I've tried so many eat you can or buffet places (47 at present according to my label count =p).  And, I can't stop being enticed to try more of the new concepts really.  I've heard so many raves about La Fiesta which claims to be the largest Filipino buffet.  I finally tried it during my uncle's Birthday Lunch Celebration one Sunday.


It looks very luxurious with elegant interiors and lighting.  It is very spacious too.  It even has a stage area at the center (not visible for all diners though) where band play native Filipino songs or birthday songs.

Food

Salad Station
You can make your own or chose from ther prepared salads.

Japanese Station

Sashimi, Nigiri Sushi, Maki, Green Salad Seaweeds and ♥ Ebi Tempura

I was expecting La Fiesta to be purely Filipino but I'm sure everybody is happy that they have a Japanese Station too as I noticed that the Sashimi and Ebi Tempura are quickly emptied.  I'm impressed that they have a lot in variety too.  For the Sashimi, selections includes Tako Sashimi, Kani Sashimi, Tamago, Salmon Sashimi and Tuna Sashimi.  While the Maki selection includes Futo Maki, Roasted Salmon Maki, California Maki, Red Ham Maki, Kani Delight Maki, Tempura Maki, Tokyo Sunrise Maki, Tuna Maki and Tamago Maki.  For Nigiri Sushi, they have Tamago Sushi, Kani Sushi, Salmon Sushi, Takuan Sushi (pickled raddish), Ika Sushi and Tuna Sushi.

Chinese Dimsum Station

Siomai, Siopao and Chicken Feet

I passed on this to try more Filipino options but according to my relatives, the quality is okay and I trust their judgment.  There's also my favorite mantao or Chinese fried buns by the American Station.

American Station

Chicken Nuggets and Fish and Chips (Mantou on the right)

 They also have Chicken Nuggets and Fish and Chips which is American.


Filipino Main Dishes


The bulk of the buffet is of course, the Filipino Main Dishes which really overwhelmed me.  There were so many to choose from.  Among the available ones during my visit were Lechon Paksiw, ♥Bicol Express, Chicken Curry, Tahong, ♥ Pangat sa Gata na Tilapia, Grilled Liempo, Chopsuey, Adobo, Lechon Kawali, Pangga, Crispy Shrimp, Spare Ribs, Menudo, Pork Chop, Chicken Steak, Pork Loin, Crispy Tilapia, ♥ Bopis, Togue with Tofu, Pinakbet, Kangkong with Bagoong, ♥ Kalderetang Kambing, ♥ Sotanghon with Patola, ♥ Papaitan, Lon Hun Chay, Buttered Vegetables, ♥ Kuhol sa Gata, Seafood Paella, Pesang Hito and Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet. 

♥ Tuna Belly

♥ Angus Beef Belly

♥ Baby Back Ribs

♥ Boneless Lechon

♥ Liempo

♥ Conchillo

♥ Beef Bulalo and ♥ Sinigang na Hipon

Longa Mushroom Pizza and Garden Pizza

Sisig Station
They have sisig varieties of Bangus Sisig, Tokwa Sisig, Chicken Sisig and Pork Sisig.  I was able to try all of them.  Unfortunately, I found them all tad too salty.  The reason why we ordered so much of this is because we found the small sizzling plate and the sisig being served with quail egg (instead of large chicken egg) to be so cute. LOL =p 

Pinoy Street Food
Our favorite part of the buffet is the Pinoy Street Food.  I feel my cholesterol rose up with all the ♥ Balot I ate!  They also had Squid Balls, Chicken Balls, Fish Balls, Kikiam, Hot Dog, Grilled Large Intestine, Balun Balunan, Fiesta BBQ Chicken Wings, Tenga ng Baboy, ♥ 1-Day Old Chicken, Salted Peanuts, ♥ Kwek Kwek, Quail Egg, Pork BBQ, Tokwa and ♥ Isaw.

♥ Shawarma

They also have a really good Shawarma.  Good thing the serving is smaller than the conventional so you can spare some tummy space for it.

Desserts


The dessert is also another extensive station.  They have two kinds of ice cream.  I tried both.  The Magnolia Sorbetes (with optional toppings of mini mallows, Nips, chocolate sprinkles, sour apple o's and more - same as in Yakimix) is better than the Sorbetero in Cone from the Sorbetero cart although the latter gives a pinoy street ice cream nostalgia.  There are also ice drops like Nestle's Twin Pops.  They have all sorts of pastillas: Ube Pastillas, Keso Pastillas and Pandan Pastillas.  They also have Yema.  There were also sugar-coated dried fruits like Dried Pineapple, Dried Guyabano and Dried Mangoes.  There were so many delicious and tasty kakanin too like Bibingka, ♥ Puto Bumbong, Pichi-Pichi, ♥Sapin-Sapin, Biko, Pandan Biko, Ube Halaya, Maruya and ♥ Palitaw.  The ♥Ginataan is also hearty!  There is also a Make-Your-Own Halo Halo Station and a Candy Station with mini mallows, Nips, chocolate shrinkles, sour apple o's and more.  If that's not enough, they also have a Crepe Station.  And, a chiller filled with cakes and jello (i.e. Blue Lemonade Jelly, Coffee Jelly and Blueberry Cheesecake) similar to the ones offered at Yakimix.  For health-concious, there's Fresh Fruits: banana, grapefruit, watermelon, papaya, melon and more.

Drinks
Skip the concentrated-based Tamarind Juice, Dalandan Juice, Mango Juice and Iced Tea and go for the Fresh Fruit Shakes: ♥ Kamias Shake, Banana Shake and Watermelon Shake.  Then, have an after-meal Coffee or Tea.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
True to their claim, La Fiesta is certainly the largest Filipino buffet.  I'm very impressed with the variety and quality.  Service needs improvement but I understand the place is packed.  And, I also liked their birthday gimik with the Instagram frame. =)  This is highly recommended for those who want to explore Filipino cuisine for the first time and even those for the nth time.

MARINA Oyster Seafood Grill in Rockwell has recently launched a promo: Halo-Halo and Sorbetes All You Can for 149 php!


 It will soon be launched in other stores too.  But, the pilot store in Kalayaan Ave near Rockwell.



The promo is available everyday from 2 pm to 6 pm until July 24, 2014.  Of course, I took the bait!


They have huge jars filled with sweetened toppings such as: Langka, Gulaman, Banana (minatamis na saging), Sweet potato, Nata De Coco, Ube, Sago, Cream Corn, Beans, Whole Corn, Red Sago and Buko Strips. 
 
They also have smooth and creamy leche flan.

 And, crispy pinipig. 

 For sobetero, they have ube, avodabo and cheese.  All of them have real chunks on them. 

Here's my first halo-halo creation!

And, this is the second one!  I've always look for two things in a halo-halo: 1. It should have finely crushed ice 2. I love the toppings.  Since they have both, I'm very pleased with my 149 php!

My family will be back to try this soon!

As much as I want to tap into the dining places in the Tomas Morato area, I just couldn't make myself go all the way there just to dine and then travel back home again.  But when I found out about the unique experience Bar B Skew has to offer, I'm the one who even invited my friends at The Foodies Circle to go there. 

Bar B Skew right at the center of the busy brightly-lit-especially-at-night area of Tomas Morato cor. Timog.  It's very easy to find with adequate with parking spaces.

Even from the outside, their custom made auto-rotating charcoal grilling tables makes them distinctively noticeable.  You can enjoy al fresco outside or inside with their efficient ventilation system. 

They have a chiller with a wide array of Street Food.  For those are health and hygiene conscious like me, I'm sure you'll understand how happy I was to glance at the selections nicely and neatly placed in a single chiller for my convenience.  My friends and I got our plates and filled it up with our choice of street food skewers. 

They also adopt self-service when it comes to water, napkins, brushes and basting sauces. 

Garlic Butter, Plain Sweet, Sweet & Spicy, Ginger Sesame and Hot Pepper

We tried all the basting sauces but we found it difficult to distinguish one from another since we were using the same brush.  I think I loved the Sweet & Spicy the most.


As soon as we were seated, the table top was filled with hot charcoal and the machine was turned on to auto-rotate. 


We filled it up with everything we got.  Although the selections vary per day, we're pretty much happy with what was offered.  For our main course, we had Chicken Barbecue, Pork Barbecue,♥ Cream Dory Fillet, ♥ Chicken Wings, Chicken Intestine (Isaw), Chicken Blood (Betamax), Chicken Gizzard (Baticolon), Chicken Liver (Atay), Kikiam, Hotdogs, Cheesedogs and ♥ Corn.

I was actually my first time to try the Chicken Blood (Betamax).  I've never had the guts to try it from street vendors due to cleanliness issues so it was nice to finally get the chance.  It was tasteless and not worth the guilt in my honest opinion.

I think I ate a lot of the Cream Dory Fillet, Chicken Intestine (Isaw), Chicken Gizzard (Baticolon) and  Chicken Liver (Atay).  The Cream Dory Fillet is everyone's favorite.  Grilling the Kikiam was very tricky.  We tend to overcook that one. 


For dessert skewers, we had the Chocolate Marshmallows and Bananas and Pineapple.  These are easily cooked so better pay attention cause the bananas loosen up and the Chocolate Marshmallows can get very gooey. 

Overall, the group consumed 64 sticks in total!  We didn't realize how much we've had because we were having so much fun, basting and chatting.

Limited Time Offer Buffet
For a limited time only, Bar B Skew is offering the Bar-B-Skew Buffet with unlimited skewers plus cooked dishes too at a very affordable rate of 299 php for lunch, 349 php for weekday dinner and 399 php weekend dinner.

Mind you the cooked dishes are also good!

♥ Chinese Fried Chicken

We all loved the Chinese Fried Chicken.

Double Fried Chicken

But, the Double Fried Chicken is equally delightful.

Tokwa

Kang Kong

Update May 2014: Unfortunately, this establishment has been short-lived and has now closed.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Bar B Skew offers an awesome auto-rotating charcoal grilling experience you surely can't miss!  I advise you to go over there as soon as you can and bring lots of company for a fun and enjoyable time.  They have serve drinks too at an affordable price.  In fact, I'm planning to bring my drinking buddies (they drink I eat) here sometime in the future.  I'm sure they'll love it!

The intense heat just makes us crave for the nearest cold treat we see.  So, one summer night, we caught sight of Mt. Arayat Special Halo-Halo which claims to be the "Pride of Pampanga Since 1970".  Of course, we want to check it out for ourselves.


Ordering was easy since they have only two sizes to choose from: Small and Regular.   

Mt. Arayat Special Halo-Halo Small (70 php)

I've had a great curiosity over the "Pride of Pampanga Since 1970" and it resulted in puzzlement that it was unlike the typical halo-halo I've tried before.  The Mt. Arayat Special Halo-Halo has Pastilla de Leche, Sweet Beans, Crushed Ice, Creamed Corn and Carabaos Milk. Upon serving they told us that there's no sugar in it.  But, I actually found it sweet especially because of the chewy Pastilla de Leche.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Mt. Arayat Special Halo-Halo is worth a try and you'll probably like it if you're in for the sweet and chewy sensation it offers.