vikings – Jellybeans in the City

5 reasons to celebrate birthdays at Vikings Luxury Buffet, SM Marikina

Quick question: Where do you usually take the fam or the barkada when it’s someone’s birthday?

Chances are: Vikings Luxury Buffet is right at the top of your shortlist, right?

And why not? Celebrating someone’s natal day here calls to mind the grandiose shindigs that the legendary Vikings held where food and drink overflowed for days until everyone is fully satisfied.

If you’re still on the fence on whether you should hold birthday festivities at Vikings Luxury Buffet, here are five reasons why:

1. Festive atmosphere

The restaurant is designed to create a cheery yet elegant atmosphere that makes your group’s dining experience even more enjoyable.

Equipped the largest buffet areas found in the country, Vikings brings and ambiance of splendor and opulence to its diners.

The spacious dining area is decorated with elegant fixtures and comfortable seating, and the staff is friendly and attentive. They provide excellent service, ensuring that your needs are met throughout your dining experience.

2. Wide selection of dishes

Vikings offers a variety of international cuisines, including Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and more, all specially prepared by its team of world-class chefs. The entire party can find everything they crave for – whether appetizers, entrees, seafood, meats or desserts – one plate at a time among the different stations for each cuisine:

Japanese: fresh sushi, sashimi and tempura
Chinese: dim sum and noodles
Filipino: classic dishes like adobo, sinigang, and lechon
Carving: various roasted meats
Pastas and Pizzas
Desserts

With such an extensive array of dishes, the birthday celebrant, and the whole group, will be able to enjoy old favorites as well as try out new cuisines to explore.

3. Eat all you can!

Vikings Luxury Buffet is an all-you-can-eat restaurant, which means the entire party can enjoy as much food as they want for the fixed adult rate of Php988 on weekdays and Php1,088 on weekends.

This way, everyone can savor their favorites or try out different dishes without having to worry about the cost.

Bringing the young ‘uns with you? Here are the buffet rates for the kiddos:

Kids below 3 feet: FREE
Kids 3 feet to 4 feet: Php338 (weekday lunch and dinner) | Php388 (weekend/holiday lunch and dinner)
Kids 4 feet to 6 feet: Php598 (weekday lunch and dinner) | Php698 (weekend/holiday lunch and dinner)

(All buffet rates subject to 5% service charge)

Be mindful of food waste, okay? Make sure that everyone takes only what they can eat and go back for seconds if needed.

4. Birthday celebrants eat for FREE!

Who can forget Vikings’ much-loved promo which allows birthday celebrants to tale full advantage of the restaurant’s delicious buffet spread – from its signature dishes to unique local flavors – absolutely FREE!

All they have to do is a bring a full-paying adult on their actual birthday or four full-paying adults if their visit falls within their birth month. (Be sure to bring a valid government-issued ID).

5. Cheers all you can too!

Go ahead and pair your food with your own alcoholic beverage. You can bring as many bottles as you want with no corkage fee.

So the next time someone’s birthday comes around, you know where to take them and the entire party to eat like a Viking, celebrating great times with great company and great food!

This Vikings Luxury Buffet branch is located at the 2nd Floor, SM City Marikina, Barangay Calumpit, Marikina City, open for lunch service daily from 11am to 2.30pm, and for dinner service Sundays to Thursdays from 5pm to 9pm and Fridays to Saturdays from 5pm to 10pm.

Other Vikings Luxury Buffet branches in Metro Manila are located at:

SM Mall of Asia
SM Megamall
SM North EDSA
SM Jazz Mall
SM BF Paranaque
The Venue

For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 88454647 (8-VIKINGS) or book your table online.

Tong Yang Shabu Shabu Express, SM Megamall

If you think that treating your fam to a delicious shabu-shabu meal would be a costly and difficult endeavor, think again.

Especially as we are now in the midst of rainy season, a steaming bowl of soup can be quite a source of comfort.

The good news is that y’all can enjoy a tasty hotpot meal, quick and easy at Tong Yang Shabu Shabu Express at SM Megamall’s Eatogether Food Hall.

Choosing from these tasty selections, family members can build their own shabu-shabu experience:

Meats (120g): chicken fillet (Php140), pork belly (Php150), beef karubi (Php150), beef chuck eye (Php180), Australian lamb (Php250), striploin (Php250), Angus beef (Php420), Wagyu Beef (Php520)
Seafood (100g): squidflower (Php60), half-shell mussel (Php60), shrimp (Php120), cream dory (Php60)
Shabu-shabu balls: fish ball (Php80), fish cake (Php80), squid ball (Php80), crabsticks (Php80), mushroom ball (Php85), lobster ball (Php110), cheese ball (Php120)
Vegetables (50g): native pechay (Php25), Taiwan pechay (Php50), cabbage (Php25), corn (Php40), enoki mushroom (Php120)
Soup bases: chicken and pork (Php50), spicy mala (Php60), sinigang (Php55), laksa (Php60)m sate (Php60), pickled vegetable (Php50), Chinese herb (Php60)

Or they can select from the affordably priced individual sets the one that best suits their shabu-shabu preference:

dumpling set (Php200 solo | Php320 regular)
vegetarian set (Php190 solo | Php300 regular)
pork set (Php200 solo | Php340 regular)
chicken set (Php220 solo | Php350 regular)
beef karubi set (Php230 solo | Php350 regular)
seafood set (Php250 solo | Php590 regular)
beef chuck eye set (Php420)
lamb set (Php480)
beef striploin set (Php480)
Angus beef set (Php650)
Wagyu set (Php800)

But for a hassle-free group meal, a hotpot for sharing option would be the fam’s best bet:

Couple Sets:

mixed seafood and beef (Php350 solo| Php750 regular)
mixed seafood and pork (Php350 solo| Php750 regular)
premium meats (Php1,390)

Family Sets:

seafood feast (Php1,590)
premium meats for 4 (Php1,620)
combination set (Php2,150)

We opted for a premium meats for 4 set where each family member got a personal soup pot (with our individual choice of soup base – mine was laksa, Hubby’s was spicy mala and the kids opted for chicken and pork), a sizeable selection of premium meats, seafood, vegetables and shabu-shabu balls, as well as a conduction stove in which to cook their own hotpot, we each basically had full control of our delicious and very filling shabu-shabu experience.

If you’re looking for a reasonably priced shabu-shabu meal for the fam, Tong Yang Express is a great choice.

This Tong Yang Shabu Shabu Express branch is located at Eatogether Food Hall, Second Floor, SM Megamall Building A, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City.

Other branches are located at:

SM Center Pasig, Frontera Drive, Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue corner Doña Julia Vargas Ave, Ortigas Center, Pasig
SM Light Mall, EDSA corner Madison Street, Mandaluyong
SM Cherry Shaw, 514 Shaw Blvd, Pleasant Hills, Mandaluyong
The Rise Makati, 7248 Malugay Street, Makati
Eatogether Food Hall, 2/F Unimart at Capitol Commons, Meralco Avenue corner Shaw Boulevard, Pasig

Check out my previous posts about Eatogether Food Hall in SM Megamall:

Vikings’ Katherine Winnick makes first special appearance in Asia at HISCON 2018

History Channel’s mega-convention – HISCON – is back for its third year. From August 10 to 11, 2018, fans of the channel can head off to the World Trade Center in Manila to take part in Manila’s biggest entertainment convention with over 300 exhibits and experiences on history and popular culture, as well as talks, workshops and more.

Headlining the celebrities who will make an appearance during the event is actress Katherine Winnick played the fierce shieldmaiden Lagertha in History’s Emmy-winning series Vikings, alongside international celebrity Giorgio Tsoukalos who stars in History’s iconic series Ancient Aliens. Other notable appearances include local celebrities Xian Lim and Diego Loyzaga (Celebrity Car Wars), Jamie Dempsey (Ride N’Seek), Simon Yin (Hidden Cities Extreme and History Hustle) and popular Singaporean social media influencer Yeoh Mong Chinwho stars in Lifetime Asia’s latest digital-first original series Who Runs the World.

https://youtu.be/irWYk551Wd8

HISCON guests can also drop by the SKY booth to experience a Rockin’ 50s Diner. They can belt out their favorite classic rock n’ roll tunes on the Rock-a-oke, test their 50s and 60s trivia game through a Pop Quiz and take a selfie with a Marilyn Monroe lookalike.

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Drop by the SKY 50s Diner at #HisCon2018 and belt out your favorite old-timey hits by Elvis, the Beatles and more! #wheretogo #historycon2018 #meandmysky

A post shared by Jellybeans in the City (@beingjellybeans) on Aug 10, 2018 at 2:34am PDT

HISTORY CON 2018 tickets are available in three different categories with exclusive privileges for the HISTORY MAKER VIP pass at PHP 10,000, limited to 100 tickets for sale only. Other ticketing categories include the HISTORY MAKER pass at PHP 2,500 for a three-day admission and GENERAL ADMISSION pass at PHP 350 for a one-day access to the mega entertainment convention. Tickets are available for sale exclusively on SM Tickets.

Disclosure: I work for SKY and part of my job is promoting its products and services, especially the content it provides to its subscribers. I consider being able to share my love for TV shows and movies and the experience of watching and talking about them with like-minded people some of the biggest perks of my job.

Buffet Survival Guide: All-You-Need-to-Know to Eat-All-You-Can

Family gatherings and get-togethers are best celebrated with food, lots and lots of it. Good thing there are all-you-can-eat buffets!

Originally, the term “buffet” referred to the sideboard table where dishes are served during family meals or parties. The word later evolved to refer to the format of serving food wherein diners generally serve themselves.

It’s no wonder that all-you-can-eat buffets have grown in popularity in recent years. Diners get to have their fill of whatever food they choose at a fixed cost, while being able to try out new dishes that they don’t normally order. And since the food is already served and just refilled, diners do not have to wait to enjoy their meal.

Savvy all-you-can-eat diners have come up with various techniques to make the most out of their buffet dining experiences Take these tips to heart to maximize your own buffet adventure.

Check for additional savings through discount promos. Some restaurants, like Vikings, offer promos wherein celebrants get to eat for free their birthday as long they are accompanied by a minimum number of guests paying the full rate. Other establishments offer discounted buffet rates to cardholders of partner banks such as BDO, or via restaurant booking apps such as Eatigo, or through deal sites like Metrodeal. Also, lunch buffet rates tend to be lower than dinner buffet rates so if you can schedule your meal during the lunch period, you can save a few bucks.
Make sure the food offerings are in line with your tastes. Whether you want to stick to classic favorites or you’re in the mood to be adventurous, make sure that the dishes served in your chosen resto are to your liking. An eat-all-you-can buffet of food that you don’t like is not a fair deal.
Get hydrated before eating but ease up on the drinks during the meal. Drinking some H2O, particularly lemon water, before starting your buffet quest will help in digestion while minimizing bloating and heartburn. However, drinking lots of liquids, especially fizzy ones, during the meal will use up some precious tummy room.
Don’t fill up on fillers. Pasta and grains can be quite filling so minimize the carbs to make room for dishes that would normally be expensive ala carte such as seafood, sushi, steaks and roasts.
Pace yourself. Take some time to savor each bites will let you maximize your dining experience while minimizing the feeling of bloating later.

Consider buffet dining a treat so don’t overdo it and make sure you enjoy the meal with great company.