We love Chinese food especially when it’s a buffet. Considering it was an ‘all you can eat’ buffet, the food - I thought - was not so bad taking into consideration the price tag. There was a variety of choice with the usual sweet and sours, chow meins (vegetables & noodles), dimsum (Chinese appetizers) and more. Plus, there were starters and desserts (ice cream) to make your meal complete.
Like most of us men, I don’t eat out particularly when going shopping. I just get whatever I intended to buy then leave. But when I do, with my wife and kids...we usually go to the nearby restaurants near the department store. Just like Bon Appetite in Shangri-la Mall.
There were a number of afternoon shoppers probably those who were too tired and decided to grab a bite although most of them had a la carte. I began wondering if we made a right decision…
The decor’s all pretty simple and cafe-like, much like what it used to be a few years back. I find it entertaining looking at people going down the high escalators. A very relaxing view!
I was expecting that the buffet may have low quality meat or sloppy service. I have to say though, that the meat was fine, the service was excellent, the variety was good and the value for money was first class but some of the offerings like that of the Peking Duck and Soy Chicken were tough and over-cooked. No room for complaints though since the value for money was incomparable. At Php295 a head you’ll be ready to do more shopping after this meal.
For most Chinese buffet veterans, there is a plan of attack when approaching the tables. Mine is to hit the soups and appetizers first, unless an extravagant dish stands out. On this occasion I was glad I hit the soups first. I searched for the right words to describe the unlabeled entrées offered and had to settle on my own hunches.
The food choices at Bon Appetite were manageable enough to repeat. All the meats and seafood we tried with the steamed rice or fried rice seemed to be satisfactory.
The winner at Bon Appetite Buffet is the soup and salad station, some of the meats and the ice cream for dessert. It is one of the most value-added and affordable Chinese buffet we sampled but we’ll try the a la carte next time.
