the restrictions in restaurants were already lifted. When we last ate in Sambokojin SM City Fairview in December 2020, the buffet food was served on plates. They were not the usual buffet food in the old normal in which diners were free to take food in the stations.
Sashimi
Currently, with Alert Level 1 implemented, it’s like dining in the old normal again. Of course, there were still restrictions such as proper social distancing between tables and the need to wear a face mask when taking food. Other than that, the food items are laid out on the tables and diners may take as much as they wish.
We started in the usual carving station where there’s pork belly lechon, roast beef, and lamb. We also helped ourselves to the food in the Japanese station just because we missed eating sushi and sashimi. Other than that, we satisfied ourselves with the fresh meats and cold cuts for grilling.
Grilling at Sambokojin
What I did notice about myself is that I easily feel full these days, unlike when I was younger when I could eat loads of food and still come back to my favorite food stations to take more. I guess it comes with age plus I just tend to focus on the food selections that I love the most.
We capped our great meal with ice cream; the best way to ease tired mouths after eating too much oily food is to eat a cold dessert like ice cream.
All in all it was a great, well-deserved meal that left us feeling happily stuffed. I wish we could do dates like this one more often.