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FLAVORS Holiday Inn & Suites Makati: A Contemporary, Kid-Friendly Buffet

FLAVORS Holiday Inn & Suites Makati: A Contemporary, Kid-Friendly Buffet

Location: Lobby (4th) Floor, Holiday Inn & Suites Makati, Palm Drive, Ayala Center, Makati
Official Website: www.holidayinn.com
Facebook: Flavors Restaurant, Holiday Inn & Suites Makati

Flavors Holiday Inn & Suites Makati Glorietta

I grew up dining in hotel buffets. This is no secret. I recall one of my favorites was Garden Cafe at Edsa Shangri-La Manila, before it was HEAT, and Nishiki, also at Edsa Shangri-la Manila, before it was Senju. I recall Garden Cafe would serve palm-size scallops, still embedded on shells. Looking back, I recall this was where I learned many cuisines, since hotel buffets serve international cuisines. This is where I learned to eat fresh oysters at a young age of 10, being taught that vinegar and fresh chili would kill the germs. Back at Nishiki is where I learned to eat Chawan Mushi and Sukiyaki, my all-time favorite, which up until today, Senju would serve every Sundays for lunch.

But do I love buffets situated in malls like Vikings, Buffet 101 or Yakimix? Sorry to disappoint you, but no. My mentality is still stuck with the fact that buffet restaurants belong to hotels.

You can just imagine my delight finding a buffet restaurant that I would like to call, a Hole in a Wall buffet. The newly constructed Holiday Inn & Suites Makati wouldn’t even be visible even though you pass by Bershka at the New Glorietta. Or if you hadn’t tried Lugang Cafe along Palm Drive, the big greenish gold bear that stood proud won’t be seen.

Flavors Holiday Inn can be thought of as a contemporary buffet, where quality is much valued over quantity of dishes served that tend to be left out cold, like Spirals of Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

Flavors Holiday Inn & Suites Makati Glorietta

Its high ceiling facade spells an aura of freshness and modern lines. I was extremely pleased at its kid-friendly environment. Kids can play with giant easels and alphabet mats for free while you dine inside the restaurant.

Flavors Holiday Inn also has an outdoor seating that is so clean. The cityscape is beautiful. I enjoyed taking shots of it too.

Flavors Holiday Inn & Suites Makati Glorietta

The seating capacity isn’t as large as the popular ones, but Flavors Holiday Inn should keep you cozy here. I was pleased to see more of tourists and business travelers dining at the restaurant for a quick lunch or breakfast every now and then, a relief compared to others always flocked by locals.

Flavors Holiday Inn & Suites Makati Glorietta

Flavors Holiday Inn’s brunch buffet starts at 11:30pm. While the selection is not that much, there were a couple of items that surprised me and perked my interest since the price per head is only around P1377 net. It is pretty cheap compared to the others.

Among the many cuisines, Flavors Holiday Inn is serving Greek dishes including Hummus, Babaganush and Tabouleh, along with some pita bread. Sadly, I had high expectations that they will be serving this well, but it did not pass my tastebuds. Surely this is one area for improvement.

I like their selection of salads that are fresh. They can be eaten to cleanse your palate between cuisines and to increase acidity for balance.

As I mentioned, Flavors Holiday Inn is also kid-friendly. They have colored plates and utensils for kids to use. But sadly again, the food selection for kids isn’t that much. They serve meatball spaghetti and fish fingers but I was expecting some french fries and mac and cheese since this is what kids normally eat. I dined along with my niece and nephew and they didn’t like the food.

Flavors Holiday Inn & Suites Makati Glorietta

The quality of makimono in their sushi station is not so good. In fact, I just took a look at it, and I knew exactly what it would taste like. So I skipped sushi. I would have loved to see some sashimi.

The noodle soup was promising and the carving station too, which at that time was serving some rib-eye steak. But the steak which tasted more like roast beef was too tough to chew. The beef noodle soup was definitely better off among the rest.

If it hadn’t been for the poached egg, cream dory, roasted potatoes and some cauliflower drizzled with melted cheese, which I know is weird, I would say, the ambience didn’t match the quality of food. The staff was very accommodating, save for a chef serving the roast beef carvings and the noodle station which wasn’t too delighted to serve me. I sincerely thought I was in a hotel and I was paying for the whole experience.

The range of desserts is astounding, but the taste didn’t match my eye candy. They look too pretty but tasted old, as if no one was touching them.

The only thing passable to me, my niece and nephew, was the ice cream. By far, it was one of the best ice cream I tasted that is simple and subtle.

Flavors Holiday Inn & Suites Makati Glorietta

Overall, Flavors Holiday Inn has many areas of improvement. The buffet selection is few, so it was understood that the quality should be better than others but it seems this is not the case. I would return again perhaps to try out their breakfast buffet and see if it’s better than brunch.

Flavors, Holiday Inn & Suites Makati Rating:

[usrlist “Taste and Originality: 2” “Customer Experience: 2.5” “Value for Money: 2.5” “Brick and Mortar: 3”]