Thanksgiving Saturday at Hwangso-Ga Korean Buffet

- May 31, 2014, Saturday.

- The last day/Saturday of the month was meant to be a memorable one. Other than having the opportunity to meet friends again after a long time, it was a day for us to celebrate our different triumphs in life. One of these triumphs is the opportunity to try Hwangso-Ga, a Korean buffet located right across Robinsons Manila's Department Store Exit (Adriatico side,) beside Makchang. (Both Makchang and Hwangso-Ga are owned by the same owner, although Hwangso-Ga does not have the peculiar shouting waiters that Makchang has.)

- Hwangso-Ga's buffet is reasonably priced: 349php for lunch and 399php for dinner. The buffet price is inclusive of all the items on the buffet table, and unlimited rounds of samgyupsal or Korean bacon; the rounds of beef brisket are only available during dinner. Drinks (except for water) and ice cream are not part of the buffet. The restaurant is open from 11am-3pm for lunch, and 5-10pm for dinner.

- My friends and I decided to have an early dinner, so we arrived at quarter past five. Hwangso-Ga's interiors seemed simple, although what interested me were the colored Korean drawings on the walls depicting traditional dances, kisaengs (Korean counterpart of the Japanese geisha,) some musicians with Korean instruments, and some palace officials. The buffet table had a decent amount of food too.

YAY!!

Go cook them all Sharm.

Aileen and her pile of food (and on another note, I finally saw you again after 2 years??)

- I wanted to let my friends try soju (sweet-potato-/potato-based alcohol,) and tell them some trivia about the Korean drinking etiquette (i.e. not pouring your own glass, holding the glass as soju is being poured, not looking at the superior while drinking as a sign of respect/humility, etc.) I think this was the first time that I initiated a "drinking" session, although I know that whatever "drinking" we did was far from the usual definition and intensity of the word "drinking." We just shared one bottle of soju for the experience. Although not everyone liked it, at least they were able to taste at the very least. The alcoholic content was not as high, and so I was OK with it. (Soju, as well as makgeolli (Korean wheat-rice wine,) vin santo, lambanog, basi, and tuba are part of the very limited list of alcoholic drinks that I actually like drinking, in moderation of course; normally, I do not like alcoholic beverages because I do not like what they do to my mind and sometimes my skin.)

"Konbe!!"

Sharm, Aileen, and the walls.

Cedric's soju-caused red face, and his white hands.

Konbe again!!

- We were able to have some bibimbap made, although the basic bibimbap served to us had far less ingredients than the usual. We felt it was OK since we were quite full from the many slices of brisket and samgyupsal, on top of all the other side dishes and entree from the buffet table.

- We left to have some tea in Robinsons; tea usually helps me with digestion. We walked around a bit before going home. Personally, I liked Hwangso-Ga as an alternative Korean restaurant to the usual ones that I visit. Adriatico (and the rest of Malate,) has interesting cultural restaurants hidden among the small streets that turn into red light districts at night - for the most part that is, but Hwangso-Ga's vicinity is quite tame, and is nearer to the mall and residential area. I should try out the Arabian restaurants and Israeli restaurants soon. Until the next food trip.

Hmm, didn't see this photo coming. Haha. 

A pricess photo of Sharmaine.