The Unlawyer

When it comes to Sunday lunch buffets, there was a time that the Dusit Thani Manila hotel at the Ayala Center in Makati City wasn’t at the top of the list of such destinations, in the face of intense competition from the other hotels and restaurants in that city’s Central Business District.

That was the case, until sometime last year when it invented what its management calls a Crossover Family Sunday Brunch, and created what may be the best Sunday buffet in Metro Manila today.

A lunch or dinner buffet served at a Philippine hotel would usually be held at just one of its restaurants, typically its coffee shop. The Dusit Thani Manila, however, took buffet dining to the next level by rolling out not just one but four buffet spreads created by its restaurants – the Italian Tosca, the Japanese Umu, the Thai Benjarong, and by its coffee shop Basix – stretching out over two floors plus a free flow of sparkling wine and other drinks.

To enjoy this feast, a diner need only reserve a table for himself and his party – and I do recommend making one – at any of the four above-mentioned restaurants, and admission will be granted to all of the buffet tables for just one price.

Take note though that Basix and Umu are located on the ground floor of the hotel, while Benjarong and Tosca are on the second.

By and large, the biggest buffet spread this hotel has to offer belongs to Tosca. It offers a selection of antipasti, as well as pasta dishes and risotto made to order. You can count on a number of meat dishes, and a carvery to boot, plus a choice of desserts.

Over at Basix, one will find Filipino dishes like lechon and other Asian specialities – Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cuisine was on the menu – plus the traditional roast beef, as well as other roasted meats and fish. Yes I almost forgot: this restaurant also serves fresh oysters, mussels, and shrimp on ice, as well as other sorts of seafood.

The buffet at the Umu restaurant serves a variety of dishes like sushi, sashimi, tempura, noodles, and other Japanese specialities. Not sure though if teppanyaki is also part of the buffet.

I must mention though that of all the restaurants the Dusit Thani Manila has to offer, Umu is by far the farthest for diners seated at the other three eateries, and is thus a tad inconvenient to reach. Yet aside from Basix it is the hotel’s most popular food outlet; my sister tried to make a reservation here for our party but was refused, and thus we ended up at Tosca.

I think the star of the entire buffet was that offered by the Benjarong restaurant, and all because of its pad thai noodles freshly prepared by a Thai chef I call the Pad Thai Lady. She worked non-stop on her feet tossing the ingredients on a red-hot wok and unfailingly served her dish with a smile.

Aside from pad thai, the Benjarong buffet also serves a number of Thai dishes, plus a number of Thai rice-based desserts.

Of course the children are not to be ignored. There is a cozy play area at the lobby where kids can frolic all they want, plus a mime hamming it up with everyone.

The Dusit Thani Manila Crossover Family Sunday Brunch is available, naturally, on Sundays from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Price per person is PHP 1,600.00 nett; kids from 7 – 12 years get in at 50 percent off. Call (02) 867-3333 for reservations which I strongly recommend.