Birthday Buffet at Diamond Hotel
After last Friday’s bout with hypertension, Noreen was up and about the next day, August 9. Why? It’s her birthday and most of her anxiety came mostly from work stress. So I decided a Saturday lunch out would be a good way to celebrate. After being at the Cake Club launch, we decided to cross city limits and venture into Roxas Boulevard, where the Diamond Hotel sits facing the Manila Bay. It was a delightful surprise that we bumped into Executive Sous Chef Melchor Taylo. He was nice enough to indulge us in a short conversation, as well about some of the changes he was planning for the Palm Court Cafe buffet spread. He said it was going to be a themed change and next month was a surprise so watch out!
It was indeed fortuitous that their buffet were featuring Asian favorites like Korean Chapchae, Japanese sushi and Filipino seafood greats! Noreen truly enjoyed this buffet! The Palm Court Cafe is where the hotel’s buffet is served and charges P1,049 (US$23.31) per person inclusive of all taxes and surcharges and the first round of drinks. They do have an ongoing promo. For groups of six people, only five will be charged and the sixth person eats for free. They also get two free swimming passes. For groups of 10 people, only eight are charged and two eat for free! They get four free swimming passes. The pictures below will tell you how good it is to dine at Diamond Hotel’s Palm Court Cafe.
They definitely did not scrimp on the shrimp! Their shrimp were fresh, large and ubiquitous! Bubba was right, you can do so many things with shrimp.
Works well with salads.
Tempura too!
The crabs were also fresh.
Time to flex a little mussel.
Make your own salad and go crazy with the possibilities.
Chips and nachos galore.
Hors d’oeuvre anyone?
Very few hotels offer a wide range of cheeses in their buffet line. The Diamond Hotel does.
There is also a wide variety of breads to choose from.
Plus a machine that automatically heats your bread!
What was on Noreen’s plate?
On my plate?
You gotta love the sushi.
One of my favorites, the meatloaf with onion and Shiraz reduction sauce.
Noreen’s favorite, the seaweed.
They have a barbecue section with so many options, chicken, beef, pork and fish. I got the pork marinated in ginger and Mirin sauce.
Got room for dessert?
Noteworthy to mention here that most of their desserts are sugar-free. With the wonderful taste, I couldn’t believe they didn’t use sugar.
Of course, if you’re the fruit person, there’s some for you too!
I got her the smoothie of the month, the Mocha-lympics which came with a stuffed toy named “Mawz”. This smoothie was topped with gold dust.
Yup, that drink made her day. So why don’t you stop by the Diamond Hotel for lunch or dinner? Bring your loved ones. They will surely cherish the experience.
Comments
Comment from Arpee
Time: August 11, 2008, 11:54 am
to mercy: thanks a bunch for the greeting! i hope you can join us in one of these buffet outings next time.
Comment from mc
Time: August 12, 2008, 3:13 pm
arpee, you sure know how to tickle our taste buds! count us in on your next “Diamond-like” exploration.
Comment from Arpee
Time: August 12, 2008, 10:53 pm
to mc: we can always organize our own buffet exploration tours!
Comment from ayi
Time: August 13, 2008, 2:12 am
it such a nice birthday celebration,how i wish im with u guys.happy birthday octi!!! love u!!!
Comment from Cookie
Time: August 13, 2008, 4:37 pm
That looks like a great spread!! Those prawns are to die for. I agree, the cheese selection at Diamond is fantastic. When we had breakfast there for my birthday, my little girl parked herself in front of the cheese display and munched away 
Happy Birthday to Noreen!! Many more to come!
Comment from Arpee
Time: August 13, 2008, 10:53 pm
to ayi: i wish next year you will spend your birthdays with us.
to cookie: Noreen thanks you for the greeting. it really is a nice hotel!
Comment from Shan
Time: August 14, 2008, 2:58 pm
Happy Birthday Noreen! from a fan of arpees site 
Comment from Noreen Ponce-Lazaro
Time: August 15, 2008, 8:22 am
to Shan: thank you very much for the greeting!
Comment from Bambi
Time: August 16, 2008, 8:09 am
belated happy birthday noreen!
omigod good you guys went to the diamond hotel! i surely looooove their spread. seafood seafood seafood! i wolfed down the crab in 30 minutes! :D:D:D
it looks sooo good! i also love their kare-kare!
Comment from edelweiza
Time: August 21, 2008, 2:45 pm
wow, this is a steal! a buffet at 1,049 is very reasonable if the food is like that! do they have buffets on a regular basis? nice post!
Comment from Arpee
Time: August 22, 2008, 1:37 am
to bambi: thanks for the greeting! noreen appreciates it a lot.
to edelweiza: the buffets are served everyday, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Comment from fran
Time: August 25, 2008, 4:55 pm
belated happy bday noreen! i still have my diamond hotel buffet certificate here with me saving it to bring paul there on his bday
Comment from edelweiza
Time: August 29, 2008, 1:20 pm
i see.great! thanks for answering my query arpee!
Comment from Arpee
Time: August 29, 2008, 5:35 pm
to edelwiza: you’re welcome! thanks for visiting my site
Comment from digitalmac
Time: August 29, 2008, 5:38 pm
Is there kare-kare on the buffet spreads?
Comment from Arpee
Time: August 29, 2008, 11:05 pm
to digitalmac: depending on their theme. if it’s a filipino theme, there might be kare-kare. at the time of this buffet, it was mostly korean and japanese food.
Comment from aboy
Time: November 29, 2008, 6:54 pm
di na po me makapaghintay ah. Lahat po ng foods yummy…! yummy…!
Comment from espie
Time: December 1, 2008, 7:23 pm
Grabe, all the foods are absolutely irresistable!
Comment from mercy
Time: August 11, 2008, 10:45 am
Great display of food…Noreen belated happy birthday…Di mo naman sinabi, sana nilibre kita…charing!!!!