Eat all you can - Ala Carte

When someone says "eat all you can", the image that you conjure in your mind is of a table or tables lined with all sorts of food from appetizers to desserts and queues of people lining up with empty plates waiting to be filled.

A growing trend that I've observed here in Metro Manila, at least, is to offer "eat all you can" a la carte.

What is it and how is it different from traditional "eat all you can" ?

Instead of lining up to get food, you stay seated and order the food from a set menu. The waiter takes your order and promptly serves it after a few minutes. You can order as many of each food item as you like.

Is it better than traditional "eat all you can" ?

In my opinion, yes !!! It's better because ....

• You don't need to stand up every now and then to get food from the buffet table.
  
• You don't feel the pressure to get the best part of the roast duck or worry that you'll run out of shrimp tempura.
• The waiter does all the work.
  
• Insert other thoughts why it's better here .....

Where ?

I have had the pleasure of dining in two such restaurants and they happen to be both Japanese. The first is at Zensho (click the link to read a review) over at Tomas Morato, Quezon City and the other one at the redkimono at the Fort Strip, Taguig.

Too bad I misplaced the pics from Zensho I really like the dining experience as it was also teppanyaki, the cook put on a good show and the food was good too :-)

The redkimono's specialty is kamameshi rice. It's a rice dish with toppings served in a wooden platform. I would recommend the Ebi (shrimp) kamameshi. The shrimp according to my brother was firm. The crunchy california maki is unique and the sukiyaki was fragrant.

outside the redkimono

redkimono menu

Tofu Steak

kamameshi rice

Hoopa !

Hoopa !!! is what the gentleman below shouted as he lit ablaze our dessert of Flaming Mangoes.



Cyma is one of the few mediterranean restaurants in the Metro Manila area that I know off and I had the pleasure of having lunch last sunday in their branch inside the Edsa Shang-ri La with the family. Our only experience with mediterranean food is with Cafe Mediterranean's Gyros so we were feeling rather adventurous not to mention hungry. It was almost 2pm when we got to the place and all the tables were filled. Since it was already quite late, we didn't have to wait too long to be seated.



The center of attraction is when they serve flaming dishes. The waiter seving the dish would light it up and everyone shouts Hoopa ! We enjoyed being the center of attention twice, once with their Flaming Cheese (appetizer) and finally with their Flaming Mangoes (dessert)

Here are a couple of scrumptious pics I took of the food we ordered. I had to shoot fast before the food was all gone, so please excuse the amateur photos but I hope they're enough to get you salivating.

Pickled Green Mangoes

No, it's not a title for a movie ala Fried Green Tomatoes. It just happens to be one of my all time favorite food stuff. We buy them from a chinese deli over at china town. They make great snacks. I like them specially when chilled a little.

It's really just a coincidence that the brand name is the last 6 letters of my first name.