The Verdict on the Ultimate Chocolate Buffet

The Verdict on the Ultimate Chocolate Buffet

I came home from Makati Shangri-La’s Chocolate Buffet all woozy and sleepy! This was because I took too much Baileys mixed with melted Dark Chocolate hehehehe. So it took me 2 days to finally think straight and write this review. Read on!

Ambiance

The Lobby Lounge of Makati Shang was on the far end of the entrance of the hotel and had the signature Shangrila plush seats with a man on the piano providing the background music. The lights were high and bright and gave a somewhat chirpy atmosphere to the area.

When my friend Stella and I got there, the receptionist was busy talking to some other guests so we went to the cashier area where we spotted another waitress. She then called the other girl who led us to our reserved seat. Since it’s a lounge, the feel of the area wasn’t stuffy and bordering more on the casual chic.

Out waitress gave us a liquor menu but later on led us to the Chocolate Buffet upon finding out that we were there for their chocolate treats. The entire buffet was placed on five small tables with alternate heights fronting the lounge so it’s the first thing you’d see once you get near the area.


Selections

Of course I do not know what all the chocolate creations are called, but I will try my best in describing them, hehehe. On the right table were the spiral chocolate lollipops made of white and milk chocolate, chocolate biscuit-bread looking things with fruits and cream in the middle, chocolate bread—which was too ‘siksik’ for me. One distinct tart I didn’t like was the one mixed with spice. Stella and I couldn’t pinpoint if it was cinnamon or allspice or nutmeg but it had this funny a-little-too-minty sensation in your tongue that left a light bubble gum taste that I didn’t like.

Anyway, on the lower table was the best chocolate panna cotta that I have tasted! I love the mixture of cream, milk choco and dark chocolate that gives this light texture but strong flavor and there’s also caramel sauce at the bottom so you have the option to mix it or not depending on your taste. This was the best treat for me in the entire buffet J

Moving on, in the middle table was the drinking station with 5 variations of huge chocolate pellets: milk choco, white choco, semi-sweet, dark sweet and dark chocolate to be mixed with any of the following choices: milk, bailey’s tia maria’s, macadamia nut essence, and some other drinks that I didn’t know of. In a bout of excitement, I chose the concoction of dark chocolate with Bailey’s. The waitress mixed and melted them in the mini-saucepan at the buffet table and delivered the glass (around 8oz) with a stainless holder to our table.

There were also strawberries dipped in milk and white chocolate along with pralines with different flavors inside them all lined up in a 6 tier rack. Beside them were the green-colored mint gelatins with dark chocolate shards stuck all around to be poured with orange sauce; chocolate bread sticks and hot chocolate scones with your choice of whipped cream, and fruit sauce (blueberry, mango, strawberry) were also among the selections.

On the leftmost table were dimsum looking things that had chocolate inside—they were okay but didn’t really tickle my fancy so I just took a bite off from each of them for a taste. And also by this time, I was woozy from drinking the Bailey’s with dark chocolate, hehehe. I was actually still able to think some and decided to stop drinking the Baileys and ordered a different chocolate drink mixture similar to my friend, Stella’s. It was a mixture of half dark and half semisweet choco pellets melted with the macadamia nut essence. Mine came out stronger than Stella’s possibly because they didn’t use any measuring tools but just mixed all the ingredients together by feel.

Regretfully, Stella and I weren’t able to taste the chocolate cakes in the buffet that came from Circles. This is partially due to my wooziness--I could barely keep my eyes open and also because the buffet was about to end since it was already nearing 9pm. By this time, the regular singers at the Lobby Lounge have also arrived and started crooning out some ballads but Stella and I were still able to keep our conversation going.


Overall

I’d give Makati Shangri-la’s Ultimate Chocolate Buffet a 3 out 5 stars. What I liked best about Shang’s offerings were the panna cotta, strawberries dipped in chocolate, and the fact that you can make your own chocolate drink. The buffet was worth the money (PhP603 in all: 550 for the buffet, 100 service charge and 7 pesos additional fee for liquor, heheheh) especially if you prepare well for the chocolate indulgence.


Tips from Moi
1) Take liquor at the end of the buffet, not in the middle of it!
2) Get to the buffet early, it starts at 6pm and ends at 9pm, so you’ll have ample time to savor, digest and chit chat!
3) You should be a certified chocoholic! That means knowing that you should have enough stomach space to accommodate all the chocolate goodies and have the appetite to savor every single treat in the buffet!


Comparision

Hmmm, I’ve been to the Manila Penn’s Chocolate buffet last Nov 2004 and I’d say that I liked their offerings and ambiance better than Shang’s. Manila Penn’s lobby was more intimate with low lights and a violin quartet playing on the background. The buffet also had crepes with the chef whipping them up in front of you and of course, my favorite, the chocolate soup that was a mixture of white and dark chocolate. :)


Till the next hotel’s chocolate buffet!!!


P.S.. Circles Restaurant in Makati Shang and Crown Plaza Hotel in Galleria has a chocolate fountain where you can coat your food with chocolate from the flowing fountain! Cool!