Sofitel's Spiral: Renewed, Restored, and Revisited

- May 3, 2014, Saturday.

- My friend and food-blogger friend Clarisse invited me weeks ago for a buffet lunch at Spiral; she was invited by Spiral to do a promotion of the famed buffet restaurant. This was the second time that she invited me to accompany her to a private gathering/meeting, the first one being the royal Mughal Indian buffet at Circles last February right after our Bali trip. Without hesitation, I agreed to accompany her, especially since being invited to exclusive meetings like this one would usually mean the privilege of understanding the food, staff, facilities (if applicable,) and most importantly, the free lunch (who doesn't want a free lunch, right?)

- Despite not having second thoughts of accompanying Clarisse, I wondered if I would shell out such a big amount if I were to eat at Spiral on my own; it's not really about the money, but rather, the food. I had my first dining experience at Spiral in 2009 when one of my friends suggested that we have our Christmas gathering there. I was excited, because I had heard so much about Spiral's long, varied, and international buffet stations. Sadly, I was disappointed because most of the dishes were not "authentic" - the dimsum in the Chinese buffet were dry, the Indian dishes were not spiced well (and they didn't have the pungent and spicy aroma too,) just to name a few comments. (Perhaps the chefs wanted an attempt to compromise the authentic with the Western/Filipino palate, I'm no sure.) I did, however, appreciate the cheese station, the cold Japanese station, and the dessert station; I thought that these stations were the best, and getting a lot of food from these stations may cover the rather expensive buffet price.

- Now, fast forward to the present. Spiral has been renovated, remodeled, renewed, and reinvented since Typhoon Pedring (internationall known as Nesat) wreaked havoc in Manila in 2011. Spiral, being near the Manila Bay, was greatly affected. This, however, was a "blessing in disguise" for Sofitel and Spiral, because it gave them the opportunity to improve Spiral.

- This afternoon, Clarisse and I met Ms. Jane, who warmly welcomed us and gave us a tour of the restaurant. She first showed us the private rooms of the restaurant, which looked like sophisticated conference-cum-dining rooms from a James Bond movie. (Reservation charges for these rooms are subject to change.) Spiral has a total of six private rooms, all with almost the same theme; they differ in table size, shape, and some amenities.  

One of the private rooms.

Another one, fit for more serious meetings I think.

- Ms. Jane continued the tour with a visit to each station in the buffet. Compared to before, I felt that it was more difficult and confusing to navigate with the new Spiral setup, especially since some stations were detached from all the rest. However, unlike the old Spiral, the new Spiral had the brilliant idea having the cheese station converted to a "cheese room" (with a part of it devoted to cured meat,) and a chocolate room. Also, the new Spiral decided to sell some sauces, mixes, rubs, meat slices, condiments, wines, and candies. These are all packaged well in custom-made air-tight and leak-proof jars, and look presentable enough to give as gifts; these items are also good for people who would like to attempt Spiral's dishes at home.

Ms. Jane during the tour.

Goodies for sale.

The really expensive oven.

My OC sense tingling.

Salads to go: grab a jar, put some dressing, shake, and go.

- Ms. Jane also told us that some counters had less explanation on the dishes' name cards, in order to encourage interaction between the customers and the chefs. Spiral has also more stations where customized dishes can be made by chefs using potential ingredients that can be found within the big buffet maze (for example, customized pasta and pizza can be made by getting meat and cheese from the cheese room, some vegetables from the salad counter, pizza counter, and/or pasta counter, and then asking the pizza/pasta counter chef to use them in your pizza or pasta.)

I was particularly critical of this station. Haha.

Big tandoori oven.

Bringing the outdoors indoors: the Parisian bar.

Hi friend!!

Three kinds of fondue. Drools.

Ms. Jane telling us about the (really mouth-watering) desserts.

Chocolate room, and there's Ms. Tweet, the "master" chocolate person.

CHEESE ROOM.

- The best part, of course, was the eating part, so we could experience Spiral's dishes on our own, according to Ms. Jane. It was already 2pm that time because Clarisse and I arrived late due to an unexpected heavy traffic, and the buffet closes at 2:30 (it opens at 11:45am-2:30 during lunch time.) Clarisse and I had to make multiple rounds to the buffet stations before Spiral closes for the afternoon. Ms. Jane told us that even if Spiral stops serving food at 2:30, Spiral does not drive their guests away after afternoon closing time so the guests can slowly finish the food on their plates. I think that was the most important piece of information that afternoon, because we had to take time to finish our food right after our amazing race through the buffet maze.

- During lunch, Clarisse and I had a nice chitchat with Ms. Jane. Apart from that, what I found "nice" also was that Spiral's dishes have improved since my last encounter with Spiral in 2009. I felt that the dimsum now had enough moisture, and the Indian food, while still not as Indian (i.e. not as pungent and strong) as the usual, had more aroma and taste unlike before. The naan had enough elasticity, and best of all, it wasn't too oily. If there's one thing I regret and is why I'm banging my head right now, it's me not remembering to get the foie gras (meh, it wasn't really a "big loss," but still, foiieee grasss.) I also liked the Moroccan dishes served on top of the really expensive (don't ask how expensive,) oven. I would have wanted to eat oysters from the fresh seafood counter, but I was informed that Spiral only offers that during dinner. Apart from that, Spirals' Sunday brunch has more freebies and special dishes too (Mother's Day is coming up next week - hmm, ideas ideas for you people.) The drinks are still not included in the buffet, but in some cases and events, Spiral has some wine or other special beverage on the house. By the way, Clarisse and I got to taste Spiral's delight drinks, which are specially-blended organic juices that are not only healthy, not too sweet, but also good compliments to Spiral's dishes.

FOOD.

With Ms. Jane.

- Ms. Jane allowed Clarisse and me to finish our lunch in private, and at our own pace after a fun chat, since she had to take care of urgent work. Oh my goodness. It took us until around 5pm to finish our lunch and desserts (my personal favorite was the rumcake with custard in the small glass; it was the best rum dessert I've had ever.) The lunch customers had already left, the staff had already changed into their evening uniforms, and they were also preparing for the dinner buffet. I told Clarisse that it was better to have less people around so they won't judge our (ehem, my) appetite.

- Before Clarisse and I left Spiral, we walked around a bit and took some photos. I had to have a remembrance of my preppy and summery outfit (not sure if it can fall under the "hipster fashion" category.) I thought I wanted to surprise Clarisse by dressing up differently today; I also thought I'd dress up in a smart-casual way, but retaining my love for colors. I also realized that I was wearing the colors of India's flag - orange, white, green, blue. Haha.

Lunch conquered. I was trying to keep a decent smile, when all I wanted to do was cry because I was too full.

And of course behind us is Spiral's 21-foot statue.

Clarisse said that my outfit matched the flower vendor's cart and flowers.

Some things I don't really do: 1. taking an OOTD photo, 2. dressing up like this.

- We left for home via cab, and I got to rest my tummy. I didn't eat dinner because of my odd lunch hour today, and am still wondering if I would be able to eat tomorrow morning. However, if you'll ask me if I'm now more willing to go back to Spiral (in the future, not tomorrow, please,) well, I'd probably be more willing to eat at Spiral, even though I am still currently expecting Spiral to improve itself more in the future. For more information, please visit http://spiralmanila.com/ .