Perfect! I booked us a table right away. It was also a celebration for me and my girls after knowing about their performance par excellence from the Parent-Teacher Conference. Everything looked great. For Php650 (per adult), it should be.

The Restaurant 5 is the newly-renovated art deco concept of Discovery Suites. The interior was fresh and homey. The buffet looked very tempting from the table where we were seated.

The girls could not wait to get up and choose what they like. Finally, after ordering our drinks, we quickly went to the buffet set-up. It was automatic for my girls to look up the dimsum offerings. And of course, to get their favorite siomai. The siomai looked freshly made so I gave them six pieces each. Let’s see if they like it if they go for seconds.

For me, I had the Paella Pasta, Mixed Vegetables, Grilled Chicken and Aklan Oysters. For the Japanese food fans, you can have the usual selections of sushi and sashimi. I had them on my second round.

The Paella Pasta was really amazing! It was a constant staple on my plate on my every refill. It had the paella ingredients (shrimp, chorizo, green and red bell pepper, squid) necessary but I wondered how Chef David Pardo de Ayala (one of my favorite chefs) concocted the paella sauce to seep in the spaghetti noodles.

I cook Aligue Pasta often and my common cry is how can I have the noodles absorb the aligue flavor which seemed to slide away from the pasta and into the plate. This dish was my instant discovery!

The vegetables were okay – not too bland neither too garlicky. The Grilled Chicken was spiced with oregano and flavored further with lemon. It was grilled to perfection, thus the enhanced flavor of the chicken. But nah! That didn’t go well with my Paella Pasta, the highlight dish of the meal. So, I tried the Adobo in Raspberry Sauce. Something new again but it didn’t beat the Paella Pasta in my taste buds.

My girls love adobo but they found this one a bit dry since they smother their rice with the adobo sauce usually. And, yes! They did have second and third servings of the siomai. They had their dimsum feast while I had my paella pasta one.

Oh! And don’t miss the salad bar. It pays to be health-conscious nowadays. I had my favorite Lollo Rosa with a hint of balsamic vinaigrette just to ward off strong flavors that stick to my mouth. Since I was stuck to the Paella Pasta, I ordered some dishes from the Ala Carte Menu.

Duck Spring Rolls Php195, Sake-Marinated Gindara Php590 and the Norwegian Salmon Fillet Php390. The Duck Spring Rolls is an exciting version of the Peking Duck. The mildly-spiced roast duck was thinly-sliced and rolled in a lumpia wrapper with alfalfa sprouts.

The Lychee-Mango Puree dip just did not do the duck justice since it overpowered the taste although you always have the option of what dip to complement it with. And my daughters still loved the siomai.

The very Japanese Sake-Marinated Gindara was served with Shrimp Dumplings which I loved. Gindara, my favorite fish, is actually cod fish with a milky flavor that hooked me in. It made me wonder how the Shrimp Dumplings upstaged the Gindara, my favorite fish.

The dishes were all very creative and upbeat. Maybe I was really craving for more sake into that fish.

The Apple-Rosemary Sauce from the Norwegian Salmon Fillet was another example of how the sauce beats the main dish in taste and odor.

It was a total indulgence for my taste buds. Imagine the Apple-Rosemary Sauce then the Salmon then the Horseradish. If it were me, I will make it a simple Salmon Fillet with the Horseradish vegetables that can spur the diner to finish off the salmon.

I went back for another serving of oysters then dessert! The Chocolate Fountain, hidden from our view, lured us. Chocolate lovers have an option either to have white chocolate or chocolate chocolate. I dipped all the featured fruits and mallows into the fountain and left hurriedly to enjoy them with chocolate.

The Dessert Table was laden with delicious desserts and pastries like Apple Pie, Chocolate Mousse, Homemade Cookies in Cookie Jars, Strawberry Mousse, Assorted Fresh Fruits. Hmmmmm… wonderful!

I just had a glass of water to down the flavors. My girls had a great time with their siomai and their chocolate which was enough to make me happy. It was a lighthearted and budget friendly celebration for us.

We were happy the waits were patient with the girls’ every demand and request. Also, that there are buffets like these that give you peace and quiet. It was a relaxed, happy and satisfying lunch for us.