The Macroblog

At first, you might think that Yakimix only serves Japanese food because just below the restaurant’s name, the word “Sushi” could be found. During the two times that I dined there, I found out that they do not only serve sushi, tempura, miso soup, and other classic Japanese food. A mix of cuisines were present in the buffet table; they serve Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and even American dishes.

For only Php 580.00 (or Php 499.00 during weekday lunches) you could eat whatever you want, and how much you want. Yes, eat all-you-can! Be sure to go there with an empty stomach, and early so you could enjoy the various food that they serve.

The ambiance is just fine. Sure, it feels like you’re eating at a better-than-normal restaurant, and space is not an issue. They have big chairs, so no matter what size you are — especially after you’ve satisfied your tummy, you’ll have enough room to sit on. Plus, the big chairs come with big tables, you’ll surely have enough real estate to place the food that you took from the buffet table. The only main attraction, aside from the buffet table, are the smokeless grills that you could find at the center of the tables.

What’s the use of the smokeless grill? Obviously, that’s for grilling the variety of raw items that you’ll find in one section of the buffet table. And yes, you’ll be the one who’ll grill your own food. Your options for raw food are almost endless — you could choose from hotdog, shrimp, fish, squid, vegetables wrapped in what looked like bacon, meat that looked like bacon sans vegetables, chicken, and more. The grilling part is fun, kids would surely love it. And you don’t have to worry about smelling like food after your meal as their smokeless grills really don’t produce smoke.

On the other side of the buffet table, you’ll find a selection of cooked items. Most of them are Chinese food, but as I’ve mentioned earlier, they offer other food that you might like. They had some sort of seafood pizza, ebi tempura, and others that I don’t remember. Their tempuras aren’t that good. I bet they aren’t their specialty. Tokyo Tokyo’s tempura are better, actually. I also have an issue with their sauces. They have a lot of sauces, but I haven’t found one that tastes like the regular sauce for tempura. You can’t really enjoy tempura without that sauce full of sweet rice wine.

A separate table is dedicated for various kinds of sushis. There were really lots of sushis. I haven’t tried them all, but most of them would be enough to satisfy your taste buds. The first time I went there, I mostly ate sushis. I’ve had so many of them that by the time we had to pay the bill, my lunch almost reappeared. They’re really that good. They also have sashimi, if you enjoy raw fish, be sure to try them too.

They also have a section for desserts. The first time I dined there, there was a cake from Red Ribbon. And on the second time, there was a Goldilocks cake. It’s kind of weird for me to see cakes like that in a restaurant like Yakimix. They also have other pastries and sweets, and ice cream (Selecta) that you could try if there’s still enough space in your stomach.

So if you like eating at an eat-all-you can restaurant that serves a humongous number of viands, be sure to check this restaurant. The probability that you have visited this restaurant is high, especially if you live in Metro Manila. But for people living outside the capital region, be sure to at least try this restaurant once. You’ll surely have a lot of fun dining with your friends or family.

Yakimix branches can be found at Tomas Morato, Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, Trinoma, and SM Mall of Asia.

I own only the first two photos. The rest are owned by various users on Flickr. Click on the photo/s to see more detail.

Two days ago, during my own birthday, I attended a birthday party of a relative. I know, it’s not the best way to celebrate your birthday, but if you were invited to eat lunch — buffet style — at a luxurious hotel like Edsa Shangri-La, deciding on whether to attend or bail is so easy, even if it’s your birthday.

We ate at a restaurant called Heat (the name is horrible for a restaurant, no?). The restaurant offers a wide variety of food; Heat serves Continental and Asian dishes and desserts — including Filipino food. The restaurant is really big. It has compartmentalized dining ares, so it’s perfect for small parties. And although it occupies a large floor area, the place still gives you a cozy feeling.

Heat’s tagline is “Healthy Dining, Amazing Tastes”. The second part is true, but the first part isn’t. I suggest that you disregard that part. Do you consider crispy pata, burger, and lechon kawali as healthy? Come on, give me a break!

But the food is actually good. I wanted to try all of the food that they served, but that’s impossible. Besides, there were a few things that I didn’t want to eat. The strangest food that I saw there was the taho (bean curd). I didn’t realize that taho could be served in a fine dining restaurant. On that day, they also served fried dried squid. When I first saw them, I was like “really?”. Avoid them, reallocate the space that they’ll use in your stomach with other food, there are so many to choose from. There’s nothing special to them, they’re just the same as the ordinary taho and dried squid that you could buy on the streets or at the market.

What I liked there were the ebi (shrimp) tempura (but the sauce has too much rice wine), tuna sashimi, their pizzas, a dish that I forgot the name that looked like chicken parmesan (they used beef), potato and breaded chicken. The kare-kare surprisingly tasted like my Mom’s. It’s sweet, and you could really taste the peanut sauce.

On the desserts table, they have ice cream, halo-halo, fruits, cakes, a chocolate fountain, bibingka, puto bumbong, and more. They also make crepes upon ordering. The desserts have the ability to create holes in your mouth. Definitely, you have to try them.

The chefs were very friendly and courteous. It almost felt eating like a king.

As for the price, I could only guess that it could cost you more than Php 1000. Maybe even more than Php 2000.

Only after I filled my stomach and a party started in my intestines that I realized that spending my birthday by attending another person’s birthday party wasn’t really bad at all. My dining experience at Heat was tremendously incredible. But I would still pick Spiral at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila anytime.

Sorry, I wasn’t able to take photos of the food. I was too busy eating. LOL. At least, you have something to imagine.