Rumor has it. We’ve heard and watched how typhoon Pedring caused a major destruction to the city of Manila. Flood affected the streets, killed innocent lives and hit major businesses in the area. (I wonder how much that costs the city?) I’m pretty sure you all remember what damage it brought to one of our country’s 5-star hotels, Sofitel Manila. Because I do.

I was in shock when I found out the longest buffet, Spiral Manila, was affected. The good news is, Pedring is over. It didn’t reign over Sofitel Manila. Now, Sofitel is loud and proud to welcome us to their new and improved Spiral Buffet.

Have you tried to pay a visit to the new Spiral? Finally, after months of planning to give Spiral a peek and taste, my schedule allowed me to grace the finest hotel buffet in the Philippines (and soon to be Asia, I hope!).

To share a little bit of my state of mind during buffets, two of the staple dishes I get in a buffet are:

At Spiral, they call their version, Caviar Pie. My instinct when I saw the pie was to get pieces of crackers immediately.

Congratulate me if I say goodbye to Salmon. For now, I will never think about that. As I said before, O and I got “kilig” when we found out Salmon Sashimi is a dish we can eat everyday. 🙂

During my most recent visit at the new Spiral Buffet, the immense restaurant of Sofitel Manila seemed to change my game plan of buffet eating. Spiral enchanted me, allured me to try everything!

The new Spiral is divided into 21 dining ateliers. Say whutt? By the way, they call the stations “atelier” since every station is manager by specialized chefs who are like designers who can create your dishes the way you want to or the way their freehand can be creative as much as they can.  Since Spiral is a French buffet, the term atelier came from France where an atelier is an artist’s special workshop. In Spiral, it is where secret recipes are masterfully prepared right before your very eyes. Once you go down the spiral stairs and look around, you’ll see the range of cuisines that is expansive and the attention and detail to each dish has the focus of an artisan.

So foodie, this is my question for you…

Find local greens at the Salad Station that are organic, proudly grown and sourced from our very own country.
Sealed bottles on top are part of Sofitel’s Spiral 2 Go merchandise. A new way of enjoying Spiral’s products is taking them home through their Spiral 2 Go homemade merchandise.

Ready-made salad bar if you’re in a hurry for other dishes. The dressing bottle on the left looks like a lotion. Hehe.

Way to go, Shake and Go! This is a cool reinvention of Spiral’s Salad Bar.

I dare you to move around Spiral and get me a cup of steamed rice. You won’t find it elsewhere except the Korean Station.

Have you been to the old Spiral before it was renovated? Believe it or not, Filipino cuisine is a new addition to Sofitel’s buffet line up. Sofitel aims to introduce Filipino cuisine to their foreign guests. Besides, who isn’t proud of our local cuisine? I am!! #proudlyfilipino

TIP: Notice that food labels are out of Spiral’s buffet trend. With their newly reinvented restaurant, Sofitel encourages their guests to interact with chefs as they dine in Spiral. My tip for you is to Ask the Chefs. If you want to know more about the dishes, communicate with them. We all know how Asians tend to be more shy than the Western guys. You don’t have a choice but to Talk to the chefs!

Chafing dishes are out, according to Sofitel. Dishes are presented in a stylish way by using different pots, plates and bowls.

Chicken Satay, one of the first few sticks on our plate.

O and I had to make sure we get to try Spiral’s Peking Duck Wrap. For a piece of that mighty duck, interact with the chef and get your Peking Duck Wrap.

My favorite Chinese dim sum Hakaw and Xiao Long Bao are there! I don’t often find Xiao Long Bao in buffets knowing how intricate it is.

Beside the Chinese Station is the Noodle Station where you can customize your own bowl of hot noodles. Watch the chefs use Hand-pulled noodles during dinner time.

A new station added to cater numerous Indian guests of the hotel. My India adventure pricked my tongue to be numb to strong Indian spices and appreciate it more. Indian food formed my taste buds to tolerate stronger and spicier food.

Who wouldn’t want to miss out on these expensive steaks from the Meat atelier? I won’t dare to miss this out!

We all have our preferences on how our seafood should be cooked? Back to my tip a while ago, ask the help of the chefs! 😉

*Oysters are only served on weekends and dinner time.

Blue Kitchen (Photo from Spiral)

I beg you, don’t skip the Blue Kitchen. FYI, this kitchen alone costs Spiral 10-million pesos (Php10,000,000.00). Dizzy to count the zeroes? Please please get a dish from the Blue Kitchen!
Are we clear?

A total of 3 Japanese stations – Cold, where sushis are served; Hot, where fried tonkatsu and tempura dishes are prepared; and an extension of Hot, where teppanyaki and various Japanese main course for your selection.

Cheese haven!!! More than 20 selections of imported and local cheese in this enchanting room. You won’t regret entering this room if you’re a cheesy person like me. 🙂

*Spiral also sells their imported cheese at the Spiral 2 Go section.

Dried fruits, nuts and cold cuts available in the Cheese Room.

Incredible dessert atelier! I’m running out of words, all I can think of is to eat every sweet diabetic treat I see at the Dessert corner.

I call this the “Pull-out Pleasure” cabinet where creme brulee, cheesecake, assorted pudding and panna cotta are stored.

Sweet treasures inside the treasure chest! I’ll be a pirate for a day for these chest boxes.

Dark, white and milk chocoltes with macadamia nuts and pistachios! Droool all you want!

Call it romantic or sophisticated, it’s not simple to take photos at Spiral anymore. Sofitel became stricter, especially Spiral, in order to respect the privacy of their guests.

TIP: Don’t take too long in taking photos, especially detailed shots of the food and ambiance. Or else, any staff from the hotel might approach you.

Luxurious French-inspired private rooms are available for any occasion. One of the rooms, Tasting Room, small and ideal for private business meetings.

Round table set-up, a popular choice among Chinese families. One Decadence room seats 12 people or can be connected to two (2) more Decadence Rooms to fit 36pax.

“The Hidden Room”, a very popular room for those who are after strict privacy.

Purchase Spiral’s homemade cakes, pralines, freshly baked cookies, macarons, signature olive bread, marzipans from Germany and more delicacies.

Indoor lounge for rounds of cocktails with an outdoor view of the iconic lagoon-shaped poolside.

The smart and entertaining woman who hosted our Spiral lunch.

A pleasurable afternoon conversation care of Ms. Jane of Sofitel Manila.

It’s always fun to eat “strategically” with O.

It’s Christmas in Spiral every single day! Feast of world-class cuisines that will surprise your palate every single time you visit.

Cheers,

Location: Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Operating Hours: Breakfast, 6:30-10:30am / Lunch, 12nn-2:30pm / Dinner, 6-10:30pm

Contact: (+632) 551-5555

 Website: http://spiralmanila.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpiralManila

Budget:
(Net Price)Breakfast -PHP 1,719.55 (Mon-Fri) / PHP 1,965.20 (Sat-Sun) / PHP 3,991.81 (Sunday Brunch)
Lunch – PHP 2,431.94 (Mon-Sat)
Dinner: PHP 2,800.41 (Sun-Thurs) / PHP 3,046.06 (Fri-Sat)
*Buffet Rates are subject to change without prior notice

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