First Bite: The Pantry at Dusit Thani Manila

It was Valentine's weekend and having no plans on a Friday night, I texted my sister where she is. She replied something illogical: "Let's have dinner buffet at Dusit Thani!" I was in SM Bicutan during that time eating pepper steak in McDonalds (I like theirs btw compared to Jollibee) so I was having second thoughts with her invitation. Also, my wallet is not prepared to shell out at least Php 1000 for dinner. I guess she heard my prayers because she followed up with "It's half the price for BDO card holders!" This was enough reason to jump on the bus instantly. Thank god the traffic was not horrendous going north that time!

I arrived at Dusit Thani just a few minutes after 7:30. Just enough time to pace the buffet spread because it ends at 10. When I arrived, my sister was already eating her 1st round of seafood bowl. I wasted no time in navigating The Pantry. TBH, it was not the most impressive lobby/restaurant in Manila. I've seen better, but I think their outside garden is lovely (I didn't get to explore it, I'm just assuming). My appetizer? The salad of course! Syempre, we have to be pretentious sometimes.

All I can tell you is that The Pantry does not have a huge buffet spread compared to Yakimix or Vikings and for the price that we are paying, I think we are lugi. How much more if we paid full price, right? But nonetheless, there were some stellar dishes. 

This is my first plate. To be honest, I am mighty proud of my selection and plating because it looks sosyal with all the different cheeses, cold cuts, and greens. Because of this plate, arugula is now my favorite salad ingredient. I regret getting the olives though (the three black ones on the lower left) because it was so salty!! I know that olives are supposed to be salty, but this one is on a different level! And oh, the bread was cold so that was a disappointment, too. 

Meet my meat platter. Of all the meats on this plate, there is only 1 that I liked, but I forgot what it's called. The Pantry, you are doing injustice to all these meats. Get your act together! It's either gamy, cold, or bland. 

Tried another salad, but this was just bland (because I think it doesn't have arugula). And if you notice that I only have 2 makis, it's because they only have 2 options for makis. That's how boring their Japanese selection was! I also tried their Indian dishes and I must tell you, I think I went to Spice Hell because the prawn curry that I tasted is the spiciest food that I've ever tasted my entire life!

This is the prawn curry that I'm talking about. I am Bicolano and spicy foods are my thing, but the instant that I put this inside my mouth, my heart was crying spice tears! I was literally crying because it was THAT spicy. I was thinking, if this is the basic Indian spicy level, how much more would it be if it was authentic? Huhu. I only got 3 prawns, and I was so determined to finish it so for my 2nd bite, I was readying myself mentally and was expecting explosion inside my mouth, but much to my dismay, it wasn't spicy at all! I don't know how it happened but it just tasted like a normal curry without spice!

Food Intermission: My sister, my Valentine date.

Before my dessert, Remy insisted that I try their garlic butter seafood bowl because after all, this is the reason why she came. Oh boy, their seafood counter is so small and for this plate, they only have 4 choices--clams, shrimps, mussels, and crabs. Very limited! And I think the chef did not do justice to these lovely creatures because damn, it was so salty! I like salty food, but this bowl was heaping with so much salt that I was not able to finish it! 

Now, onto what is supposed to be an orgasmic climax to every buffet...NOT! Nothing special about your desserts, The Pantry! One of the glasses for the panacota even had fruit fly inside that I had to tell one of the staff about it. I know that fruit flies are not really harmful, but still, it's a fly. 

So there you have it, the unimpressive The Pantry at Dusit Thani. I suggest you take your Php 1000 buffet budget somewhere else. It is definitely not worth it here.