We decided to try out the Midas Hotel's restaurant a few weeks ago. Partly due to curiosity, partly due to the desire for a hotel buffet eating binge. Getting a big discount coupon from an online outfit pretty much sealed the deal. At almost half off, why not give it a shot?
The hotel is located along Roxas Boulevard, near the intersection from EDSA. A good spot for tourists, as they can get a nice faceful of Manila Bay sunset daily (barring the weather that is). Parking is a bit of an issue; the outside parking spaces were all full by dinnertime. The inside was all sparkly and new, but it did feel a bit cramped for some reason. Probably because the building's a little on the petite side. There's a casino somewhere in the hotel, and a bunch of restaurants as well. We only got to try the Midas Cafe tonight, because that's where the buffet was.
There's plenty of displays and they all look quite nice. A little on the modern side.
The highlight of the buffet is the fresh meat/seafood section where you can select your protein and have the kitchen serve it up to you cooked however you want it (well, as long as they know how you want it done anyway). Salmon, mussels, pork belly slices, kebabs and lots of other meat here, waiting to get cooked.
We found the location of the carving station a bit odd, as it's right behind a large pillar at the entrance; it takes a little hide-and-seek skill to find it. We were kind of under the impression that you want to highlight this spot because it's the "fancy" food that everyone seems to go for.
Chesca goes for the sushi bar offerings and some greens first. It was just okay, not really that great.
I tried out some of the cooked stuff first. There was some beef tongue and another beef dish in a tomato based sauce that I liked. The sweet and sour pork and the salmon, not so much.
The roast beef (with some added cooking from the kitchen) was also just ok. The beef kebabs they had were surprisingly tender and tasty though. Pork belly was nice, kind of reminded us of a Korean joint's food.
I had a second helping of chicken cacciatore, "buttered" vegetables and some fish with pesto cream sauce. The chicken was nice and meaty, the vegetables were ok, but the fish was a little on the salty side for me. Pesto sauce was good enough though.
The come-on of the buffet was pretty much the "have it your way" philosophy they had. It was pretty much the hotel version of the "dampa" style eateries (who happen to be nearby). Butter garlic shrimp, baked mussels, you name it, they can make it (probably). They even said they could cook up sinigang for you. Taste-wise, its nice enough: the seafood is fresh and the cooking was good.
They also had some after dinner offerings that included mini pastries and the ever famous halo-halo station. We only tried a few of them, and again, nothing really of any note here.
At about 1700Php per head, it really is quite a stretch considering the quality of the food. It's not that bad, it's just not that great either. I guess we could have made more use of the kitchen, but there's only so much they can do, anyways. If you want to try it here, go right on ahead. Just make sure you get a discount coupon, like we did. Metrodeal* :)
Cafe Midas
Midas Hotel and Casino
Roxas Boulevard, Pasay
+632 902.0100
*Paid P999/each instead of P1700 for the buffet courtesy of Metrodeal.com
