I come from a big family.
When we were all together my mom would cook up a storm. We’d all sit around the table and of course we were super noisy, boisterous and always hungry. In my family we came to the table HUNGRY. We aren’t a family that is big on snacking in between meals and we are not big with junk food either, but we LIKE to eat.
If you like to eat like I do, then that means you like to have lots of different tastes, lots of different textures and lots of different choices. I know two places that are perfect for you to visit.
Dad’s is an institution in Megamall.
Luckily, I was able to avail of both of these buffets because they generously sponsored the last two #SoMoms #betterme sessions with Coach Pia from The One Core for venue and food. We were able to have our monthly sessions with Coach Pia in a comfortable air conditioned private room in both places AND we were able to enjoy the bounties of both buffets.
Kara who is the managing director of the newly revamped Dad’s World Buffet shared the story of how the family ventured into the restaurant business. She also shared that a buffet is NOT a buffet if Lechon is missing!
What I didn’t know, was that Dad’s in Megamall has been around for over 20 years. it came from the fact that the Villavicencio family (They are a big family too!) loved to eat as well. The patriarch of their family (Kara’s dad) had always instilled in them that they could eat as much as they wanted as long as they finished what was on their plate “all the way.” Talk about an institution! Dad’s (Saisaki & Kamayan) are well known for many a Filipino families who enjoy the variety that they have to offer.
Talk about a Salad Bar! This was only half of the cold selection!
Dad’s is just as family centered as much as it is concerned about nutrition. Kara shared that they have added new unlimited fruit shakes and juices to the menu because they know that often times, it’s hard to get the kids to eat their veggies. Even more important than that-I know that with such a wide variety of choices and such a HUGE buffet to choose from that it is vital that all the different foods are served at the correct temperatures. Kara assured us that this was something they are on top of by monitoring the coolers and the warmers so that there is no chance of food entering the “danger zone.”
Of course I started with a plate of sushi and sashimi. Can you figure out what one of OC tendencies is by looking at my plate?
If you eat at Dad’s you will see a carving station and a seafood grilling station. You will also see food from China, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Greece, Italy, Spain, American, Argentina, Morocco, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and of course the Philippines. That’s 16 different countries!
There is no shortage of meat at Dad’s if you are a meat lover. Pictured from top left corner-clockwise is Kebabs, Lechon, Churrascaria, and Carving station of Ham and Turkey.
A short while after the SoMoms visited Dads, we visited Sambokojin in Eastwood. It was a busy day for me when we had this particular Better Me session, and even though I had to eliminate some of the activities I had planned for the day because I ran outta time, I was not missing out on my favorite buffet place to visit. Nino and I have visited Sambokojin in two other locations, first starting with their place on Edsa, and then when they opened in SM Southmall we visited that outlet. But now I can say that I have also visited the Eastwood outlet and truth be told-the service and food remains consistent all through out. Excellent.
In case you didn’t know, I’m a dipper. I thoroughly enjoy dipping. I like making my own sauces, and I like using the sauces that are provided in Sambokojin. You might say I’m the condiment queen, because even when we have our grilled sausages I need to have ketchup, mustard, mayo, and my friend Vangie’s Secret Sausage Sauce. (and that’s just for grilled sausage!) So you can imagine my delight in a scene like this:
I need these little divided dipping dishes in my home! They are perfect!
The good thing about eating in Sambokojin is that I don’t feel guilty because EVERYTHING is grilled! You choose the meats and fish that you want to grill and then they have these awesome SMOKELESS grills that take all the smoke out of grilling!!! It literally sucks the smoke out of the air so you are not uncomfortable and you can enjoy the smoky grill taste without the smoke!!!
I was at this cooler a lot. Can you guess were my favorites?
You can flip back and forth from Japanese and Korean dishes, as well as having all of the side dishes that accompany these grilled specialties. I always enjoy the Korean appetizers when we eat Korean food so my appetizer plate looked something like this:
Do you see a pattern with my food placement? I really don’t like my food tastes to mingle too much. I know, I know, it all goes to the same place, but I feel like all of the different tastes are there to change the taste in my mouth when I need it…so…I don’t like them to touch…
But when you are choosing what to grill for yourself, there are so many choices. Unfortunately, or fortunately, (depending on how you look at it) I’m a creature of habit. I usually get the same things all the time…
I usually get bacon wrapped veggies. As you can clearly see here…I have gravitated once again to the asparagus and the enoki mushrooms. *sigh* (creature of habit talaga.) The foil wrapped pouches are veggies and shrimp with garlic butter.
There is no smoke when you grill here. Of course you will still smell like you have grilled all your food in front of you-but you won’t suffer from the smoke that usually comes along with grilling. Another reason to love Sambokojin!
Remember that song from Sesame Street? “One of these things is not like the other…”
Thank you Bokie Villavicencio from sponsoring our #SoMoms #BetterMe session in your Eastwood Branch of Sambokojin. All the SoMoms in attendance not only left with happy hearts and minds because of our Better Me session, we also left with full tummies not feeling guilty about what we ate!
Bokie shared with us that the name of the restaurant is also the name of a “Japanese Kitchen God.”
To find out more about the nearest Sambokojin to your place, you can visit their website.
Dad’s has a whole list of all of the different foods you can find on the buffet in Megamall.
As always, the Somoms are grateful that healthy living is supported by companies like Unilab.
